How do you clean a siphon?

Question

im cleaning my fish tank and i need to clear out the siphon i use. i tried running water through it and blasting it with a hose but it still has gunk in it. any advice?

Answer 1

soak in it hot water OR bleach (don't do hot bleach!!!) for a few hours/overnight

for the future, run some water through it while it's still wet, so that any material inside it doesn't dry and cake onto the tube

Answer 2

I found a bottle brush that fits my siphon hose but they make bottle brushes in many different sizes and lengths so you will have to look around to find one that will fit yours.  Some pet shops sell bottle brushes just for this purpose.  If your siphon hose is over 3 feet long, you still may not get the middle part perfectly clean so you could use the bleach method.  Hot tap water will activate the bleach and make it work faster so you don't need to soak it overnight.  Be sure to rinse thoroughly in clean water and in the final rinse, add some water conditioner to neutralize any remaining bleach.  Bleach is pure chlorine so chlorine neutralizer in water conditioner should do the job.  

Answer 3

you can always try a piece of clothe on the end of a sturdy pole thats thin enough to fit in the hose.

Answer 4

Soak it in 10% bleach water for at least 24 hours and then rinse and air dry.