Soaking Tank with Bleach??

[LAX Noob Reef]

I had a really bad case of Dino a month ago. It has lead me to bleaching all my live rocks. So this past weekend I had the time to pull all the sand out, and leaving the tank empty. I know that for sand, I should blast it with water few time to get it completely clean and clear water. My Question here is, that how do I clean the actual tank?? Should I fill the tank with regluar tap water, and dump 1 gallon of bleach in there and let it run for few days? I have a 40 Breeder for display, and 40 Breeder for sump. total water volum is about 72 Gallons. So how much bleach should I use? 2 gallon of bleach? or 7 cup of bleach? or is there better way to kill the stuff in there?

 

[reefndude]

I've bleached a tank before. 2 gallons should be plenty. Make sure to give it a good rinse.

 

[LAX Noob Reef]

I've bleached a tank before. 2 gallons should be plenty. Make sure to give it a good rinse.

Thanks, I will do as following.

 

[JMSKI333]

Personally I would use viniger instead. Bleach seems so agressive and toxic.

 

[reefndude]

A good rinse and it will be fine. Did that with my 75. Run pumps with the bleach water as well. Drained rinsed and then I refilled with fresh water, to run through system. No problems
I just picked up a 125 and did same thing

 

[cdness]

Vinegar is better and will clean the calcium deposits caused by dosing, hard water, or corraline growth much better than bleach...

I use bleach to oxidize some of the nutrients out of the top layer of live rock and to remove some of the left over brown or dirty color after an acid bath. Other than that I never use bleach on tank stuff.

 

[reefndude]

I did use vinegar in my 125. Previous owner neglected it. 8 gallons circulated for 3 days, and took alot of effort to clean glass. So I decided to go the bleach route again. Let it run for 24 hrs. Glass wiped clean with no effort. Still couldnt get the water stains off. Now I have to do some polishing

 

[charged]

Hi Lax. Bleach is not a cleaner. It is used as a whitener or disinfectant. If your looking to use it to kill the Dino's using it at 2-4oz/per Gallon should suffice. Give it a good rinse and use some declorinator after filling. If your looking to clean the tank or equipment then vinegar would be a better option.

 

[LAX Noob Reef]

yea, I'm actually looking for disinfectant and kill everything. I don't use bleach to clean other stuff, so rather waste it all in 1 go for bleaching tank. =)

 

[reefndude]

After you give it a good rinse let it air dry. Any trace of bleach will dissipate

 

[DO NOT PM]

+1 to Charged, using dechlorinator afterwards will remove any trace amounts left over.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Agreed! Bleach or Vinegar. Vinegar will get those hard to clean spots clean though!

 

[Gazog2]

Use the bleach, rinse it using a little bit of dechlorinator then let it air dry and it will be just fine. Any bleach residue left over is no longer toxic once it drys out.

 

[shred5]

Bleach needs to be pure bleach.. Do not use the thickened bleach or scented.
Vinegar works better for removing hard-water, calcium deposits or even coralline algae especially for pumps.. Bleach is a disinfectant mainly, It will oxidize organic material.. It is great for pre-soaking dead rock in to remove anything that died in it. If bleach is used it should be rinsed good and then let dry completely. Also a dechlorinator is highly recommended...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Key is to rinse/fLush with c o l d water which neutralizes bleach.