Bleaching a contaminated tank

[millincolin]

My QT tank has been infected with something bad and i want to know what steps i should take to clean it. I was told to use bleach. but how? isnt bleah kinda dangerous.

[brewmaster15]

Hi colin,
1 cup bleach per 55 gal tank is what I use..Run that overnight... rinse well several times until all bleach is gone.. If you are concerned it may still be there...Sodium Thiosulfate will neutralize any residual(pool supply houses carry it) or even easier...pet shop de-chlor products.


Bleaching will destroy sponges, and nylon nets... and may affect other materials but for the time used it should be fine for most tank seams and filters..

hth,
al

[Organic Farmer]

i use chrorine shock rinse well and set in sun. if you missed any in the rinsing process it turns to a chalky white powder that is easily whipped away. should i change this process and switch to bleach? any thoughts would be helpful thanks tom

[brewmaster15]

I think the bleach is better . Its whats used in laboratories and many hospitols because of its effectiveness.Whats really nice about it is also the ease that it is neutralized with sodium thiosulfate.

HTH,
al

[gators111]

Wouldn't a good strong dose of potassium permanganate oxidize everything.

[Ryan]

Wouldn't a good strong dose of potassium permanganate oxidize everything.

People do use PP for things like this, but bleach is so readily available and works just as well... why not?

I zap my sponges in the microwave so that I don't have to bleach them. I pull the media out of the HOB filters and the sponges off the sponge filters and nuke them in the microwave, then I bleach the tank and scrub it down. A few good rinses and then adding a dechlor product usually does the trick.

Ryan