Using bleach in display tank to kill ich?

[Sean W.]

Hey guys,

Long story short, I did not QT my fish properly and after what I thought was a successful QT regime, 2 weeks after putting my first pair of clowns into my newly setup tank, there was an ich outbreak...

It killed one of my clowns but the other one made it and is back in QT for a proper QT copper power treatment.

Since the tank was brand new and these were the first two fish in the tank, the tank is completely empty of any living things (aside from the bacteria).

But the tank has the ich parasite in it now...

The tank only has my scape and sand in it now. Can I use bleach in the QT tank to absolutely kill any possible remnants of the parasite in any of its forms?

I've read the best way is to let the tank run for 75 days and in that time the parasite will die as it cannot find a host... Probably/maybe/most likely... possibly.

I'm looking for a way to be like yeah... any living thing in that tank is dead... 100% and for it not to take 75 days...

Thanks!

 

[Projects with Sam]

Hey guys,

Long story short, I did not QT my fish properly and after what I thought was a successful QT regime, 2 weeks after putting my first pair of clowns into my newly setup tank, there was an ich outbreak...

It killed one of my clowns but the other one made it and is back in QT for a proper QT copper power treatment.

Since the tank was brand new and these were the first two fish in the tank, the tank is completely empty of any living things (aside from the bacteria).

But the tank has the ich parasite in it now...

The tank only has my scape and sand in it now. Can I use bleach in the QT tank to absolutely kill any possible remnants of the parasite in any of its forms?

I've read the best way is to let the tank run for 75 days and in that time the parasite will die as it cannot find a host... Probably/maybe/most likely... possibly.

I'm looking for a way to be like yeah... any living thing in that tank is dead... 100% and for it not to take 75 days...

Thanks!

One option is to crank up the heat to 85 and let it ride for 45 days. Probably shorter with the heat up that high. The increased heat speeds up the ich lifecycle. I bet at that high of a temperature the tank will be fine by the time the clown is out of copper. You're probably not going to want to bleach your tank. (and I'm a big fan of bleach)

 

[AydenLincoln]

Hey guys,

Long story short, I did not QT my fish properly and after what I thought was a successful QT regime, 2 weeks after putting my first pair of clowns into my newly setup tank, there was an ich outbreak...

It killed one of my clowns but the other one made it and is back in QT for a proper QT copper power treatment.

Since the tank was brand new and these were the first two fish in the tank, the tank is completely empty of any living things (aside from the bacteria).

But the tank has the ich parasite in it now...

The tank only has my scape and sand in it now. Can I use bleach in the QT tank to absolutely kill any possible remnants of the parasite in any of its forms?

I've read the best way is to let the tank run for 75 days and in that time the parasite will die as it cannot find a host... Probably/maybe/most likely... possibly.

I'm looking for a way to be like yeah... any living thing in that tank is dead... 100% and for it not to take 75 days...

Thanks!

No! Bleach is toxic to a reef tank and once it’s in the tank you can’t/won’t be able to get it out even with something like prime. I recommend just draining and emptying the tank/starting over. If you don’t want to wait considering it’s new. You also need to get new filter media then. The only way to 100% eradicate it would be a fallow of at least 76 days or starting completely over with new rock, sand, and media. Just make sure you wash/dry the tank out well.

 

[vetteguy53081]

No bleach. Best bet is coppersafe at 2.25 or cupramine at .50 for 30-35 days to rid of any ich parasites

 

[Sean W.]

No! Bleach is toxic and once it’s in the tank you can’t/won’t be able to get it out even with something like prime. I recommend just draining and emptying the tank/starting over. If you don’t want to wait considering it’s new. You also need to get new filter media then. The only way to 100% eradicate it would be a fallow or starting completely over with new rock, sand, and media. Just make sure you wash/dry the tank out well.

I don't think this is true... The active ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite... Salt and chlorine... Bleach eventually breaks down in to salt and water...

 

[AydenLincoln]

No bleach. Best bet is coppersafe at 2.25 or cupramine at .50 for 30-35 days to rid of any ich parasites

But note cooper is not reef safe! I don’t recommend putting it in the display tank either. But that’s just me.

 

[Sean W.]

No bleach. Best bet is coppersafe at 2.25 or cupramine at .50 for 30-35 days to rid of any ich parasites

I cant use copper in the DT for obvious reasons.

 

[Miami Reef]

I cant use copper in the DT for obvious reasons.

How big is your tank? Did you pay for live rocks/corals yet?

 

[Sean W.]

How big is your tank? Did you pay for live rocks/corals yet?

90 gallon with a 20 gallon sump

 

[AydenLincoln]

I don't think this is true... The active ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite... Salt and chlorine... Bleach eventually breaks down in to salt and water...

Look at it this way you drop food coloring into your tank. And it immediately mixes and there’s no way to separate it. Don’t use bleach I’m telling you it’s toxic. Sand and rock is porous.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I cant use copper in the DT for obvious reasons.

I thought you were referring to quarantine. In this case, go with vinegar versus bleach but better yet, you can simply fill tank with freshwater and run at 80 degrees for 3 weeks or so which would be similar to Hyposality but at zero versus 1.009

 

[Sean W.]

I thought I saw somewhere that @Jay Hemdal mentioned it was safe to use bleach in an empty display tank and it can be removed through water change/carbon.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

90 gallon with a 20 gallon sump

Just keep it fallow (no fish, but inverts and coral are fine) for 76-80 days at regular tank temp and the ich will have died.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I thought I saw somewhere that @Jay Hemdal mentioned it was safe to use bleach in an empty display tank and it can be removed through water change/carbon.

For cleaning purposes and this refers to cleaning glass in a completely empty tank!!! Not to kill ich.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I thought I saw somewhere that @Jay Hemdal mentioned it was safe to use bleach in an empty display tank and it can be removed through water change/carbon.

Add bleach to a bucket of water and in about 24 hours, the chlorine will have dissipated. The same would apply to a tank. However, in this case, adding bleach seems like the nuclear option... If you bleach the tank, you will lose all the beneficial bacteria and need to cycle again, so it makes more sense to just run fallow and then add the fish back after the 76 days.

 

[Sean Clark]

I wouldn't use bleach on anything short of a full reset. Nothing living in the tank and no intention of reusing any of the water. 100 gallons worth of salt is a lot cheaper then the potential problems you would be risking. I would use any of the other methods mentioned above before I bleached my tank.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I wouldn't use bleach on anything short of a full reset. Nothing living in the tank and no intention of reusing any of the water. 100 gallons worth of salt is a lot cheaper then the potential problems you would be risking. I would use any of the other methods mentioned above before I bleached my tank.

But, Sean, he doesn't want to wait that long...

 

[Sean Clark]

But, Sean, he doesn't want to wait that long...

It doesn't take long to mix up fresh saltwater. Waiting for a new cycle after bleaching may take just a long though.

 

[Miami Reef]

Running the tank at 86F for 2 weeks should also starve out ich.

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

I think the overall issue here is that there are no known dips that can kill the trophonts which can attach themselves to stonies. I’m regurgitating what I’ve learned reading this site, but I believe that’s the main issue. On that note, I’ve got some SPS frags in QT, didn’t like idea of 80.6+...

humble.fish

 

[Dav2996]

I thought I saw somewhere that @Jay Hemdal mentioned it was safe to use bleach in an empty display tank and it can be removed through water change/carbon.

I live with ich and live with ich management which is just running UV sterilizer. All my fish never have ich showing now but if the fish aren’t happy they can get it again but that is any fish even after quarantine can get sick.