A clean aquarium siphon is essential for a squeaky clean water change. After many uses, you may have found that your siphon has accumulated debris inside of the tube. A moist debris-filled siphon is a perfect place for harmful mold and bacteria growth. This is especially problematic if you use the same siphon to fill your tank up again. There aren't many aquarium siphon cleaners out there, and even fewer ones that work. The functional cleaners are often to short for your siphon, and very pricy. I've come up with a cheap and easy DIY alternative to the store-bought problematic cleaners.​
Supplies Needed
1. 1-2 metal/wire cloths hangers (rubber lining ok)
2. A skein or a ball of yarn
3. Your aquarium siphon
4. White vinegar (I buy in a gallon for savings)
5. Water
6. A sharp scissor
Step 1
Pop off the top of your siphon by turning it back and forth and pulling.
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Step 2
Cut a large enough piece of yarn with the scissors to run the length of your siphon plus 4-6 inches.
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Step 3
With a pliers or by hand straighten out the hanger twisting over one end like shown in the picture and leave the other end swirled like a corkscrew. The hanger doesn't
have to be perfectly straight. The completed bend is shown in the picture below and is certainly not perfect.
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Step 4
Loop the yarn you cut just bellow the corkscrew end of the hanger. Pull the loop down onto the corkscrew end and tighten. Knot it about 3-4 times.
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Step 5
Now that it's been knotted twist the yarn around 5-8 times.
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Step 6
Feed the yarned corkscrew end into the siphon until halfway though the siphon or more. If it doesn't reach half way go through the same straightening process with the seccond hanger and connect looped ends. If the yarn isn't long enough tie on another piece of yarn. Start pulling the hanger back through and the yarn should bunch up wiping the debris off of the inner siphon. Repete process 2-4 times on each side of the siphon.
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Step 7
Once the inside of the siphon has been wiped you will want to rinse the siphon. I use white vinegar, and then rinse thoroughly with water.
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