Bleaching my tank

[BChen7106]

I've had it with these aiptasia. It started with 1, now its grown to a rather large problem. I tried kalk paste, I tried aiptasia X, I tried peppermint shrimp, and I tried berghia. There's just no way I can rid my tank of those pests!


So my latest idea is to remove all the livestock into holding tanks and bleach the entire tank. Most of my corals are still frags and I can pull them off the rocks. Not sure how I'm going to catch all my fish, but I think it will be worth the effort.


I really like the aquascape I have set up now, that's why I don't want to just remove all the rock. Also, the overflow and sump are filled with aiptasia that I have no access to. So I just want to leave all the hardscape, pour in a bottle of bleach, and let it circulate through the entire system, sump, skimmer, and all.


My question is this: could the bleach adversely effect the rock and sand? Obviously it will kill all biofilter and critters, but I can always re-seed that with the stuff I want. I assume all my coraline will turn white, but again I can re-establish that with time.


Thanks in advance.

 

[racin2438]

I would think this is going the kill everything in the tank.......everything.

Then you will have bleach that has soaked into the rock and sand, and then leach it self back out. Sand would likely need to be replaced, I would think. The rock all soaked in freshwater for a while.


As soon as I see one aiptasia.....I use the X on it. I would never let them get out of control..

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

The idea would work, but I would be concerned about the frags also having aiptasia. However, they can be controlled because they will be small. One thing I would is use a dechlorinator like prime after you let the bleach circulate a bit in the tank. I would soak the rock in bleach first then dry it out then soak it in freshwater with prime. I would also test the water for chlorine after using the prime.

 

[miamiangler]

Instead of bleach ,I would just do the hole tank with R/o water Then when everything is dead you just have to add salt water .

 

[Rob Top1]

Instead of bleach ,I would just do the hole tank with R/o water Then when everything is dead you just have to add salt water .

Might be better than bleach. Ill state the obvious...be sure to drain and fill the tank a few time to get all the death out of it.

 

[cumbeje]

What happened with the Berghai Nudibranch? I have used them with great success.

 

[HiddenUser]

Instead of bleach ,I would just do the hole tank with R/o water Then when everything is dead you just have to add salt water .

Seems like a much better idea to me! But I agree on doing water change(s) to remove all the bad stuff.

 

[SCMatt]

What happened with the Berghai Nudibranch? I have used them with great success.

Same. And even months later when I thought they had died I see some venture out. They cured me of my problem though within a month.

 

[Gazog2]

one word comes comes to my mind when I think about adding bleach to a tank..... Sewer, cause that's all you would have left after you did it.

Berghai Nudibranch are the best way, a couple of them will clean up a tank in no time. Only down fall is once they are out of Appy's they will
die so you have to either find someone else that needs them or sell them on Ebay or on here. There is someone who always need one or two of the little buggers.

Salty Underground usually has them in stock, and they are reasonable, unlike the jerk on Ebay who wants almost 50 bucks for 2!!

 

[tabasco122]

I had a similar sized infection to yours in my Biocube 29. Obviously not as many, but scale wise it was similar. Dropped 5 peppermint shrimp and 4 days later it was completely gone. The thing with peppermints is that there are a few different species, only certain ones will eat aiptasia, so maybe try peppermints from a different source?

 

[glb]

Bleach scares me because it seems it would be hard if not impossible to get rid of. Good luck!

 

[fishroomlady]

I agree with others on the bleach. It just seems like such a drastic move. I would still try some alternative methods like those mentioned.

 

[glb]

Could you boil the rocks to get rid of them or is that dangerous? I honestly have no idea if they're toxic, but boiling the rock wouldn't leave residue like bleaching could.

 

[Vanmo92]

Inject them all with lye (NaOH). My tank was over run and it worked for me.

 

[joekool]

What happened with the Berghai Nudibranch? I have used them with great success.

i second this approach works very well. At first it seems like its not working but all of a sudden you'll start seeing aptasia going away

 

[cu455]

It sounds like a good plan. The harmful stuff in bleach will dissipate on it's own in a couple of days or you can use prime. People bleach filter socks and ornaments all the time. When you bleach your tank you are going to get a lot of die off causing your tank to go into a very long cycle.

 

[mike007]

Bleach will kill all the beneficial bacteria and everything else. Then I would be worried about it leaching back into the tank from the rock sand etc. You would have to go through another cycling process and you might still have issues. Consider other means as been posted.

 

[zoous]

Peppermint shrimps works or get a copperband butterfly.

 

[djtripoalo]

The bleach most likely won't "leach out" as eveyone says, bleach is liquid chlorine which evaporates in water... And they also make water conditioners that we've all used before. But that's just a thought. I'm all for the bleach. All you would need is another piece of rl to start the bacterial filtration to start and will eventually grow into all the rock and sand again

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Why not just get more live rock or dry rock and cycle it in trash can. Take out your old rock and bleach them and or sell them.