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safe to bleach and re-use?

1K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  jmhart 
#1 ·
I have a 50G starfire rimless that had GW so bad I finally had to just tear it down (I fought it for 6 months at least).

Now I would like to set it back up in a room where no sunlight hits the tank (Im sure that was the problem)

What I'm wondering is if it's safe to bleach the substrate before I re-use it. Its a mix of aqua soil, EcoComplete, and Power sand.

I was thinking rinsing thoroughly in small batches in a bucket and maybe soaking in a light bleach mix as well.

I just want to make sure that any spores of any algae are dead and gone before rebuilding the tank.

(the GW was so bad it would go brown!)
 
#4 ·
If the weather is OK, soak in bleach, then rinse in double dechlor, then spread it out and air dry. Any remaining chlorine will become a gas and leave.

You could follow up this with mineralizing (or at least pre-loading) the substrate so it is very fertile when you reuse it. This can minimize the water column dosing that may have played a part in the green water problem.
 
#5 ·
Some suggestions for such a large tank (pretty much what has been state above). I would try other options before giving up so quickly, this is more so a learning experience than a road to perfection.

How old was your tank?
Light setup(distance, length, bulb type)?
Water alkanity and hardness?

1) UV sterilizer (18W?)
2) Soak & Rinse substrate.
3) Inject ferts into substrate instead of water column.
4) Circular or some sort of consistent pwrhead circulation and aeration(maintaining redox is critically dependent on your tank's alkanity/hardness)
5) Depending on your tank setup, did you try a riparium setup or floaters to absorb light/nitrates.
 
#6 ·
Safe to Bleach

I have used bleach to clean items on many occassions. Do know that you must use a high diluted mixture and you must go through serious rinsing. I let my items soak in plain water after the bleaching process and change the water at least three times with a dechlorinator added to the water.

I've used this process to clean items in the reef tank as well with no problems
 
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