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hahaha, so cool.
Glass Lily Pipe Cleaning - By Cherry Shrimps + Otocinclus
No matter how algae free we keep our tanks... over time the pristine glass lily pipes will eventually be covered in algae. Algae eaters like shrimps, otocinclus and snails aren't able to access and clean it properly as the filter is constantly in operation.
I gradually discovered that whenever i switch off my canister filters for a few minutes while feeding the fishes, the cherry shrimps and otocinclus always try to rush into the glass lily outflow pipe and munch on the algae accumulated there.
So i ended up practicing a maintenance routine which involves simply switching off the canister filter for a longer duration of 15-20 minutes once a week (not too long to avoid starving the filter's beneficial bacteria). This allows the cherry shrimps and otocinclus time to have a nice "bonus" algae meal and at the same time help clean the glass lily pipe too.
Here is a video i managed to capture of the cherry shrimps and otocinclus doing some algae clearing work...
The video was originally around 7 minutes long, but i sped it up by 5x to give an accelerated view of how the glass lily pipe is cleaned. Observe how the shrimp at the top of the glass lily pipe consumes the green algae.
On an important "safety" note, if you are practicing this routine, do keep an eye on the shrimps and otocinclus while they are doing the algae cleaning work, there are times when they may get too enthusiastic and start to swim into the pipe to try to get at more algae, like this curious otocinclus at the right side of the photo...
There was once i stepped out of the room for a while and when i returned a few minutes later, one of the otocinclus actually made it past the top bend of the glass lily pipe, and it was busy eating algae all the way down the hose into the canister filter! I had to eventually disconnect the outflow hose just to rescue it.
So if you do spot any of them doing such reckless acts in pursuit of more algae, just switch on the filter momentarily for a split second to create abit of flow and nudge them back out, its much easier than having to rescue them later on.
hahaha, so cool.
Awesome!
On a similar and slightly unrelated note, I've had some Furcatus Yellow taking turns to battle the current of my output pipe. They actually manage to swim into my lily output pipe for about 5 seconds, just short of the bend, and then get swept away by the current. Seems to enjoy it. Hahaa.
your oto are super hardworking..
mine, are simply loafers..
Bean + Kurt
Very interesting! Loves those zebra oto too.
interesting, but so far the algae on the lily pipe is green spot, they wont be able to clean it. Outlet is easy to clean but inlet is different story.
Yeah, for green spot algae and inlets, no choice have to manually scrub them.Originally Posted by Shadow
interesting, but so far the algae on the lily pipe is green spot, they wont be able to clean it. Outlet is easy to clean but inlet is different story
wow.. very cool, UA!!
by the way, want to check if you clean your CO2 your inline reactor as well?
I don't really clean my inline Co2 reactors that regularly, only once in a while (if i happen to feel abit more hardworking during filter maintenance). I just use a brush to scrub out the accumulated dirt and mulm.wow.. very cool, UA!!
by the way, want to check if you clean your CO2 your inline reactor as well?
By virtue of being usually housed inside cabinets without much light exposure, along with the simple design of inline reactors, they can be left alone without being cleaned for months and still work well.
Thanks for sharing that delightful clip hehe! I'm dreading my maintenance day when I have to unplug everything and clean up. Perhaps I can try this method to make my workload easier
By the way, do you guys find it difficult to remove the hose from your glass lily tubes? I am so afraid i'll end up breaking my tubes one of these days.. :/ It's easy to slip on after cleaning but a hassle to remove!
Yeah, still need to manually clean the rest of the glass pipes though... but its always interesting to watch shrimps and otos munching away on algae.Thanks for sharing that delightful clip hehe! I'm dreading my maintenance day when I have to unplug everything and clean up. Perhaps I can try this method to make my workload easier
By the way, do you guys find it difficult to remove the hose from your glass lily tubes? I am so afraid i'll end up breaking my tubes one of these days.. :/ It's easy to slip on after cleaning but a hassle to remove!
Removing hoses from lily pipes can be quite tricky, what i do is just carefully peel one side of the hose at an angle away from the pipe, once part of the hose loses contact with the pipe, they will just slide apart smoothly. Needs abit of practice but once you gain the skill, it becomes very quick and easy.
Nice....My otos and shrimps simply stay below working on the rocks etc.
The easiest way to remove lily pipe, at least for me, is by wetting the outside the lily pipe with plenty of water then push the hose a bit. Once the water ship it, it become just like lubricant, you can easily pull the hose.
Ahh. great tips guys, will try them for my upcoming cleaning day! Helps to use firm hose too I guess. My chiller hose are rather soft and bends all over the place when pressure is applied. :/Yeah, still need to manually clean the rest of the glass pipes though... but its always interesting to watch shrimps and otos munching away on algae.
Removing hoses from lily pipes can be quite tricky, what i do is just carefully peel one side of the hose at an angle away from the pipe, once part of the hose loses contact with the pipe, they will just slide apart smoothly. Needs abit of practice but once you gain the skill, it becomes very quick and easy.
UA is right again !
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