Bleach and culturing PNS ProBio

[ReefHunter006]

Hi All,
I am starting to culture my own Probio culture today, but the instructions say to leave residual bleach in the culture container without rinsing it.

Culture period is 1 month.

Two questions

1. is the residual bleach not a concern?

2. Would this cause a chemical a chemical imbalance over time given there is typically sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), which is mixed with small amounts of sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and calcium hypochlorite in bleach? Also for those that don’t do water changes that seems like a threat.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Based on the instructions to pour out the bleach water and shake out last drops, very little bleach would remain to cause issues, in my opinion.

I plan on trying the same kit(s), so I will be going through this myself in the future.

 

[Kenneth Wingerter]

Hi All,
I am starting to culture my own Probio culture today, but the instructions say to leave residual bleach in the culture container without rinsing it.

Culture period is 1 month.

Two questions

1. is the residual bleach not a concern?

2. Would this cause a chemical a chemical imbalance over time given there is typically sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), which is mixed with small amounts of sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and calcium hypochlorite in bleach? Also for those that don’t do water changes that seems like a threat.

No worries, the amount of bleach left over after diluting one cap into 10 liters, and then pouring that out to the last drop, is negligible when considering that one of these finished culture vessels treats over 8,000 gallons.

The no-rinse step is important because tap water often contains sporiform bacteria that may contaminate the vessel right after you just sterilized it.

One option, if you really want to safely rinse the vessel, is to boil a small amount of tap water or RO water for at least ten minutes to kill any spores present. You could then pour that through a sterilized funnel (while still at boiling temp) into the vessel to slosh out any residual bleach.

All this being said, major biocontamination is extremely rare with these cultures, but we nevertheless like to reduce the likelihood as much as possible.