Why Do My Filter Pipes Keep Blocking Up

[Akasha72]

Hi everyone. Okay, so I have 2 JBL's crystalprofi e901 external filters running on my 4ft tank. I really like these filters, they are easy to maintain, are nice and quiet, and very economical and in general they seem to be very good filters. I've recommended them to others several times but just lately I've started having problems with the flow dropping on them both.
One filter has a Hydor external heater attached to it and so that one tends to run a little bit slower all the time and I've been blaming the heater for slowing it down but the other filter has no excuse.
About 2 and a half months ago I got my torch down the back of the tank, shining onto the pipes, and I saw that the pipes were full of gunk. It had been a while (about 6 months) since I'd cleaned them so I set to work removing the pipes and cleaning them through with hot water and a brush. Once the pipes were free of debris they went back into the tank and the filters were set running again. The flow on them both was so powerful that I had to turn it down.
Come forward a month or so and the flow has gone again. I cleaned both filters but that didn't bring back the flow so I got my torch out again and again the pipes were full of gunk .... here we go again. I repeated the process again and had the same results.
 
Now here I am again looking at my slow filter flow and wondering if it's the pipes again. I'm doing some maintenance today so the filter without the heater is due a clean so if the flow doesn't pick up afterwards then I know the pipes are blocked again.
 
Why? I don't understand why all of a sudden my pipes are blocking up and why they're blocking up so fast. I'm really not up to cleaning pipes once a month ... it's a nightmare job.
 
As for other clues ... well I'm having issues with algae on the glass, I suspect my light tunes need replacing but one is fairly new and the other over a year old and as I can't remember which one is the new one and which one is the older one I'm reluctant to replace in case I replace the wrong one.
 
I'm also losing water all of a sudden. I've never had this issue before. It appears to be evaporation as all checks to tank and filters are clear and there doesn't appear to be a leak anywhere.
 
I have reduced my water changes to once a fortnight, purely because of my health problems, until I can afford to buy a python (I'm trying to save up but bills keep getting in the way!)
 
Nothing else has changed. I still feed the same as always, my water is still soft and acidic ... the only change recently has been the addition of red bush tea ... could that be a cause? It seems unlikely but maybe someone else who uses it can advise me.
 
I could use some other intelligent minds over this as I've tried to think of everything but I can't find the answer. Help please
 
Thanks in advance
 
Akasha
 

 

[betta fish]

I don't know Akasha sorry 

 I have tried to have a think, maybe it is the redbush tea? perhaps stop this for a bit and see if it makes a difference maybe it is change to two weekly cleanings do you turn your filters off during a water change? as for the evaporation issue are you keeping the lights on for longer than normal now it is getting darker? or heating the house more?
I have the jbl cristal profis on my tanks but the model below yours, I also have two on my tank and occasionally suffer from slow flow but a filter clean rather than a pipe dismantle soon puts it right.
I know what you mean about the pipe cleaning nightmare I have done it a couple of times it was much worse when the tank was in the conservatory as the light meant I had a build up of algae in the pipes as the tubes are clear but I haven't done it for ages since moving the tank to the front room, I can only imagine the red bush tea may be coating the pipes which in turn is trapping a lot more sludge than usual 

 

[Akasha72]

thanks bettafish. It's good to hear from another JBL filter owner as then I can compare things accurately.
 
I am going to do a water change today and I'm not adding the tea today. As you say, I want to try and work out if this is to blame for blocking up the pipes. I know when JBL pipes are new they are coated internally with something to stop them drying out in transit. When these filters were new I had problems with blocked pipes then and I contacted JBL via email for an explaination. That was when I learned about the coating but they said that this coating breaks down over a period of around 6 months and there should be no further issues with blocked pipes after that time! ... er, okay ...
 
The filter with the heater attached was new in 2011 and the other one was new last christmas as a replacement for the old e700 that was breaking down. I didn't fit the new pipes to it though, I re-used the 700's pipes as they were the same size so the pipes are not new. Can't be the coating then...
 
I'm trying to go through a process of elimination in my mind which was why I thought I'd ask here too.
 
As to the evaporation ... because I've always done water changes weekly until recently I think I've just not noticed how much water is lost. Over a period of 2 weeks the level drops by about 1cm ... I have no idea if this is normal. 
My lighting time is 2 hours in a morning and 6 hours on an evening. This is set on a timer and I've not changed that for the time this tank has been running which is over 2 years now. The tank does yet a lot of natural light. This I can't avoid as my living room window is 7ft wide and faces south. There's no where to put the tank where it can avoid natural light. 
 
I tend to leave the filters running when I water change unless I'm doing maintenance on them and I alternate the maintenance too so the filter with the heater attached was done two weeks ago but the flow didn't pick up (again, it could be the heater to blame?) today I'm doing the other filter but I'm not expecting much difference in flow.

 

[betta fish]

It may be the heater on that one then as I guess as anything which slows the flow in the pipes will cause a build up of sludge as the water is not running through quick enough to keep it moving? I have had a look at mine again and whilst there is some patches of brown sludge within the pipes they are not completely coated.
I don't turn mine off either during a routine water change but whenever I do whilst giving the filter a quick clean they always push out sludge into the tank afterwards not sure if this is from the filter itself or the pipes as the water is running quicker through them after the clean out.
I noticed more evaporation in my tank if the outlet is pointed at the surface rather than just below it, have you changed the position of the outlet at all?
It could be just the change in maintenance as you say making it more noticeable.
I  have big 7ft windows in my front room too lol but luckily the room faces west so we get most of the light late afternoon, we will be moving soon and our new house has a tiny front room window but a bigger back room window so the tank will be somewhere in the middle of the room, I am really dreading moving with a 200L tank though!

 

[Akasha72]

Well I've done my water change and filter clean now. The filter wasn't too bad but I did remove all the media and give it all a good dunk and squeeze. Normally I would just follow the filter instructions and just clean the pre-filter sponges and give the ceramics a swish but as things had really slowed down I decided to go a bit further this time to see if it helps. 
The flow is a bit faster than it was, and yes, like yours I get lots of gunk blown into the tank after I've cleaned the filter. I've learned now to lift the outlet out of the tank 'notch' where it normally sits (it's a Juwel Rio240) and hang it over the higher back piece with a net under it. That way the net catches the larger bits when it's re-started.
I also got my cleaning brush and cleaned inside the pipe inlets - you know ... the block head piece that lifts out. There's often a collection on gunk in both the holes that go into the filter head and the ends that lift out. I've checked the impeller and that's clean, as is the impeller housing so that's not to blame. 
 
I did think of something after I switched everything back on - the other filter (the one I didn't clean today) blew a couple of bits back into the tank when I switched it back on and one of the bits that was floating round looked suspiciously like a bit of flake food. I have been using up some flake food recently as I was getting down on my tetra prima granuals. I tipped the flake in with what was left of the granuals and I've been using both up before buying more (I'm from Yorkshire, waste not want not lol) I'm wondering if uneaten flake is getting into the pipes and that could be causing a build up? ... it's seems unlikely but I'm considering everything right now

 

[ShinySideUp]

All pipes build up sludge that can slow the flow after while. My pipes are opaque but I  still clean them every couple of months and all sorts of crap comes out. I don't find cleaning them much of a problem, I remove them from the filter after closing the valves, take them out of the water then open the valves into a bucket so the pipes are empty. I take them outside and remove the ends then using a suitably-sized bottle-brush attached to a garden cane I pull and push a few times then flush them out, then reassemble and replace in the tank, job done; takes about 15 minutes tops. My pipes are 3/4 inch in diameter.
 
In a previous tank I had transparent pipes and I could watch the slime building up over the weeks, especially as they were in the sun in the early morning.
 
I'm afraid it is probably just something you'll have to live with although perhaps there is a little over-feeding going on.
 
One other thing, why do you need two 900lph filters running in a four foot tank, do you do water-skiing in it?

 

[StevenF]

About 2 and a half months ago I got my torch down the back of the tank, shining onto the pipes, and I saw that the pipes were full of gunk.
 

 

All pipes build up sludge that can slow the flow after while. My pipes are opaque but I  still clean them every couple of months and all sorts of crap comes out. 
 

 
Clear or opaque pipes allow light to reach the inside which can encourage algae growth in the pipe.  Add to that the the Algae is protected from shrimp snails and other algae eater by the pipe and filters.  Try a solid black pipe.  this will block all light and make it impossible for algae to grow.  A thine bio film will still be present but I don't think it will get thick enough to cause problems in black piping.
 
I had that problem in my small tank and replaced the opaque line with black lines about a month ago.  It appears to have solved the problem.

 

[Akasha72]

hehe you made me laugh Mr Shiny ... I run two because I found I had a greasy film appearing in the opposite corner on my old Rio180. The 240 being even bigger the problem was only going to be worse. 
 
I agree that I do have a habit of over feeding slightly ... this is mostly down to my concern that my angels and SAE's are so greedy and I worry the slower to feed fish go hungry. My melini cories won't come out to feed at all and I just have to hope they get to eat something that falls down the back and into the plants. I will cut back though. 
 
As to cleaning the pipes. I have a good method. I remove the pipes from the tank and the bulk head that fits into the filter (it's difficult to describe but anyone who's seen a JBL filter will understand) I carry the whole thing into the kitchen (I'm in a first floor flat so no garden for me) I disconnect the pipes from the hard plastic bits that go in the tank and from the bulk head and let the water drain into a bucket. I have a small marina cleanign brush that fits into the pipe perfectly and it has an eyelet on the end so I've tied a length on blind cording to it and a plant weight to the other end. I push a funnel into the end of the pipe, get the other end over a bucket, then drop the plant weight into the funnel opening. Then I coil the cord in the funnel and have a jug of hot water ready. I run a little water into the funnel and the weight pulls the cord through. Once the weight has come out of the end of the pipe I just pull the brush through. I normally run it through each pipe twice.
 
I still find it all hard work. What people don't realise is I struggle to twist due to my already twisted pelvis. I also have arthritis in my hands so tightening the screws on the bulk head and the hard plastic pipes so there's no leaks isn't so easy. The last time I cleaned them I roped my Dad in to help me, it was easier with help. Dad is tall and can twist too so I got him to reach into the tank. I'm only 4ft 10in .... the tank is up to my chin!! I need ladders to clean the glass and prune plants!

you posted as I was typing Steven. My pipes are opaque but either side of the tank are my book cases and so there's no chance that this is due to light. What comes out of the pipes is brown sludge

 

[StevenF]

you posted as I was typing Steven. My pipes are opaque but either side of the tank are my book cases and so there's no chance that this is due to light.
 

You might be right, after all I cannot examine it.  However I did have opaque pipes and it only took a couple of weeks for Algae to cut the flow in half.

 

[Far_King]

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned, are there any kinks in the pipes that may be causing a bottleneck?  

 

[Akasha72]

Hi Far_king ... no, no kinks. I shortened the pipes back in the summer due to kinks being a issue. 

 

[ShinySideUp]

Have to picky Steven, amongst other definitions, opaque means not transmitting light. Transparent -- can see through, translucent -- letting light in, opaque -- lightproof. When I was younger I used to read a dictionary on the toilet!

 

[Akasha72]

 

 

[NickAu]

Hey Akasha72 Long time how you doing?
 
As this is a family site I wont go anywhere near " cleaning out the pipes " jokes lol

 

[gmc1]

I never clean my pipes.never had too.black fluval 406.I would need to drop water line below intake strainer inside tank to be able to clean intake hose.