Cleaning canister filter pipe and rainbar

[Bangwalldie]

What should I use to clean the pipes of canister filter and the rainbar as well as the intake ?

[Urban Aquaria]

Flexible pipe brush... looks like this:



Photo from Google Images.

Can buy them from most LFS.

[Dscheng]

Wa..my lily pipe super dirty! How much is it?

[Urban Aquaria]

Depends on the brand, the cheaper ones usually cost less than $10.

[bluewaters]

Get a small of newspaper, fit into the piping and blow through with a water hose a few times. FOC

[happydanio123]

I use a little brush but that's because I use a HOB

[toshinobu]

Should we really clean those gunk off of they are not blocking the flow? I mean it must be full of good bacteria there.

[Urban Aquaria]

Should we really clean those gunk off of they are not blocking the flow? I mean it must be full of good bacteria there.

Its good to clean the pipes to reduce the build up of algae, you wouldn't want it to build up too much until it really does slow down the flow. The algae in the pipes also compete with your plants for nutrients too, and looks unsightly... unless your intention was using algae in place of plants as the nutrient consumers.

Although there are good bacteria coating the walls of the pipes (and generally on most surfaces in the tank), the surface area they cover is alot less than the bio-media in the filter, so cleaning away the bio-film in the pipes usually doesn't have much significant effect on the overall bacteria population.