Cleaning the Mung out of a python hose

[TwoTankAmin31]

I jave several of the clear python hoses I use. Over time they have accumukated a lot of dark "mung" inside them from one end to the other. My flexible hose brushed can only go a few feet into a hose and I only used them on shorter hoses. So I asked Google how to clean the hoses of that nasty looking dark stuff. The answer was:


To clean the dark buildup (typically black mold and algae) inside an aquarium Python hose, the most effective solution to circulate is either a diluted bleach solution or straight hydrogen peroxide.

Because Python hoses can be up to 50 or 100 feet long, circulating a solution using a small submersible water pump inside a bucket is the easiest way to break down the gunk without scrubbing.

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Option 1: The Bleach Solution (Fastest & Most Effective)

Bleach completely dissolves algae and mold quickly, but requires a thorough rinse and dechlorination afterward to protect your fish.

• The Mix: 1 part plain chlorine bleach to 10 parts warm water (do not use scented or splashless bleach).
• How to Circulate:
  1. Place a small submersible water pump at the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket.
  2. Fill the bucket with the bleach-water solution until the pump is fully covered.
  3. Connect one end of the Python hose to the pump output and drop the other end back into the bucket to form a continuous closed loop.
  4. Turn on the pump and let the solution loop through the hose for 30 to 60 minutes. The dark stains will visually disappear.

I am now doing this. I have had the solution going now for 25 minutes. I have a 5 gal bucket in my utility sink with the pump and other hose end in it .I will report back how well this worked or failed to do so.

 

[Back in the fold1]

Thank you for this ! Tis very good to know as my hoses look positively and decidedly unwholesome .

 

[TwoTankAmin31]

AFfer the hour I went out to the fish space and cheked. The bleach had removed a lot of the filth but has also left a lot behind. So I added about another cup of bleach and ran it for about another hour. It was still not even close to clean. I mostly used the pyton hoses for emtying not refilling. However, when the 150 gal. leaked and went bye bye, the 125 was close enough to a window to use a smaller pump and much shorter hose to empty it out of a window. I can also do that with my in-wall 75 gal.

My python hoes are in shorter lengths. One longer abnd then I have a 20 and a 10 foot extension. My drinking water refil hose gets use 2-3 days every week and I do not thnk there is much build up inside. The Python hoses sit unused for month. When I stow the drinking water hose in the 32 gal. can, I coil it in going over the top of the shower doors so it drains into the bathtub.

I pulled the Python hoses out today because I wanted a shorter hose to do some closer water changed in shallower tanks. I am dealing with poison Ivy on both hands and did not want to sea; them into the latex exam gloves but could use the longer sleeve dis washing ones I also have. I can work wearing them in the shallower tanks- a 15 a 20L an 3 x 33L. I could also do th 25 and both 29 gals as long as I dont have to work on the tank bottoms. Since the 25 a and 29s are all planted, I do not usually vacuum them. Norma routine is to pull the media, If the floas between the foans is nit really dirty, I skip media cleaning, Normally itis dark all through and I replace it and rinse the foams.. I also do a 50 60% wayer chage. But the long gloves can keep me dry.

I missed last weekend's maint. cycle and really need not to do so again.