What do when filter tubes become clogged

[Washingtonpost77]

Hello. I have a small canister filter whose filter quickly becomes cloged. I can buy the same size tubes at Home Depot but do not want to keep buying tubes when the old ones become cloged. I just wanted to know if it is okay to continue
To use the old dirty tubes or to buy new ones when when the tunes become cloged. Thanks.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

You can't just clean the clogged tubes out?

 

[Washingtonpost77]

I have tried to clean the tubes but I can't get then waste material from the tubes. I have tried rinsing the tubes in the water but the waste material does not flow of the tubes. I have also used a pencil to remove the waste but it is not long enough. I am going to try with a longer thin object like chopsticks to see if I can tell move the waste.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hello. I have a small canister filter whose filter quickly becomes cloged. I can buy the same size tubes at Home Depot but do not want to keep buying tubes when the old ones become cloged. I just wanted to know if it is okay to continue
To use the old dirty tubes or to buy new ones when when the tunes become cloged. Thanks.

You can usually find brushes attached to twisted wire handles that fit inside the tubes. You just clean the tube out with the brush at the same time as you replace the filter pads.

 

[MattKeith]

I use a piece of stiff wire with a strip of dish washing sponge attached to the end to clean my hoses

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It sounds like you may need a larger filter.

 

[swatsx]

Soak it over night in bleach water and make sure double sure 110% you clean the living heck out of them when done how thick around are the tubes? What size tank? What's the stock? I've had fish tanks from 2.5 gallon to 220 canister filters are one of the best type but they shouldn't clog up if you have good flow through them how long has the tank been up and running ?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I agree with ZP, tubes are too small.

 

[swatsx]

Is it the tubes coming from the tank to the canister or from the canister to the tank?

Increasing tube size can be a pain and depending what tube is increased inlet or outlet you can mess up the motor on the filter the top of the filter is one size you can increase your tubes 100 fold but it will still go down to that one size at the top so you will just get clogs there. You most likely have a new system that's going through the cycle or you are over feeding or over stocked either one is a bacteria bloom don't scrape it out you'll just make millions of little areas for more bacteria to grow

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Increasing the tube size will result in less volume and less vacuum on the intake side. And it's true that if you still use the factory fittings, it will still get choked down at that point.
What type of filter are you using and what debris exactly is getting stuck in there?
I have more than a few fish tanks and I've never encountered an issue like that. Eventually the filter media will get clogged but never the tubes.
It still sounds like your filter is working too hard and you need to replace it.
Or install a pre-filter sponge. This is a sponge filter that slips over your intake and keeps heavy debris out of the filter and the tubes. This sponge you can simply remove as needed and wash out and replace. It also allows your media to last much longer.

 

[swatsx]

I want to see the setup, stock, substrate, could be as simple as a small kink and sand being sucked up