1. white vinegar. DOesn't need rinsing. You can use it to clean pumps without worry that the pump may have some left in it. It's acidic, but the tank self-corrects. Run a pump in pure white vinegar. Cleans out all disposits. Will also clean your bathroom faucet of that white deposit. (Calcium carbonate.) WHen you see a white-caked second-hand tank, vinegar can solve that problem overnight.
It's also used in 'carbon-dosing', qv, which feeds bacteria. Never, however, dump it or the alternative (vodka) into your tank because you heard some people do it, or you can do serious damage, even kill your tank, not to mention getting one massive bacterial bloom of gunky white stuff. There is a precise CHART for that dose, which is not for new tanks. It will be something you may want to research for a later time, just to know about it, and undertake it only with great caution.
2. bleach. Ordinary Clorox in a dose of 1/4 Chlorox to 3/4 water can be used to sterilize equipment outside your tank, in case of disease. The product 'Prime' can then be used to remove chlorine. It can also take that nasty smell off your hands. Chlorox is however, dangerous, can bleach or burn a hole in your clothes if it splashes on you. So don't let it near your tank, and don't have it on your hands when you reach into your tank.
3. hydrogen peroxide. Where water is H2O, hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. Meaning it's got extra oxygen (the -per- prefix) . This stuff can kill. Be careful with it. But it also will sterilize equipment and is safer than bleach. To kill a caulerpa clump that had turned up on a removeable rock, eg, I extracted the rock, scrubbed off the pest algae with a toothbrush, dipped the affected area of the rock into a bowl of 3% hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds, then dipped the area into a bowl of discard tank water to rinse most of it off. I then replaced the rock in the tank, where it continued to bubble pure oxygen for about 30 minutes...I have no delicate coral near its bubbling, so that was ok. Otherwise it should have gone to the sump to recover. I put the piece bad-side-down into the sand and have had no recurrence. It could not kill the bacteria INSIDE the rock because nothing can soak very deep into a rock in 30 seconds.
Again, use your head, be cautious, observe precautions, follow directions. It will kill caulerpa. It will kill xenia. Might it kill aiptasia? Dunno. Might it kill hydroids? Dunno. But it sure did a number on the unwanted algae.
I cannot emphasize enough---if you are going to use a chemical treatment---be careful, be cautious, read instructions, and ask before doing it. Have a plan in mind and do not get rattled and do anything in haste. Above all: read the instructions and do not do it near delicates.
It's also used in 'carbon-dosing', qv, which feeds bacteria. Never, however, dump it or the alternative (vodka) into your tank because you heard some people do it, or you can do serious damage, even kill your tank, not to mention getting one massive bacterial bloom of gunky white stuff. There is a precise CHART for that dose, which is not for new tanks. It will be something you may want to research for a later time, just to know about it, and undertake it only with great caution.
2. bleach. Ordinary Clorox in a dose of 1/4 Chlorox to 3/4 water can be used to sterilize equipment outside your tank, in case of disease. The product 'Prime' can then be used to remove chlorine. It can also take that nasty smell off your hands. Chlorox is however, dangerous, can bleach or burn a hole in your clothes if it splashes on you. So don't let it near your tank, and don't have it on your hands when you reach into your tank.
3. hydrogen peroxide. Where water is H2O, hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. Meaning it's got extra oxygen (the -per- prefix) . This stuff can kill. Be careful with it. But it also will sterilize equipment and is safer than bleach. To kill a caulerpa clump that had turned up on a removeable rock, eg, I extracted the rock, scrubbed off the pest algae with a toothbrush, dipped the affected area of the rock into a bowl of 3% hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds, then dipped the area into a bowl of discard tank water to rinse most of it off. I then replaced the rock in the tank, where it continued to bubble pure oxygen for about 30 minutes...I have no delicate coral near its bubbling, so that was ok. Otherwise it should have gone to the sump to recover. I put the piece bad-side-down into the sand and have had no recurrence. It could not kill the bacteria INSIDE the rock because nothing can soak very deep into a rock in 30 seconds.
Again, use your head, be cautious, observe precautions, follow directions. It will kill caulerpa. It will kill xenia. Might it kill aiptasia? Dunno. Might it kill hydroids? Dunno. But it sure did a number on the unwanted algae.
I cannot emphasize enough---if you are going to use a chemical treatment---be careful, be cautious, read instructions, and ask before doing it. Have a plan in mind and do not get rattled and do anything in haste. Above all: read the instructions and do not do it near delicates.
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