Bleaching an observation tank

[GARRIGA]

Randy,

If I wanted to setup an observation tank for new arrivals prior to QT and didn't want to go through the hassle of constantly draining, bleaching, washing and drying would it be possible to add enough bleach to raise chlorine to lethal levels and maintain those levels for a predetermine period then keep running it post adding a dechlorinator until all signs of chlorine were exhausted would the tank now be safe for new arrivals and all pathogens removed?

 

[jda]

This did not work for us when I worked at the pet store a long time ago. Maybe we just sucked at our jobs, but there are also other things in bleach that you won't be able to get out. If you want to try this, I would at least suggest a more pure form of chlorine.

We started to just empty the observation tanks and then fill them with display water before new arrivals and added fresh salt to the displays - got clean observation tanks and also water changes in the displays.

 

[GARRIGA]

This did not work for us when I worked at the pet store a long time ago. Maybe we just sucked at our jobs, but there are also other things in bleach that you won't be able to get out. If you want to try this, I would at least suggest a more pure form of chlorine.

We started to just empty the observation tanks and then fill them with display water before new arrivals and added fresh salt to the displays - got clean observation tanks and also water changes in the displays.

What would be a pure form of chlorine?

 

[DCR]

Bleach has significant concentrations of sodium hydroxide in addition to the hypochlorite. I think you can also get sodium chlorate from it.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Jack Watley, a world famous Discus breeder used to exactly that.

He'd add bleach to sterilize water, then add conditioner to remove chlorine. Water was turned sterile but water parameters were kept the same.

 

[GARRIGA]

Jack Watley, a world famous Discus breeder used to exactly that.

He'd add bleach to sterilize water, then add conditioner to remove chlorine. Water was turned sterile but water parameters were kept the same.

Discus are sort of sensitive fish but were there remnants of the bleach that may not affect discus yet might affect corals as being mentioned above? That's my concern.

 

[GARRIGA]

Bleach has significant concentrations of sodium hydroxide in addition to the hypochlorite. I think you can also get sodium chlorate from it.

Can either of those components be filtered out via other means? DI resins/carbon for example.

 

[DCR]

You can neutralize the hydroxide with acid to get the right pH and alkalinity. Running salt water through a DI would remove all ions like an RO/DI and exhaust the resin almost immediately. I personally would not think it a good idea to put expensive fish in tank water that had been strongly bleached. Maybe if it was just enough to give a slight residual chlorine like tap water, but the risk seems unacceptably high to me.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Discus are sort of sensitive fish but were there remnants of the bleach that may not affect discus yet might affect corals as being mentioned above? That's my concern.

Discus are very sensitive and require pristine water conditions but I cannot answer the question for you because I have not experimented with it.

 

[GARRIGA]

You can neutralize the hydroxide with acid to get the right pH and alkalinity. Running salt water through a DI would remove all ions like an RO/DI and exhaust the resin almost immediately. I personally would not think it a good idea to put expensive fish in tank water that had been strongly bleached. Maybe if it was just enough to give a slight residual chlorine like tap water, but the risk seems unacceptably high to me.

No plans of running DI in salt. Just using those as an example of items that can remove unwanted items.

Adding acid to stabilize ph and alkalinity probably doable for me as I can test both for confirmation.

Plan is to bring it to 3 ppm chlorine which I believe is what my tap runs. Although that's chloramine but guessing 3 ppm where I should be to kill pathogens. Which will eventually evaporate out or be reduced with a dechlorinator such as Safe or Prime.

One other option would be drain the tank and fill with RODI then bleach it as the key is not moving the tank. Just best way to do a thorough sanitation.

 

[jda]

I am not a chemist, but would calcium hypochlorite work better?

 

[jda]

Why not h2o2? It just breaks down in time.

 

[GARRIGA]

Why not h2o2? It just breaks down in time.

I'm still learning about peroxide and know it's the only effective solution against cryptosporidium at 6% in reptiles.

I know it kills algae and pests but will it oxidize ich and velvet (including eggs) along with other ailments that might have been released by the item being observed and is it something that can be quickly removed or is time the only remedy?

 

[GARRIGA]

I am not a chemist, but would calcium hypochlorite work better?

"Calcium hypochlorite is commonly used to sanitize public swimming pools and disinfect drinking water. Generally the commercial substances are sold with a purity of 65% to 73% with other chemicals present, such as calcium chloride and calcium carbonate, resulting from the manufacturing process. In solution, calcium hypochlorite could be used as a general purpose sanitizer,[5] but due to calcium residue (making the water harder), sodium hypochlorite (bleach) is usually preferred."

Seems to contain impurities as well.

 

[ptrick21186]

Would any of this gas off over time?

 

[ptrick21186]

"Calcium hypochlorite is commonly used to sanitize public swimming pools and disinfect drinking water. Generally the commercial substances are sold with a purity of 65% to 73% with other chemicals present, such as calcium chloride and calcium carbonate, resulting from the manufacturing process. In solution, calcium hypochlorite could be used as a general purpose sanitizer,[5] but due to calcium residue (making the water harder), sodium hypochlorite (bleach) is usually preferred."

Seems to contain impurities as well.

This is the same as the water sterilizing tablets you would bring with you on back country hikes correct?

 

[DCR]

I work for a company that used to manufacture bleach. It is produced by absorbing chlorine gas in sodium hydroxide. You always want some residual hydroxide or else you run the risk of degassing chlorine gas from the bleach container (not good for a household product). Calcium Hypochlorite is the shock chlorine used for swimming pools and is normally sold as a solid. I suppose you could use it.

As long as you are talking about a few drops of either to maintain a few ppm of residual chlorine, it is probably doable. If you dump a cup of it in the tank like some people do to kill everything, then I think it needs to be flushed out. Keep in mind that bleach is like 80,000 ppm hypochlorite so a little bit goes a long way.

 

[DCR]

I would think hydrogen peroxide would be much safer although maybe not as effective.

 

[GARRIGA]

This is the same as the water sterilizing tablets you would bring with you on back country hikes correct?

Don't know. Just googled a suggestion and this is what I found. I'm not a chemist either and trying to find that a layman can use to solve the problem I have.

 

[GARRIGA]

I work for a company that used to manufacture bleach. It is produced by absorbing chlorine gas in sodium hydroxide. You always want some residual hydroxide or else you run the risk of degassing chlorine gas from the bleach container (not good for a household product). Calcium Hypochlorite is the shock chlorine used for swimming pools and is normally sold as a solid. I suppose you could use it.

As long as you are talking about a few drops of either to maintain a few ppm of residual chlorine, it is probably doable. If you dump a cup of it in the tank like some people do to kill everything, then I think it needs to be flushed out. Keep in mind that bleach is like 80,000 ppm hypochlorite so a little bit goes a long way.

I'm assuming I can use something like LaMotto chlorine test to ensure I'm staying around 3 ppm and is that enough to kill everything including ich eggs for a thorough disinfect?