Bleached my tank.. and..

[Playdope]

Hey all,

I sprayed the walls of my tank and sump (skimmer, etc. removed) with a 1/10 dilution of bleach. Then I let it sit for like 20-30 min, and I filled the whole tank and some of the sump with water, and let the pump circulate the water through the system for a few min. I then drained all of the water out, and have let everything airdry over the past 2 days.

Where should I go from here? I can't really smell anything now that it has dried. Should I do another rinse? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon

 

[DougBak]

Wouldn't hurt to rinse it good with another load of water before filling it.

Once you rinse it out, you can fill it with the water you plan on using for your cycle.

Do you have a container to hold more water? I'd make up some more to use for water changes during the cycle. That way you'll have it on hand and ready to use.

 

[cdeakle]

Alot of people say when everything is dry your good but I like to be extra cautious. I would fill the tank completely with water, run the tank, sump, powerhead etc for 24 hours. Then drain and refill for your cycle water.

Pretty much what DougBak already stated :wink:

 

[Playdope]

Well, since the tank is dry right now... how should I go about introducing the amquel? Is sodium thiosulfate neccesary? Do you rub the walls of the tanks down with amquel, then rinse? How should I go about this? Filling the tank fully, and draining it all the way again is a real pain, but I will do it if neccesary. I have been using a siphon to drain the water

i have been filling a bucket with water, and dumping it into a 50 gal trash can... until the can gets pretty full.. then I use a powerhead to pump the h20 into the tank, and I use the powerhead to drain into 5 gal buckets as well. So, this whole process as been a hard one. I am in a 1 bed apt.

Jon

 

[ricky1414]

Do you have a container to hold more water? I'd make up some more to use for water changes during the cycle. That way you'll have it on hand and ready to use.

I have heard that it was bad to do water changes during an initial tank cycle?

 

[Anonymous]

Well, since the tank is dry right now... how should I go about introducing the amquel? Is sodium thiosulfate neccesary?

Jon

Sodium thiosulfate is the dechlorinating ingredient in Amquel. Save the Amquel, pay a few bucks for some dry S. thiosulfate, mix it with water, put it in a spray bottle, and spray everything down well. Remember, though, chlorine WILL dissipate into the atmosphere within one or two days, NO PROBLEM. So, if you just wait (and there are no porous surfaces in there that were bleached), you'll be golden.

As for w/c's during the cycle, if you're cycling fishless (which you should be doing), there's no need to worry about it. If you're cycling with fish, then you need to keep levels to tolerable levels for the fish or you're killing them. Cycle fishless, save the w/c's for when you get residents.

 

[cdeakle]

Sodium thiosulfate is the dechlorinating ingredient in Amquel. Save the Amquel, pay a few bucks for some dry S. thiosulfate, mix it with water, put it in a spray bottle, and spray everything down well

I'm lost, whats all this about??

 

[Playdope]

Seamaiden,

So if I just wait for about a week, and don't even spray the tank down with s.thiosulfate or use any amquel, it will be fine to just fill and put my live rock in?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[Juck]

Chlorine dissipates quickly,, if you can't smell it,, there is none,,, fill it and get your rock in there.