Cleaning out the tubes on a Canister filter ?

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

HELP !

I have a Magnum 350 canister filter,  I was wondering if anyone had a good way to clean out the tubes?  My tubes are roughly 3" long and when I clean out the filter I have not figured out a way to effectively clean out the tubes. 

Someone suggested that I just go out and buy new tube every 6 months or so and throw out the gunked up tubes but I'm not to keen on throwing out perfectly good tubes for news that often ?

I have tried tying a small fishing sinker to some heavy nylon string but it always get caught up half way threw the tubes...

I have also tried pushing some small pieces of foam threw the tubes with an un-bent coat hanger, but that doesn't seem to work all that well either.

Help !  Someone must have the definitive way of cleaning out canister filter tubes....

[four_by_ken]

My question.... why are your tubes getting clogged up? 
I never have to touch mine.

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

Seriously - do your fish poop ? 

My tubes look like the tanks at Cichlid World...They have long flowing (pardon the pun) "crap" swaying inside each tube....

[four_by_ken]

Nope, not kidding.   Never mess with any of the canister filter tubes.

Maybe strainers, but that is it.

[Regalblue]

Dario has a thread about what worked for him somewhere on here. Try searching around.

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

Just tried and found nothing...Searched Dario, canister filter tubes, cleaning tubes, filter intakes....

[Marty]

Go to a hardware store and ask for a pipe cleaner for whatever diameter the tubes are.  These are flexible  metal or plastic "wire" that has bristles on one end that you feed through your tubes to clean the gunk out.

[LoveTheFishies]

You can also find brushes at meijers or walmart where the cleaning brushes are.  You should be able to find something there that would work.

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

I have seen those pipe cleaners and they are usually only 1 foot long,  the tubes are 3 feet long.. What am I missing about cleaning the middle of the tubes ?

[LoveTheFishies]

Hagen marina makes a brush kit, has a 18", you could go from both ends.  On amazon.

[Regalblue]

Damn it Koch...  it took me 30sec to find it.

http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=1995.0

[Kaia]

I have used the brushes and tied string to it and used another brush to shove it way in then the string to pull it out. This method and doing it from both ends I was able to get the middle.

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

Damn it Koch...  it took me 30sec to find it.

http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=1995.0

Seriously "HOSE"....  I must have forgot to take my clairvoyant pill yesterday ! 

Thanks everyone for the assist....

[danielratti]

You know what else works pretty good... A gun cleaning kit. I use one all the time to clean hoses when i need to. I don't use canister filters those are nasty...

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

Damn it Koch...  it took me 30sec to find it.

http://michigancichlid.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=1995.0

Just finished cleaning out the Magnum 350,  Dario's suggestion worked perfectly,  before pulling the fishing threw the "hose" I twisted it around a toothbrush for more leverage and Wha la - I now have very clean hoses....

Thanks Blair for finding that, much appreciated !