Shredded Toilet Tissue looking stuff

[Luca Brazzi]

Has come out of the PVC pipes in my aquarium. It happens when I turn off a pump, then turn it back on... I get a blast of this stuff that looks like tiny pieces of shredded toilet paper. This stuff doesnt seem to be alive (doesnt move around or anything like that). Its not green or brown, but white. The 1st time I saw it was when I restarted my return from sump pump after doing a water change. Then I noticed again when I shut off and restarted the pump for my undergravel jet system. It flies out in a blast, then after a while it all gets sucked up by the overflow, or settles to the bottom.


Is there some form of plant life growing in my pipes? How could this be with no sunlight?

[TKOS]

Perhaps there was some sort of acrylic coating or epoxy coating somewhere that has lifted off and this is what is floating around. If that is the case it would be inert but probably best if removed.

[Luca Brazzi]

Well the pipes for the undergravel jet system, are basically just pvc glued together with pvc cement so I dont think there should be anything white coming off of it, but who knows.

[BK]

i think its probably just the pipes shedding the biofilm (bacteria and such) that accumulates on the pipe wall.

[superstein61]

Its biofilm - nothing to worry about.

I had some coming from the pump / pipe from my sump on shutdown / restarts for cleaning the first month or so after setting up the tank. Haven't seen any since.

What you can do is after you shut the pump off and are ready to restart it, slip a pieve of old stocking or similiar material over the end of the pipe outlet and while holding it in place, have someone turn your pump back on. Any gunk will be caight by the stocking

[Luca Brazzi]

Thanks for the info superstein.

That should work for the return line plumbing where there is only 1 outlet that is easy to get to, but what about the undergravel jets? I have 5 of them in the tank and there is no way to get to all 5 jets to cover them. Is there some substance I can put in the tank to loosen this stuff up or dissolve it so it all comes off at once and I can be rid of it no matter where it is in the system?

This stuff can be a little embarrassing if it shows up when company is around... its kind of like "Tank Dandruff" or something. After the initial blast (it looks like its snowing in the tank), It clears up in an hour though.

[OrionGirl]

Cleaning the lines is the only way to deal with it. It will develop on every surface, and only comes loose when the pressure on it changes (such as when you turn the pumps off. If possible, you could try running a clean cotton towel down the pipes--this would get most of it, with only a bit left to get blown through.

[superstein61]

Yea, what OrionGirl said. With 5 outlets - I don't think there is an easy way to catch it .

Actually I have not expereinced the issue with my underwater jet system - probably because I never have turned it off and on. I just leave it running while I pull and clean the sponge I have on the powerhead intake.

[Luca Brazzi]

The only reason I turn mine off every so often is because all of the electrical stuff on my system is plugged into the same power strip.

If you never turn it off though... wont this stuff build up in there over time and cause a decrease in the output from the jets?

[OrionGirl]

Yep--all tubes need to be cleaned regularly. With anything over 1 inch, it will take a while for the reduction to be significant, but it will happen. Just imagine the inside of smaller lines!