to clean the pipes out i use a long bendy brush that i got from lfs in a pack containing several sized brushes. they look similar to chimney sweep brushes but obviously smaller. just simply turn off the filter at the mains and turn both the taps on the filter to closed, undo the locking nuts and remove from the filter power head. then take the spray bar and filter intake out of the tank along with the pipework and taps take apart and give everything a good clean.
overtime the pipes do get slightly clogged and get a bit yucky and once cleaned you should notice a slight flow increase into the tank
it might be a good idea to take the canister and power head out and clean them too while its all apart. just take the whole unit to a sink and unclip the 4 clips that hold the power head onto the canister and remove the top. clean all inside the intake and outakes on the power head. then turn it over and remove the impellor and give that a good clean and the hole it sits in etc. remove the baskets from the canister and swish in tank water to remove any trapped debris thats on the media, give the sponges a good squeeze in tank water too. then empty the canister of water and give the inside a good clean.
when all clean put the baskets of media back into the canister and place the power head back on top of it. just be sure that the trays are straight and together properly, you will see if they are flush with each other through the canisters plastic sides. clip the power head into position being carefull not to strain the clips too much. they should just clip straight into position, if they dont the baskets might not be in properly so just take time to get this right otherwise the clips could break or if it does close shut but the baskets arent in correctly the filter wont run to its best and may be noisey.
take the canister full of media and power head attached back to the tank and re-install the spraybar and filter intake with the pipework down the back of the tank. then put the pipework back onto the power head making sure the right pipes go onto the right part (in and out). make sure the taps are open on both pipes and if its the advanced model push the big black button ontop of the power head to prime the filter and get the water flowing back in. if its not the advanced model remove the cap on the top to partly fill the canister with tank water to start it off, this can sometimes be a bit tricky and if it doesnt work on either models then remove the spray bar from the pipework and suck quite hard on the open pipe this will start the water flowing into the canister
once full leave the canister to stand for a few minutes. while doing this just double check that the pipework and all connections are all secure then turn the filter back on at the mains. it might be slightly noisey to start with as it may have some trapped air inside but this will sort iyself out after a few minutes, if not then slightly tilt the filter side to side and it will speed up the process. if it doesnt stop being noisey then again check all pipework and connections are tight as air might be getting into the filter from these.
as you have cleaned the filter out real well you will have disturbed the bacteria colonies so just check the water stats for the next few days and feed slightly less than normal just as a precaution.
it really doesnt take long to do and shouldnt need doing very often depending on stocking and feeding etc but i do mine every 3-4 months.
