Adding bleach to clean Hospital Tank

[dela]

Does bleach kill ich?

I'm wondering if it would be safe to zap a hospital tank with bleach in order to kill all of the ich that might be attached to something, and then add a dechlorinator in order to make that same tank water safe again.

I was thinking of trying the tank transfer method, but I don't like the idea of going through so much new salt water! And it seems like the only way the tank transfer method could work, is if you completely tear down each tank, clean it completely, and then set it back up.

 

[chris3_16]

bleach will kill everything in the tank, not just the ich.

 

[MrTuskfish]

bleach will kill everything in the tank, not just the ich.

True, and dechlorinators (sodium thiosulfate) don't work well in SW. There are no shortcuts to ich treatment.

 

[sandwi54]

As MrTusk said, there are no shortcuts to ich treatment. May I ask why you opted the tank transfer method? Are you concerned that copper is toxic to fish?

 

[spieszak]

de-chlorinators work just fine for tank cleaning... vinegar will also neutralize the bleach, as well as a good rinse and air dry.... I clean with bleach, rinse well, neutralize with vinegar, rinse, and then air dry.
Tank transfer is easier on the fish, but you have to be willing to do the work. Hypo is easier on the fish than copper, but you have to be almost paranoid about top off. Cooper is easiest on the hobbyist, and toughest on the fish but IME isn't as bad as you are afraid it will be.

 

[dela]

Man, you guys are all bad news! :spin1:

As MrTusk said, there are no shortcuts to ich treatment. May I ask why you opted the tank transfer method? Are you concerned that copper is toxic to fish?

I'm not doing the tank transfer method. Not yet anyway. First I tried the IO Lifeguard product. At first it seemed to work like a charm. But then the ich came back with a vengeance. Went back to the store and picked up something called Rid Ich (or something like that). Just dosed today and will continue until things clear up. But I suspect I will have the same results. Temporary reprieve, but the ich will likely come back as it goes through it's various cycles.

In anticipation, I'm thinking of doing a tank transfer as soon as the fish clear up. Except I don't have a 2nd 20 gallon tank. So I guess the fish will go into a Rubbermaid tub!

Tank transfer is easier on the fish, but you have to be willing to do the work. Hypo is easier on the fish than copper, but you have to be almost paranoid about top off. Cooper is easiest on the hobbyist, and toughest on the fish but IME isn't as bad as you are afraid it will be.

In case things drag out (like they will) I was hoping to make the tank transfer a little less work and less expensive:
Day 1 - move the fish into tank 2, zap tank 1.
Day 2 - dechlorinate tank 1.
Day 3 - do nothing
Day 4 - move the fish into tank 1, zap tank 2.
and so on.. But if I can't dechlorinate SW, then that won't work....

 

[MrTuskfish]

IMO; if tank-transfer doesn't work for you, that leaves only two options, copper or hypo-salinity. Sadly, there are a zillion "ich cures'' that simply don't work. I really think these are the only real ways to cure ich. Some hobbyists have had success with Quinine Sulfate; but I think QS is hit or miss. Copper (I prefer cupramine), researched and done correctly,is safe and never fails (IMO & IME). I believe the same can be said for hypo or tank transfer; although I haven't used either in many years, others on this forum prefer these methods to copper.

 

[snorvich]

Tank transfer is easier on the fish, but you have to be willing to do the work. Hypo is easier on the fish than copper, but you have to be almost paranoid about top off. Cooper is easiest on the hobbyist, and toughest on the fish but IME isn't as bad as you are afraid it will be.

Good advice. But remember this works for cryptocaryon and is not effective on other parasites.

 

[snorvich]

IMO; if tank-transfer doesn't work for you, that leaves only two options, copper or hypo-salinity. Sadly, there are a zillion "ich cures'' that simply don't work. I really think these are the only real ways to cure ich. Some hobbyists have had success with Quinine Sulfate; but I think QS is hit or miss. Copper (I prefer cupramine), researched and done correctly,is safe and never fails (IMO & IME). I believe the same can be said for hypo or tank transfer; although I haven't used either in many years, others on this forum prefer these methods to copper.

As always, excellent advice! QS may work, but I reserve judgement on it.

 

[MrTuskfish]

de-chlorinators work just fine for tank cleaning... vinegar will also neutralize the bleach, as well as a good rinse and air dry....

True. I may be (probably am) wrong, but I assumed from the original post that the OP was planing on adding bleach and then a de-chlorinator to a full tank---then reusing the water.

 

[dela]

Yes, it would be nice if we could simply add bleach to a tank in order to kill the ich, and then dechlorinate the salt water in order to re-use it again, in order to save the time and expense of cleaning out the tank. Since dechlorinators neutralize chlorine, in theory I really don't see why it would not work. Now, if dechlorinator's don't work in salt water, then obviously that would be a problem.

I'm not going to try and re-use my water. Although I am going to bleach the tank since it has antibiotics in there and I'd like to make sure the ich is gone.

 

[dela]

Yes, it would be nice if we could simply add bleach to a tank in order to kill the ich, and then dechlorinate the salt water in order to re-use it again, in order to save the time and expense of cleaning out the tank. Since dechlorinators neutralize chlorine, in theory I really don't see why it would not work. Now, if dechlorinator's don't work in salt water, then obviously that would be a problem.

I'm not going to try and re-use my water. Although I am going to bleach the tank since it has antibiotics in there and I'd like to make sure the ich is gone.