Habitat - Indoor :: algae in tubes of XP3

[Monte]

Hello everybody, long time lurker first time poster. I tried doing a forum search but wasn't able to find an answer so I hope this isn't a repost. I have a filstar xp3 filter and I've had it for about 2 months. I've noticed there is what I believe is algae growing in the tubes of the filter. Is this normal/healthy and if not how can I clean it out? Thank you.

[moonlighter]

I have gunk growing in my tubes also. I think it is normal and will eventually have to be cleaned when it affects flow. They make long brushes for this but I haven't seen them yet. Perhaps others on this board can tell us where to buy them. I checked with my local hardware shop and the clear 5/8" tubing goes for about $1 per ft so I may just replace later.

[BullDog]

I've seen the long brushes at walmart, but I don't think they're long enough to go all the way down the intake/output tubes. I think it'd be hard to find one that long.
What you could do is find a shorter one, put a string on one end and just pull it through.

I read once that part of the reason the xp series gets that is because the tubes are clear, and the algae needs the light.

[SpotsMama]

I've got an XP3. It's been running for about a year and a half. After about a year I cleaned the tubes. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The hardest thing about setting up the XP3 in the first place was attaching the flexible plastic tubes to the intake and outflow tubes - they were tooo tight. I had to take them off for cleaning, and when I put them back on, they were a lot easier than the first time - apparently they had stretched a little - not enough to leak but just enough for an easy fit. While the flexible tubes were off, I ran a tomato stake through them that had a piece of paper towel on the end. You can get a tomato stake at any place that sells tomato plants - it's just a long thin stick. It was real easy to clean the tubes this way.

[erinemcgreevy]

I just cleaned mine yesterday using tube cleaning brushes that I got at a pet store and some thread. I cleaned it as far as I could reach and when I could reach no further I attached thread to the handle and jammed the brush inside the tube with another brush and then just yanked it out with the string. It worked really well and now the tubes look great. Are you sure it's algae, I think that I had bits of old rotted lettuce in mine.

[Vtolds]

There was all kinds of stuff in mine and I oddly cleaned it yesterday except I did it a really hard and bad way I went up too the tubes and squeezed them and that made the stuff fall off. Only problem with that is it all went shooting into the tank so I immediately removed Rexi and sucked out all the debris

[Monte]

thanks for the replies everybody. I'm relieved the algae is natural because I was worried for a second and I was feeling like an negligent owner

[cudamank]

Wow, I was just going to do a post on this when I found this tread. I noticed my xp4 and very low output after cleaning, (and it needed it). I cant see my hoses as they run behind the tank, which the back of is painted black.(Thanks craigslist). I ended up pulling the tubes off just to check and Im not sure how water was even flowing. Check your tubes.

[marisa]

I think it's Marineland that sells a flexible brush with a long "handle"---the handle being a wire (I think it's 48") that a small brush is attached to. Perhaps you can find it at Petsmart or Petco. I bought mine in a small aquarium shop. If you're disconnecting the tubes at both ends, you should be able to thread the wire through the tube and pull the brush through.

I never took the tubing off the ends that attach to the inflow and outflow pieces, though. I tied a small brush to some thin rope and pushed it to the other end with a wooden dowel, then pulled the brush back through the tube. A few times doing this and the tubes were clean. When I've been lazy or lacked time, I would also just let the gunk collect until at some point the flow of the water would start to remove the gunk, making the tubes self-cleaning.