Vinegar and bleach

donnievaz · May 23, 2017

I'm leak testing/cleaning a a 92g tank and sump in my garage. Running the system with about 2 gallons of white vinegar to clean up all the coralline and tubeworm skeletons. Been running for 3 days and is cleaning up great. The water is getting pretty cloudy, I'm assuming this is a bacterial bloom from the vinegar. I know that generally vinegar and bleach together is a no-no but I'm wondering if it would be OK to toss a cup of bleach in there at this point to disinfect it. My thought is that the mixture is so diluted that it wouldn't be a big deal. Does anyone know if this is the case or is it still a bad idea? This picture is from Sunday and it looks pretty clear but it clouded up overnight last night

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Randy Holmes-Farley · May 23, 2017

You will generate chlorine gas when the bleach hits the acidic water, even when dilute. I can't really say how much of a risk that is, but I'd be very careful if you elect doing it.

donnievaz · May 23, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
You will generate chlorine gas when the bleach hits the acidic water, even when dilute. I can't really say how much of a risk that is, but I'd be very careful if you elect doing it.

Ok I'll drain, refill then do the bleach. Thank you!

Ty Hamatake · May 23, 2017

donnievaz said:
Ok I'll drain, refill then do the bleach. Thank you!

Lol I just read a post where someone did this. Title was, "I almost just killed my whole family" or something close. Ha ha, I'm glad it got figured out in time

BlueCursor · May 23, 2017

Does that stand not support the back corner of the tank? I would change that. Over time, that will stress your seams and possibly create a leak.

welsher7 · May 23, 2017

BlueCursor said:
Does that stand not support the back corner of the tank? I would change that. Over time, that will stress your seams and possibly create a leak.

+1

Definitely need to support that back corner.

donnievaz · May 23, 2017

That stand is just temporary for the testing and cleaning.

Reeflogic · May 23, 2017

Do you really need to use bleach? The vinegar bath will always strip everything from the walls, overflows, etc. I usually run a few powerheads and let it sit 24 hours, drain and hose it, brand new tank / equipment!

The funky color is usually just the calcium and other stuff that is melting away, 30 years of doing the same exact thing and it always works like a champ!

donnievaz · May 23, 2017

Reeflogic said:
Do you really need to use bleach? The vinegar bath will always strip everything from the walls, overflows, etc. I usually run a few powerheads and let it sit 24 hours, drain and hose it, brand new tank / equipment! The funky color is usually just the calcium and other stuff that is melting away, 30 years of doing the same exact thing and it always works like a champ!

Probably not but I figure while I have it all set up it can't hurt to get it as clean and disinfected as possible. Plus it's too late to turn back now, the deed is done