My only piece of nasty equipment is my siphon hose. I thought running tap water through it after each use would help keep it clean but nope it still developed a gross algae (or something) on the inside of the tube. Vinegar didn't work. I had to use a diluted bleach solution and even then I didn't get all of it. That thing is brutal to clean and it didn't stay clean for long. It's not even kept in a sunny spot so I'm not sure why it keeps getting this buildup. If anyone has a method to keep this tool clean (besides a vinegar or bleach bath) I would appreciate hearing it. (Or do people not bother... Haha)
It's just biofilm.
Not neccesarily Algae, could be but rare.
By the way if you guys are REALLY super concerned about increasing longevity of your siphon hoses or wanting to actually clean them it would require similar protocol to Hospital Endoscopy Units.
I don't know if vinegar after every use would work. Partly the big situation is that you have teeming amounts of bacteria running through that line. I don't know if small vinegar flush would kill it all. You'd have to take way more drastic measures, with a cleaning brush/pipe thats long enough to also scrub down the entire tube.
additionally after cleaning and then rinsing with RODI or Freshwater for who knows how long to make sure no chemicals left, you still would then
HAVE TO DRY THE HOSE ENTIRELY. Meaning you will have to run forced air through the hose channel until it is 100% completely dry. probably more important than even flushing with vinegar, as without moisture/water, nothing can grow. (if you actually wanted to do this, possibly a vacuum with the attachment connected to the exhaust(like with a wet vac) or
This Air Canister might work....
Which is basically just too much work....... so i don't think there's a way to ever get around that.
Basically without it being 100% dry, you're leaving a perfect environment inside that tube for Bacteria to have an EXPLOSION of a bloom inside. Over the next 72 hours while it's tucked away in a corner, the bacteria colonies are going from a couple hundred to a few billion.
Then you get a bio film which just takes an insane amount of work to get rid of without harsh chemicals.
So ultimately, just replace your tubing, it's about $.50 a foot lol. I dont mean after every siphon either, just every now and then when it looks like... you know... you probably should... lol.
You don't know WHAT bacteria colony took hold inside. If that gets in your tank could be a problem, Probably the fact that 90% of the time the water is going OUT of the tank from that tube and not in, we're saved from more problems lol, human germs floating in the open air once your tube is no longer inside the tank could easily get inside introducing foreign bacteria particles such as C.Diff etc into your tank. Super easy to happen believe it or not, if you don't believe study up a bit more on endoscopy. Wet tubes are a thriving environment for them, It's like a perfect home for cultivation.
Also a reason to not use your mouth to start your siphoning.
This would not apply to any line in your tank constantly wet or constantly in the water, it's not the same concept. it's a tube that's left with small bits of water in it.
And lastly I've never changed my siphon tube, but it just looks like a tube with water spots, I don't have insane crusts or anything or weird films (YET)
And lastly, yeah, now you also know the similar procedure hospitals go through after they scope you each time to make sure the next patient isn't getting a scope with biofilm
. Also why you shouldn't get scoped at lazy/dirty hospitals.
