Quaternary Ammonium

[wesman42]

Would the use of quad ammonium be a bad decision for my reef supplies? Things like beakers, forceps, 5 gal buckets etc.

The reason I ask is because it's what is used in food service to disinfect dishes or plates etc.

I know others may use acid, but I feel like this is a better choice around living things. Pets, fish, children etc.

Could anyone shed light on this for cleaning purposes?

 

[Dan_P]

Would the use of quad ammonium be a bad decision for my reef supplies? Things like beakers, forceps, 5 gal buckets etc.

The reason I ask is because it's what is used in food service to disinfect dishes or plates etc.

I know others may use acid, but I feel like this is a better choice around living things. Pets, fish, children etc.

Could anyone shed light on this for cleaning purposes?

They act as detergents and as disinfectants by disrupting cell membranes. A skimmer could foam like crazy if this stuff got into an aquarium. Detergents in an aquarium might be bad. A thorough rinsing should be enough to remove it from aquarium tools.

 

[Katrina71]

Hairdressers use it too. I agree not good in your tank.

 

[cpschult]

It’s a sanitizer. Some companies add a soap factor to it. Would be overkill for cleaning. Also dangerous as others mentioned if not completely rinsed off. It’s very hard to rinse off fwiw.

 

[brandon429]

Fully agreed. Basic peroxide, or vinegar is fine. Peroxide is not sterilizing gear, it's cutting biofilm and your rinsing does the dislodge.

Quat, wouldn't use it at all for tanks. Overkill
In our lab we had a chart hanging up showing a graph of sterilizers vs the pathogens we'd likely be facing/carrying around all day etc

From bleach to peroxide to various alcohols and only one, quat amm, covered the entire spectrum just shy of prions that wedge into the base of the brain ~ it's too dang mean, man.

 

[wesman42]

Well thanks for all the input!! I guess I feel better knowing that it's overkill. That overkill must be truly why it's used to clean dishes lol.

I was basically looking for something that I can use to regularly clean all of my things....everything from beakers to 5 gallon buckets.

Will vinegar sterilize or should I just use peroxide for the things that need sterilizing? A good example I can think of is sterilizing my phyto culture containers....since any contaminants at all could cause a crash.

 

[brandon429]

3% peroxide is near useless as a sterilizer which is how we exploit it for algaecidal characters without killing peoples tanks/biofilters but it is good at cutting biofilm... so that basic rinsing takes care of bacteria and accumulations on tools.

It doesn't do much good to sterilize reef gear, it's recontaminated when it goes back into the reef drawer or plugged back into a tank. You'd be amazed at how popular the standard scrub cleaner 'Bon Ami' from 1950s era is for microbiology labs across hundreds of universities

We never used fancy chemical burning cleaners, I was required to hand clean about a gazillion slides and inoculation loops and used agar plates with bon ami and my respects for its place in cleaning metal and glass lab gear is permanent. Our abrasion and sloughing action caused by hand cleaning is 90% of materials upkeep. Ten percent effect is the cleaner, regular 3% peroxide is a fine pre soak for gear in my opinion. Vinegar will cut biofilms and caked on reef sludge, mostly it's our sink procedure which maintains tools. I can understand the attempt to lessen disease x contamination in fish systems, nets etc. in that case look into 35% peroxide it's a liquid bag of vipers and do not store it in the house with children. I love the stuff, it goes inside my reef sometimes but eye protection required as one drop is permanent guy from james bond eye. 35% is too mean to be stored around children I'm shocked they sell it otc at healthfood stores

 

[Dan_P]

It doesn't do much good to sterilize reef gear, it's recontaminated when it goes back into the reef drawer or plugged back into a tank. You'd be amazed at how popular the standard scrub cleaner 'Bon Ami' from 1950s era is for microbiology labs across thousands of universities

Agree.

Unless there is a concern about cross contamination between isolated systems, there is no need to sterilize, sanitize, or disinfect equipment.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, just because something is an antimicrobial does not mean it is good for cleaning reef things.

What is it that you think you are trying to remove? Sterilization is not a normal need.

 

[wesman42]

Agree.

Unless there is a concern about cross contamination between isolated systems, there is no need to sterilize, sanitize, or disinfect equipment.

There's a concern that even the slightest few specs of contaminants could reach an alternative culture..

FWIW, just because something is an antimicrobial does not mean it is good for cleaning reef things.

What is it that you think you are trying to remove? Sterilization is not a normal need.

Between phytoplankton cultures, it's advised to sterilize/clean culture containers. In this case, they're 1 gallon glass tea dispensers.

Nanochloropsis or Japanese Chlorella is not really that susceptible to contaminants....but other kinds like Isocrysis and Tetraselmis are very sensitive to left over contaminants.

Not sure why, but every tutorial I've read ...including Florida Aqua Farms' plankton culture manual advises that I should be sterilizing. They all recommend alconox. I suppose if I could find a cheaper alternative to alconox it would make my day.

 

[hart24601]

I have found bleach suitable for phytoplankton cultures. Can neutralize it or degas as needed. There are a few guides out there that talk about the amounts to use. Not true sterilization but suits the purpose.

 

[wesman42]

I have found bleach suitable for phytoplankton cultures. Can neutralize it or degas as needed. There are a few guides out there that talk about the amounts to use. Not true sterilization but suits the purpose.

Thanks for the input. I'll give it a go! I still have a liter of prime left [emoji23]