# Mulm in Vinyl Hose



## rjordan393 (Nov 23, 2012)

Every four weeks, mulm accumulates on the intake and discharge hoses and slowing down the water flow. It takes me 45 minutes to disconnect, clean and reconnect 5 hoses. There's got to be a way to slow down the accumulation. I just switch over to a magnum 350 canister using the micron cartridge in the hope it will slow down this Mulm from attaching. Hopefully I won't need to clean these hoses as often. Is there something else I can try?


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Mulm accumulation in tubing is inevitable, even if it's a pain. Some companies make flexible wire brushes designed to clean tubing. You could try looking something like that up. Putting a sponge on the intake will also help reduce buildup in the tubing.

How far are you from Knoebel's?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I have had this problem with my Ehiem 2217. The accumulation always happens in the intake siphon tube that runs from the tank to the bottom of the filter. But it only happens when I have a sponge on the intake in the tank.

This is counter-intuitive. I think what happens is that as the sponge begins to clog, it slows water movement though the intake tubing. Slow water movement allows fine sediment passed by the sponge to build up in the tubing. If I leave the sponge off, the flow does not slow down and no sediment collects in the tubing. But when I clean the filter I have to rescue shrimp and baby bristlenose plecos that have been living in the bottom.


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## rjordan393 (Nov 23, 2012)

I have a trumpet cleaning brush purchased from a musical instrument store. Who is Knoebel's?
Never heard of them in my area.
I already added sponge filters on the intakes. Thanks.

Mike, I had two canister filters running. One with a sponge on the intake and one without. The amount of mulm appears to be the same on the suction intakes and discharges. Yesterday, I placed a sponge on the other suction intake, in the tank.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Knoebel's is an amusement park in Elysburg. When I tell folks I live near that town the first thing they say is "Oh, that's where Koebel's is, right?" so I figured you may know it too.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

rjordan393 said:


> Every four weeks, mulm accumulates on the intake and discharge hoses and slowing down the water flow. It takes me 45 minutes to disconnect, clean and reconnect 5 hoses. There's got to be a way to slow down the accumulation. I just switch over to a magnum 350 canister using the micron cartridge in the hope it will slow down this Mulm from attaching. Hopefully I won't need to clean these hoses as often. Is there something else I can try?


Hi rjordan393,

I used to have that problem, especially with buildup of Diatoms. Now I use this whenever I clean the canister and don't have any problems. Best part is I can drain the hose and clean in place. The brush is four feet long (4') and flexible enough for vinyl tubing; the plastic bristle head is 4", my tubing is 5/8". Typically 2 or 3 passes through the tubing does the job.

4' long brush









4" long bristle head


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

LOL, I've gotten used to it to the point that I just think of my hoses as brown vs green or clear.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23699

These get good reviews and you don't have to disconnect anything.


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## rjordan393 (Nov 23, 2012)

Thanks all,
But for the time being, I'll stick with the trumpet brush. I like to see a video on how this cleaning can be accomplished without making a mess on the floor.


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## DanielG (Feb 5, 2013)

rjordan393 said:


> Thanks all,
> But for the time being, I'll stick with the trumpet brush. I like to see a video on how this cleaning can be accomplished without making a mess on the floor.


First off, I want to state that I have the exact same issue with my hosing, both intake and outflow. Every four weeks or so I have to replace the tubing. I had heard from another source that the mulm buildup can be a direct result of the transparency in the tubing (how much light is let in).

That same source though also stated that the mulm buildup wasn't a bad thing. Well, to test that, I decided to let the hosing go a bit longer than the four weeks, and to my not-so-surprise I found that Hair Algae began to grow.

After removing the tubing and doing some other standard cleaning that is typically done every week, I found that the hair algae has stopped growing, and is now even disappearing. Keeping in mind too that I keep my nitrates at 10ppm+ if not more via dry ferts.

So, I've ordered 20' of BLACK vinyl hosing and will test the transparency theory even further.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

The black doea help, but you still have to clean it. I use one of tbe field gun cleaning kits. Its a weight on the end of a heavy cord and you attach a felt patch to it that is cone shaped, worka great and its quick and cheap.

Sent from my SGH-T599N using Tapatalk


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## rjordan393 (Nov 23, 2012)

I am sure black hose will not keep mulm from attaching to the hose. Anyone who uses pvc pipe will tell you that it too, does the same. Run a cleaning brush inside tubing that's part of a filter pump or canister and you will find mulm in there too.


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## Darkcobra (Nov 23, 2009)

An alternate method of cleaning:

1) Remove filter media.
2) Put intake/outflow in a bucket of water, with a cup each of 3% hydrogen peroxide and vinegar.
3) Run the filter for an hour.
4) Flush the system and replace media.

Not quite as effective as using a brush, but useful when the system is a pain to fully disassemble and clean.

And bleach works better, but then you'd have to be very careful with flushing and dechlorinating. A bit of H2O2 and vinegar getting into a tank won't hurt anything, bleach will.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I have big DIY clear outflows and clear hoses. I noticed that the brown stuff that lines the hoses tends to increase/decrease in relation to the water cleanliness. I do not think it is possible to have the hoses clean at all times but clean water (no visible floating anything) does make a difference.

As I understand in the ADA gallery the hose cleaning is a weekly thing.


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