Crud in hoses

[Sharmee]

I have a problem with crud in my return hoses. Every time I do a water change (bi-weekly) on my 120g reef tank, as soon as I turn on the powerheads tons of white particles fly back into the tank. I use the blue prefilter along with a pura pad in the wet/dry and have a Coralife skimmer and uv filter, so they help capture it on the return, but the initial coming from something in the hoses when powerheads are turned on really messes up the tank. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it from the hoses - for good?
Thanks for any help!

 

[papagimp]

I had the same thing going on with my return. It stopped after a few month, presumably from the crap in the hose hardening up enough to not come loose.

 

[kass03]

Do you ever take the power heads out and clean them?
They can collect gunk in the screen and need to be cleaned as well. That might be your problem.

kass

 

[Sharmee]

Thanks for the responses. I did clean the powerheads today, but it still came out. I thought it could be stuff collecting in the hoses because there is no other source. Guess I will be patient and just look away each time I turn the pumps back on until it hardens and quits! Thanks everyone.

 

[carman9941]

AFTER 4 YEARS MINE STILL DOES THE SAME THING

 

[Sharmee]

Four years! Is it bad enough it trashes the tank for at least a day? I have crud floating around for almost 24 hours before the overflow chambers capture it all. I can even see it coming out of the hoses sometimes.

 

[jdieck]

Seems to me you are getting some carbonate precipitation in the pump due to pump heat that accumulates in the hose somehow. What is your usual level of PH, Calcium and Alkalinity?

 

[Sharmee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8174036#post8174036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Seems to me you are getting some carbonate precipitation in the pump due to pump heat that accumulates in the hose somehow. What is your usual level of PH, Calcium and Alkalinity?

 

[ek9vboi]

Its funnt because my tank does the same. Subscribed.

If he doesn't answer my pH is 8.1 - 8.25, alk is 4 mel/q, and calcium is at 420ppm.

 

[Sharmee]

What is carbonate precipitation? All levels are o.k. and I have an Artica Chiller DB 150 that works great. All fish and corals are thriving and growing. How do I get rid of this stuff - I can see it coming out of the hoses even days after the water changes.

 

[carman9941]

no I didnt mean for years straight, only when I shut the pumps off, I thought you knew what it was calcium, I thought you wanted to know how to stop it. only thing I can say is to replace the old hose with new

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8174179#post8174179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ek9vboi
Its funnt because my tank does the same. Subscribed.

If he doesn't answer my pH is 8.1 - 8.25, alk is 4 mel/q, and calcium is at 420ppm.

You are running at the top of the recommended range for Alalinity try running at 3 meq/lt for a month or so that will reduce the likelyhood of precipitation in the pump impeller.

 

[Sharmee]

Can someone explain to me what the precipitation in the pump is all about? I do not know what to look for to determine that is the problem.
Thanks!

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8174195#post8174195 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sharmee
What is carbonate precipitation? All levels are o.k. and I have an Artica Chiller DB 150 that works great. All fish and corals are thriving and growing. How do I get rid of this stuff - I can see it coming out of the hoses even days after the water changes.

When Calcium and Alkalinity combine to form calcium carbonate, that is precipitation. Corals "precipitate" calcium carbonate in their skelletons to grow (bio-precipitation) Calcium and Alkalinity can combine "abiotically" by the effect of supersaturation (Alkalinity and Calcium high on a high PH environment). The most familiar abiotic precipitation is when Kalkwasser is added too fast on in large quantities forming the so called "snow effect" which are particles of Calcium Carbonate being precipitated out of solution.
THis abiotic precipitation is promoted by heat, Regardless of the water temperature there are areas of localized heat in the tank like on the surface of heater or in pump impellers.
As the pump impeller heats by the effect of power disippation in the pump (via the metal shaft or the rotor/stator heated by the coils), a thin film of Calcium Carbonate tends to form on the surfaces of the impeller.
As this accumulates it eventually flakes out and gets chopped and expelled by the pump in the form of snow flakes or powder. (specially when yanked off by the pump stop/start)
The degree and rate of this precipitate formation is dependent on the Alkalinity, Calium, PH and surface Temperature levels. It can form is as short as a couple of days or never form.
Try keeping a lower alkalinity and Calcium specially if your tank PH is medium to high (8.3 to 8.4)
For tanks that run a PH between 8.2 to 8.4 I would recommend an alkalinity of 2.5 to 3 meq/lt and Calcium of 400 ppm
between 8.1 and 8.3 I would recommend Alkalinity of 3 to 3.5 and Calcium of 420 ppm and for tanks running 8.0 to 8.1 I would recommend Alkalinity of 3.5 to 4 meq/lt and Calcium of 430 ppm.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8174545#post8174545 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sharmee
Can someone explain to me what the precipitation in the pump is all about? I do not know what to look for to determine that is the problem.
Thanks!

If you open your pump and see a white film on the surface of the impeller, that is carbonate precipitation; much like the scale you get on house water supply pipes with hard water or the scales building up inside your home water heater or the white spots left on your dishes out of the dishwasher when the tap water has high mineral content or in the inside heating element of your coffe maker or steam clothes iron.

 

[Sharmee]

Thank you for that excellent information. This is all very new to me and takes a while to understand. My PH is 8.1, Alkalinity is 4 meq/lt and calcium I have never tested. I do add one teaspoon of buffered calcium every other week. I was never told to test calcium - any suggestions of which test works well to measure calcium levels?

 

[Sharmee]

I opened both pumps and checked the impellers - nothing there. However, when the pumps went back on, wham, all that crud came out again. What should the return hoses look like anyway - mine are caked with stuff that I think may be the culprit.

 

[PatMayo]

Salifert makes a real accurate test kit. Whomever told you not to test calcium was wrong. Of course if you don't have any corals in the tank then you really don't have to worry too much about calcium, especially in a new tank. If you do have corals then it would be much more important.

Regards,

Pat

 

[Sharmee]

Thanks Pat. I will get that test and yes, I have about 15 corals in my tank and had no idea about testing calcium. What is a safe level for a 120 reef?

 

[ek9vboi]

Salifert is easy to use and very accurate.

Great explaintion jdieck! If it isn't on the impeller then it builds up on the hose. I have hard plumbing so I can't really see it. I have also tried to flush my hoses once a while. I see the same thing, so I guess I will be living with it.