Bleaching of tank equipment to remove algae

**Saint888** · 28th Oct 2017, 11:19

Hi guys, i have been running my tank for like coming 2 months. Some parts of my eheim pipes and inlet have some green spot algae. It’s quite hard to remove it as i tried using sponge. Another way I read is to use bleach. Have anyone has any experience on using bleach on eheim plastic pipes? How’s your routine like?

**Gabs** · 28th Oct 2017, 15:20

I've used bleach on my fish equipments before but it wasn't to remove algae but rather to kill bacteria as I had a problem of ick and it spread from 1 tank to the other.

I soak my pipes into the bleach for almost 1 hr + and after drying you will see a layer of White powder on the pipes have to really rinse it thoroughly if not it might kill the fishes.

1 thing I notice was that it doesnt get rid of the algae I still had to brush it off but I think it helps remove it easily.

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**Saint888** · 28th Oct 2017, 17:09

Thanks gabs, I did that for glassware as I think they should be ok. Also I noticed a whitish stain that I cannot remove. But I didn’t put in yet.

Originally Posted by Gabs

I've used bleach on my fish equipments before but it wasn't to remove algae but rather to kill bacteria as I had a problem of ick and it spread from 1 tank to the other.

I soak my pipes into the bleach for almost 1 hr + and after drying you will see a layer of White powder on the pipes have to really rinse it thoroughly if not it might kill the fishes.

1 thing I notice was that it doesnt get rid of the algae I still had to brush it off but I think it helps remove it easily.

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

**TTerry** · 9th Dec 2017, 22:13

Hi, mind to share the ratio you'll used for bleaching? I read online 10% is safe. I just bought quite abit of rocks from a nice bro, i uses only about 200ml of bleach to 12L of water for 15mins.

**Guppendler** · 9th Dec 2017, 23:02

For rocks, a safer way to rid the algae is to soak it in boiling water and scrub it off. This will kill the algae and also sterilise the rocks, 100% safe for aquarium

**Guppendler** · 9th Dec 2017, 23:10

If you really have to use bleach for whatever reason, thiosulphate (anti chlorine) can help neutralise bleach. And thiosulphate in excess is not harmful to livestock.

**TTerry** · 10th Dec 2017, 15:49

Thanks man! Too many rocks to boil... so I went the easier way out... I increased the dose to 500ml to 10L for 15mins. Rinse and soak with anti chlorine. Will dry then thoroughly. Only handful of them which have brown rusty stain, I soak them overnight in 10%.

**torque6** · 10th Dec 2017, 18:04

I usually soak pipes in bleach clorex (normal type) for a few days as some algae are hard to clean and leave stains (white and brown bits), then wash with water till no more soapy feeling, then add to bucket and add overdose Seachem Prime.