# Bleaching silicone tubing? Bad idea?



## Jack Reilly (11 Oct 2016)

These are my pipes...






After breaking a few lily pipes trying to get the tubing off (using hot water etc, nothing helped), I finally gave up and started slicing the end of the piping off with a razor each time I needed to clean the lily pipes. But pretty soon the tubing gets too short and I need new tubing. But even when I get the tubing off, I can't clean off this staining. I scrub it and soak it in hot water but it still looks like this.

Can I soak the lily pipes with the tubing still attached in the bleach solution I use to soak the lily pipes?

I'm worried it will soak up the bleach and then release it later into the aquarium. How does everyone else go about cleaning their tubing?


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## sciencefiction (11 Oct 2016)

I don't think bleach is a good idea in hoses unless you leave them to dry out pretty well. My python tubes never really dry out between water changes so it might take ages...
I am not a mad hose cleaner but everything comes off using the hose brush cleaning kits.  They come out like new. I am not sure why you can't clean the staining...Perhaps buy better brushes that are big enough to scrape the gunk well from inside. Just water doesn't work.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (11 Oct 2016)

Wow, you're having some issues there buddy! I take it you are using a pipe brush cleaner to clean the pipes? Makes me wonder why the staining is staying on the pipes after running the brush through. I use eheim pipes personally, not that it makes a difference and they come up as good as new with just running the brush through.   I know the pipes can be difficult to remove some times but dipping the ends in a bowl of boiling water usually softens them up enough to get them off quite easily.
Other than that I can't see any reason why you couldn't soak them in bleach as long as you give them a thorough rinse with water afterwards. Just seems to be a bit too much like hard work and splashing beach about too much is guaranteed to get it on something you don't want to eventually.


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## LondonDragon (11 Oct 2016)

I am considering metal pipes and grey tube for that reason


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## alto (11 Oct 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> I can't clean off this staining. I scrub it and soak it in hot water but it still looks like this.


I suspect it's the tubing - I've seen similar staining in non-"tygon" tubing .... I don't recall if it cleaned up in bleach etc (it was very cheap & I just tossed it when it got too stained)

The Eheim green tubing is actually quality stuff  ... & I really like the new "grey/brown" color that is shipping with the Pro 4's (hoping they sell it separate soon so I can switch out all my old green bits )


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## Jack Reilly (11 Oct 2016)

alto said:


> The Eheim green tubing is actually quality stuff  ... & I really like the new "grey/brown" color that is shipping with the Pro 4's (hoping they sell it separate soon so I can switch out all my old green bits )



Are you using glass lily pipes? The eheim tubes were good quality but even stiffer and more difficult to use with the glass lily pipes than the clear silicone ones.


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## Jack Reilly (11 Oct 2016)

AverageWhiteBloke said:


> Wow, you're having some issues there buddy! I take it you are using a pipe brush cleaner to clean the pipes? Makes me wonder why the staining is staying on the pipes after running the brush through


I'm using a pipe brush. Stuff does come off but the pipe is obviously stained rather than just dirty. I give it a really good scrub with the pipe brush but it never comes clear.


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## alto (11 Oct 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> Are you using glass lily pipes?


not glass-breaking-me


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## ian_m (12 Oct 2016)

I doubt the tubes are silicone, silicone, unless very thick wall will be too soft for filter tube applications as well as extortionately expensive.

Why just not replace it every time it gets too dirty, 16/12mm PVC costs b*gger all per m especially if you get a reel of say 30m. See if you tube fixings will support the thick wall versions of PVC tube, as they are less prone to kinking and twisting.

Personally I have 22mm JBL thick wall tube, which is grey and have not cleaned in the 4 years I have had the filter.


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## zozo (12 Oct 2016)

Also use clear soft tubes and are PVC too and and also my sump overflow syphons and filter outlet are made from clear hard PVC tube. And all grow algae in them over time... I use bleach to clean them out and kill off the algae also use bleach to clean the glass lily pipes..  

After done cleaning i rinse them off with hot water, attach them to the tap and run hot water through for a few minutes.. Never had any issues as long as you realy clean it all very good and rinse it very good.. 

Tell me, why would dipping plants in a bleach sollution be adviced to kill of algae etc. which so many people do. And then it be a no go for cleaning tubes??

Just be carefull with the stuff and make sure it is rinsed off througly and if you still not feeling comfortable with it, put it all in a bucket with clean water and add some dechlorinator to it and run the brush through again..


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## Giorgio Lamp. (12 Oct 2016)

Iron pipes best purchase ever! 







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## sciencefiction (12 Oct 2016)

The bleach will eventually neutralize in an established tank. But bleach doesn't wash off that easily. I've been handling bleach with bare hands here and there and my hands would stink of bleach till the next day after use no matter how many times I wash them... If you've happened to use diluted bleach on clothes, you would have noticed they need hours in the washing machine afterwards to get rid of the smell, sometimes two washes.

You can't just wash off the pipes and be good to go. If I do that, I'd be overdosing dechlorinator in that thank. But you can kill some filter bacteria when that bleach left over is pulled into the external.....although it seems unlikely it will be strong enough to do much damage but it can to the fish if that's a regular occurrence. Every bit of stress piles up...


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## tim (12 Oct 2016)

To remove the tubing easily, try gently pushing the tube further onto the Lilly pipe, this should break the seal so to speak and the pipe will come off easily, +1 for the jbl smoked grey tube Ian_m mentioned.


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## Jack Reilly (12 Oct 2016)

Giorgio Lamp. said:


> Iron pipes best purchase ever!
> 
> 
> 
> ...





When I next break my glass lily pipes I might get these. Who makes the best quality steel lily pipes? I'm a buy it nice not buy it twice guy.


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## Jack Reilly (12 Oct 2016)

tim said:


> To remove the tubing easily, try gently pushing the tube further onto the Lilly pipe, this should break the seal so to speak and the pipe will come off easily, +1 for the jbl smoked grey tube Ian_m mentioned.


I'm sure this works as quite a few people say it does, but it's how I broke my do aqua pipes. I sat it in really hot water for 5 minutes, then I pushed the tubing upwards to break the seal, but it took a lot of force to get it to move, and then when it did I slip a bit, hit the suction cup dongles and they snapped off creating a hole in the side of the pipe 

And yeah I think that jbl smoked grey tube with the steel lily pipes could be really nice.


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## Jack Reilly (12 Oct 2016)

sciencefiction said:


> The bleach will eventually neutralize in an established tank. But bleach doesn't wash off that easily. I've been handling bleach with bare hands here and there and my hands would stink of bleach till the next day after use no matter how many times I wash them... If you've happened to use diluted bleach on clothes, you would have noticed they need hours in the washing machine afterwards to get rid of the smell, sometimes two washes.
> 
> You can't just wash off the pipes and be good to go. If I do that, I'd be overdosing dechlorinator in that thank. But you can kill some filter bacteria when that bleach left over is pulled into the external.....although it seems unlikely it will be strong enough to do much damage but it can to the fish if that's a regular occurrence. Every bit of stress piles up...


This was my concern. If my clothes stink of bleach days after I've washed them, wont the pipes have the same problem. I feel like the glass would be a lot less porous so a soak in dechlorinator would sort them, but the tubing I'm not so sure....



zozo said:


> Tell me, why would dipping plants in a bleach sollution be adviced to kill of algae etc. which so many people do. And then it be a no go for cleaning tubes??



That is a good point though.


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## Jack Reilly (12 Oct 2016)

ian_m said:


> I doubt the tubes are silicone, silicone, unless very thick wall will be too soft for filter tube applications as well as extortionately expensive.
> 
> Why just not replace it every time it gets too dirty, 16/12mm PVC costs b*gger all per m especially if you get a reel of say 30m. See if you tube fixings will support the thick wall versions of PVC tube, as they are less prone to kinking and twisting.
> 
> Personally I have 22mm JBL thick wall tube, which is grey and have not cleaned in the 4 years I have had the filter.




Yeah I dunno why I thought they were silicone. Maybe that was my co2 tubing. 

These are the filter tubes I'm using. 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium...hash=item2a64841499:m:mgNAq4Hn1KZvq6POA-MVs9Q


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## Giorgio Lamp. (13 Oct 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> When I next break my glass lily pipes I might get these. Who makes the best quality steel lily pipes? I'm a buy it nice not buy it twice guy.



This are made in Italy from a brand called Gaia. 


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