[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I built two of the overflows from the sticky, hooked them together, and then ran the drain through my wall to the garage. I never stopped to think about how to clean them? I feel very stupid as they are all pvc cemented into place, so I can't take it apart without destroying it. the pipe running to the garage is not so bad, as I can cut it and place a screw on coupler on it, so I can easily attach and detach it from the overflow. Have I screwed myself?[/FONT]
How to clean overflow
- Thread starter nfored
- Start date
I am sure you will be fine, keep an eye on the flow if it slows too much then tear it out and do it right then.
well if u ever really do feel like cleaning it take it the local fire stsation and hae em pump water in it wtht there pumps or buy a swwett pump
I doubt you will ever need to clean your piping unless its clear (-> algae growth). However if your flow rates do slow noticably then make up or buy a flexible pipe cleaning brush the same diameter as your pipe. ie think of a minature toilet brush on thick nylon fishing line. Just buy a bunch of fishing sinkers and thread these onto the line so you can PUSH the brush down through the pipe and around all the corners. If your pipe is long and wide, you might be able to use small lengths of narrow diameter PVC pipe instead of sinkers but you get the general idea.
Alternatively you can temporarily remove fish and bio-media and flush the system with bleach. This is much less painful than it sounds but be careful of new tank syndrome.
Alternatively you can temporarily remove fish and bio-media and flush the system with bleach. This is much less painful than it sounds but be careful of new tank syndrome.
fishdance;1737174; said:
i have done this
i ran my pipeing under my home to my garage both overflow and return i use
4#test sipderwire and a little cork and a scrubbie one end to the tiny cork let the water pull it through then the scrubbie and pull. the reurn is where i have the problem with dead algi when i do water changes i tune the pump off then back on and it will blow dead algi back in the tank so i added a oceanclear filter undr the tank cabnet and that stoped the problem
but i found i dont have a problem with the over flow and the 2 times i did clean it it realy wasnt worth the effort for what was gotten out of the line
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You must be lucky with your cork sizes. Were you using real cork like from a wine bottle? Any attemp to float something down didnt work for me. I was using the lightest yet flexible wire I could find. Small polystyrene floats would just hang on the first corner and using larger would create blockage and overflow my tank. I never tried real cork though.
or just do it the easy way and float a string through the overflow then tie it to some fishingline with a potscrubber or two on the end...