hydrogen sulphide in filter! :(

my cannister filter has not been working for a good 3 weeks while i was on holiday, due to an electical problem (nothing to do with the filter) and as i took it to clean i could smell hydrogen sulphide and noticed the black patches in my filter floss, iv managed to clean the baskets and got new media but how can i clean the pipes and tubes properly as i cant take them apart? is there any kind of cleaning agent i can use to ensure its clean and safe?
any help will be greatly appreciated

 

make sure you open the windows to air out the smell.....it can be poisonous to you! I had the same thing with my chiller a couple years ago and I threw up all over the place, but i heard it can be toxic.

get a large bucket of vinegar water and another large empty bucket.......then put the pump that takes in to the vinegar water and the output into the empty bucket. I would run that a couple times and then do one of just water. that is all you have to do! good luck

 

hey thanks i will try this, how much vinegar should i add to the water? just a small amount?

 

I do a pretty large amount of vinegar....for five gallon water I added about 1/3 of gallon of vinegar!

 

great, thanks so much for the advise, will try this as soon as i get home
x

 

Bleach. The filter went septic and bleach will clean it out.
Fill a 5G bucket with water, add a cup or two of bleach and circulate it for awhile. Rinse well with fresh water and you are in business.