Filter tubing infested with "surface scum"

Arembjorn · Mar 15, 2011

So I had surface scum. Nothing new to us there. Decided to try a surface skimmer, and it worked wonderfully. However, today I was noticing both tiny specks, either micro-bubbles or something solid, and flakes (both white). Turned the filter off for 10 minutes and the specks didn't even begin to float, so not air... bacterial bloom I, wondered?

Well it turns out that it's coming from my canister filter! The tubing is coated with what I THOUGHT were air bubbles from the surface skimmer. This turned out to not be air, but deposits of surface scum(??) and the origin of the flakes/specks.
They are clustered in spots, not a film though. Is it just clumping, or would these be some sort of bacterial colonies?? If it's just surface scum, I guess I shouldn't be using a skimmer!! Really annoying, and now I think I may have to somehow pull the tubing off the connections and manually clean them...?

Anyone ever dealt with this?

Any advice on this mess would be greatly appreciated!! :1zhelp:

FlyinRyan · Mar 15, 2011

Hmm Im not sure what type of Algae that is.. But when I get regular green and brown algae build up in my aquarium tubes I use an old tooth brush to clean out the insides.

RNeiswander · Mar 15, 2011

I get these in my hoses, its not different than the crap that builds up in a hob filter. I used piece of scrub pad, shoved it in the hose and used a long stick to push it through. Cleaned it up good as new. hope this helps

TheFishBoss97 · Mar 16, 2011

RNeiswander said:
I get these in my hoses, its not different than the crap that builds up in a hob filter. I used piece of scrub pad, shoved it in the hose and used a long stick to push it through. Cleaned it up good as new. hope this helps

+1
thats what I would do

dbosman · Mar 16, 2011

BioFilm. Algae, micro-organisms, bacteria. Good stuff up to a point. Up to thickness, water flows faster in biofilm covered tubing. You can clean it with a swab on a string or bleach, but it will grow back again.

Arembjorn · Mar 16, 2011

I think it's biofilm from the surface skimmer (happened after I installed it, and it's just like surface scum, only concentrated), possibly multiplying once deposited in the tubing, but I'm not expert and just going by symptoms. I'm not worried about it either, except that I think it's the source of this fine dandruff in my water. (it's in the return tubing as well, and when I squeeze it, it flakes off) I'll clean the system out tomorrow, and see if/when it redevelops. The other part of my irritation is that this filter is maybe 10 days old (established tank though, no ammonia/nitrite) Thanks for all the replies so far, I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

The problem is that it's getting through my filter -- must get extremely fine and 're-congeal' in the output tubing, and also the fine stuff just hangs in the water column. My finest filtration is that "fine" white pad that goes in the rena filstar filters.

Lise · Mar 16, 2011

The same thing happened to me, too. Little white flakes when I re-started my canister filter. I found a cheap little scrub device made up of two brushes at either end of a long spring. It cleans the tubes up better than my homemade sponge-on-a-coat-hanger, but anything is better than nothing. Once I made a point to brush out the tubes, the flakes never reappeared.

Sigrid · Mar 16, 2011

Wow, it is amazing what can build up in the hoses.

In digging around in my aquarium supplies I unearthed one of the brushes that has a long flexible wire attachment so one can scrub far down in the line of the filter tube.
After brushing the scum off and rinsing it out, how would it be if one soak and rinse the filter and its contents and the tubes in some mild bleach water?

Rinse after that with white vinegar to neutralize the bleach - and one more rinse with fresh water.

Ballyhoo · Mar 16, 2011

I wouldn't bleach the tubing, I'd be too worried about something going wrong. Surface scum is biofilm and it looks like it is getting into your tubes and clinging. The thing about biofilm is that they are very hardy, which is the purpose of a biofilm...protection and adhesion. I'd just pull the tubs apart and clean them out. My canister filter came with a scrubbie thing on a piece of flexible plastic, I disconnect all the tubing and push the plastic through till it comes out the other end and then PULL the scrubby end through. I find this to be much easier than trying to push the scrubby through.

ValorG · Mar 16, 2011

Its just a very minute layer coating the inside of your tube, why clean it? Its not going to do anything bad to your tank.


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Filter tubing infested with "surface scum"

Arembjorn

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FlyinRyan

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RNeiswander

Bunned

TheFishBoss97

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dbosman

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Arembjorn

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Lise

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Sigrid

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Ballyhoo

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ValorG

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