Cleaning PVC pipes? Necessary? How?

[rskillz]

My setup has an external pump and I have quite a bit of PVC connecting it all. I remember my saltwater mentor saying I needed to take it all apart once a year and really clean the piping. Well, after only 8 months the interior of the pipes look brown and nasty.

Should I take the durso out, the PVC and give it a good cleaning? And if so, should I soak it in hot water/vinegar? Any other ideas?

 

[schwaggs]

I never heard of cleaning PVC pipes once a year. My system has been running for 5+ years and I never once cleaned the plumbing. I'm not even sure how exactly you go about this...

Not needed IMO...

 

[mvm]

Agreed. In 10 years of reef keeping, I've never cleaned my intake or returns.....

 

[chris_w]

Unless you have something in your system that you don't want (parasites etc) then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[jef4y]

I bought a small brush on a flexible snake type thingy and can run that through my plumbing.

I used it quite often on my clear tubing which was exposed to light and grew algae like mad, but on light-free tubing it doesn't grow enough to warrant the hassle IMHO.

BTW, rather than replacing all my clear tubing, I wrapped it in tinfoil. LOL... It looks like I'm warding off aliens.

 

[acroholic]

I use black tubing.

 

[jef4y]

Acroholic;601532 wrote: I use black tubing.

If I ever replumb I'm going with this and/or much more solid PVC.. While I like the benefits of flex tubing, I will never use clear tubing again.