Need Help

[seamonkee]

Sorry, not sure to post here or else where...

Guys, as you know I have given up on marine and am in the process of converting my tank to freshwater Tanganyikan cichlid setup..

I have been trying to remove the scum (brown yucky stuff) from all the piping works... For hose, I took them out and use a soft toothbrush and water jet to "push" out those scums...

What are those in the PVC pipe? Esp my return piping which is fixed and cannot be taken out... I tried switching on and off my return pump (through a timer) and the bubbles generated can agitate and push out a few...

How can I do a thorough clean up?

Bro klim suggested white vinegar but I thought it is only effective for coralline algae (which I dun have in my tank)

Thanks!

[shoelevy]

my daddy when he cleans long pipes...he ties a lousy sock or cloth on one end of a rafia string...then slowly drop the other end through the pipe until it emerges from the other opening of the pipe...then when it appears....PULL the sock through and out comes all the gunk

[FuEl]

Chlorine bath?

[35Cents]

Those slime stuffs are biofouls. This includes bacteria, algae, sendiments, ionic elements, mud, food, etc.... anything you can think of that you put into the previous marine tank.

While Fuel's suggestion of chlorine treatment can only get rid of bacteria, you will need to get rid of the bacteria die offs and inorganic stuffs that are still struck there. I can't think of any domestic chemicals that can get rid of them completely but you can try acidic based solvents to soak and flush them out. Of course this may leech off into your new tank of not flushed properly. The best solution is get new pipings.

[LoReNsIa]

use soda.. not the baking one.. but those strong powder.. miz with water.. den rinse the mixture in ur pipe.. bro.. u need can pm mi.. i ask my dad bring from his factory... u have to handle it with glove.. it will hurt ur hand... yaya..

God Bless..

Lorenzo..

[Kurt Cobain]

i tried before........soak ur pipping into large amount of vinegar for 1 nite.

the next day, rinse off with water.....

my 2 cent of thought

[LoReNsIa]

wah.. waste money buy vinegar.. haha.. the soda is cheaper.. and is abie to clean it very clean.. haha.. trust mi.. try be4.. haha..

[seamonkee]

wah.. waste money buy vinegar.. haha.. the soda is cheaper.. and is abie to clean it very clean.. haha.. trust mi.. try be4.. haha..

I cant remove the piping... esp the return pump which I believed has the most scum.... After two days of switching "on" & "off" my return pump at 15 mins interval to create bubbles to agitate and clean the pipes, it is still churning out bits and pieces of scums... sigh....

If I do it in-tank, will the soda damage the silicon of the tank? Also, the mechanism of the return pump?

[seamonkee]

Those slime stuffs are biofouls. This includes bacteria, algae, sendiments, ionic elements, mud, food, etc.... anything you can think of that you put into the previous marine tank.

While Fuel's suggestion of chlorine treatment can only get rid of bacteria, you will need to get rid of the bacteria die offs and inorganic stuffs that are still struck there. I can't think of any domestic chemicals that can get rid of them completely but you can try acidic based solvents to soak and flush them out. Of course this may leech off into your new tank of not flushed properly. The best solution is get new pipings.

Sorry, I meant to say....

What about those in the PVC pipe?

I type wrongly and put it as "What are those in the PVC pipe?"

but thanks for the highlight on what it is really...

Do pro-reefers really change their PVC pipings on a regular basis and if so, how often? Isn't that like a major operation?

Gosh, what about those with coralline? the cleaning process must have been tougher, man!

[35Cents]

Under most conditions, the changing of PVC pipes are rare because as you had said it is a major op depending how long and complex the pipe infrastructure is. If really change, about 5-7 years span, by then mostly crashed liao lol. Usually, I think they change only if the pipes are leaking or upgrading to bigger pumps.

If the design of the pipes and the flow of water in pipes is right, occurence of biofouling will be lessen. I do know of someone that places flowmeters all over the pipes to monitor the flow. He design the pipes in such a way it is easy to detact and clean internally. Once the flow in one line is lessen, he will clean that potion after the meter before it. Crazy if you ask me but the tank like damn pro.... like a pro marine biologist.

[dainese]

maybe u can use the flexible metal rod thingy which ppl use to de-choke their house's pipes.if not mistaken its slender enuff to fit in our return pipings.

Juz my $0.02.

[darren]

stuff toilet paper into the tube n use water pressure to push the paper out the other end?