Hydrogen Peroxide Works Wonders on Algae-Ridden Filter Tubes

[DGalt]

I just replaced my filter and I wanted to clean up my old one as best as I could before I put it away in storage. I was having trouble cleaning the hard to reach spots in the tubing though (it's an AC 50, so like the U part of the intake tubing and even the part of the straight tubing that I couldn't get at with an old tooth brush).

So, considering most of it was just brown algae, I thought I'd give H2O2 a try. Worked wonders. Just capped one end of each piece, filled it up with H2O2 and left it over night. Rinsed it out in the morning and it's good as new...looks as clean as when I first got it.

Thought I'd share this in case anyone else was having trouble with those hard to clean spots :thm:

 

[Flying_Diamond]

this is very useful. i always have trouble cleaning mine too, i think i'll try this from now on. will it hurt fish after a rinse or anything?

 

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

a bleach water solution works excellent also thats what i use.

 

[red_wall]

How did you put the H2O2 in your filter?
Just pour a little bit in?
Or did you let it soak?

 

[snoopy65]

Peroxide is not hazardous to fish. It is H20 (water) and 02 (oxygen).

 

[Carla G]

How did you put the H2O2 in your filter?
Just pour a little bit in?
Or did you let it soak?

From the OP

Just capped one end of each piece, filled it up with H2O2 and left it over night. Rinsed it out in the morning and it's good as new...looks as clean as when I first got it.

 

[coach_z]

That is a great idea that i will keep in mind if i need to do that to my filter that i am currently using.

Filters are a great self cleaning mechanism. I usually take a 4:20 bleach:water solution and then hang my filter on the bucket and let it run for a few hours

 

[mrbigmuscles]

Interesting - I was just reading an article about using h2o2 in the tank to kill BBA. Here it is: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/algae_peroxide.html

 

[DGalt]

that's where I got the idea from. I've used it in the past to clean BBA, so figuring the brown gunk was diatoms (brown algae) I thought it might do the trick.

I've only used this to clean the tubing since this is the only part of the filter that I can't get at with a sponge or paper tower or something. Coach_Z that's a great idea though. Probably wouldn't be feasible with H2O2 but bleach works just the same I'm sure.

And no H2O2 isn't hazardous to fish, at least not in these quantities. It can be in larger quantities, so don't go dumping a bucket of it into your tank (even if it is just H2O with an extra O, it's a lot more reactive than H2O and will screw with your water chemistry / hurt your fish if you use too much).

 

[chesterthehero]

it will kill black beard algae, but if its on a plant, it will also damage the plant (at full strength). on plants, seriously, a squirt of excel works wonders. in 24 hours it turns bright magenta, then slowly fades to a dull pink. then my ramshorns CHOW DOWN on the stuff and its gone!

inkyjenn