# Cleaning fish tank supplies with bleach?



## DrMiller357

Not sure if this goes here but anyways. Just wondering how you all clean your equipment with bleach. Ratios, tanks, nets, water changers, plants, that sort of thing. I can find some stuff online but its all different, it would be nice to have some good information all in the same place from people who have done it.


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## Redhead305

i personally do but i do it before i have the tank setup i.e new tanks


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## emc7

A 20% bleach (unscented, normal clorox, less if its the "ultra" which is more concentrated) in water solution is good for soaking overnight anything you fear may carry disease. I've used it on tanks, filters, decor, even gravel. Plastic stuff can fade or become brittle, so you may want to test a small piece. Getting it out of gravel is the hardest, replacing it can be easier. But bucket of gravel in bleach-water left alone because bleachless eventually. 

Bleach is good because it is easy to detect (smell, pH), it can be rinsed away, evaporate away, or be attached chemically with dechlor. 

I also use strong acid such as Lime-a-way or CLR to get rid of lime scale and kill algae. Again you detect by smell and pH test. It will rinse clean and you can neutralize with a mild base like baking soda. Some pet company started selling little packets of dry phosphoric acid to add to water to clean fish stuff. Same idea with less fear of additives. Again it can make you plastic plants brittle or.lose color.

Obviously, you don't do both at once. 

Live plants are different. There is a ratio and a time limit for bleach dips, but I don't have it.


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## DrMiller357

Exactly what i was lookin for thx emc7. By 20% you mean, for example, 1 cup of bleach for every 4 cups of water right?

I just did a 1 part bleach to 20 parts water for an overnight soak, was afraid i put in too much bleach too lol


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## TheOldSalt

Yes, your ratio is correct. I usually use 10% for a soak, and 20% for a "scald."


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## lohachata

for live plants it is also a 5% solution..1 part bleach to 19 parts water....soak time is 2 minutes...not a second longer...this will kill diseases and everything else..including snails and their eggs...and the only thing i know that will kill leach eggs...


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## Cory1990

I use bleach/water mix for filter tubes and what not. I boil most of the deco if I can. I clean the insides of the tanks with windex and a hose. Works well for me. Gravel an rocks I let sit in a bucket of bleach/water for a day. Only if they were used in another tank.


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## DrMiller357

cool thanks guys, so from what Iv'e gathered from you guys and on the internet this seems to be safe:

20% bleach solution, 1:5 ratio, 1 cup bleach for every 4 cups of water, is used for heavier bleaching something you might want to do for a shorter time frame.

10% bleach solution, 1:10 ratio, 1 cup bleach for every 9 cups of water, can be used for overnight soaking.

5% bleach solution, 1:20 ratio, 1 cup bleach for every 19 cups water, can be used for soaking plants safely for 2 min to kill diseases, pests/eggs, and algae. Can be dangerous to plant if your not careful.


What do you guys do with the stuff after you've bleached it, from what i understand if you let it air dry then the bleach breaks down into something harmless and you can then just rinse it off and its good to go in the tank, is this necessary or can you just give it a good rinse.


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## lohachata

i rinse everything several times in fresh water..just straight from the tap ; no need to dechlorinate...


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## AquariumTech

lohachata said:


> i rinse everything several times in fresh water..just straight from the tap ; no need to dechlorinate...


This.

Sometimes though, depending on the circumstances, I will let whatever I clean sit in a bucket of prime (water treated with prime) for a period of time (at least an hour or 2, with the water already been mixed with the prime for a good 2 hours, depending on the bucket I am using).


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## TheOldSalt

I briskly hose it all off and squirt dechlorinator into all nooks & crannies, then rinse again.


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## emc7

If you smell it, either wait or rinse more. You can dip the pH test strip in the rinse. If its different than tap, keep rinsing or let it dry in the sun.


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## AquariumTech

Sometimes, Windex might be a better way to go too, because it evaporates quickly and is easy to wipe off. Personally I use Windex much more than I use bleach, but bleach is a little stronger for those jobs that need it. 

Even then you always need to at least give it a rinse when your done; like TOS's method.


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