# Need Advice: Detergent and Fish Tanks



## FONE (May 21, 2013)

Hey everyone,

I read a post from a different thread about avoid using detergent with anything that will hold fish.

I'm wondering what I need to do with containers that I've used detergents with, to be able to clear out the residue. I also have buckets that are used exclusively with drained tank water; I wash these periodically with detergent, because of grime build-up. Should I not be rinsing any media in these?

Please help. I'd like to understand what I need to do to keep from having problems in the future also.

Thanks.


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## k2x5 (Mar 12, 2008)

It really depends on what the "detergent" was - any details on the actual product(s) used?

For most light soaps or bleach - just a very thorough rinsing should be fine. Maybe fill the container totally full and leave it for a day?


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## FONE (May 21, 2013)

k2x5 said:


> It really depends on what the "detergent" was - any details on the actual product(s) used?
> 
> For most light soaps or bleach - just a very thorough rinsing should be fine. Maybe fill the container totally full and leave it for a day?


Just your standard Palmolive or Dawn Ultra. I'll give it go with the rinsing.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Your best thing to use for cleaning is vinegar, its aquarium safe, at least the few drops that might get in the tanks is safe, I wouldn't dump a bunch in a tank.

I would clean the buckets with vinegar and scrubby and rinse well.

also vinegar and distilled water mix is perfect for cleaning outside aquarium glass. Good cleaner and helps remove any hard water stains and safe if a tiny bit gets in the tank.

When I need to disinfect a tank such as a used tank, I use bleach which becomes inert once it dries and burns off fairly quickly and can also be removed with dechorinater.

I have never cleaned my buckets, I just give them a quick rinse with hot water after each use.

Another tip, avoid washing your hands with antibacterial soap before working on your tanks and also make sure you rinse your hands extra well when using any soap before going in tanks.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

I would not use any detergent of any kind that could contaminate a fish tank. As was stated use vinegar it is a great cleaner for inside and outside of a tank. To disinfect a tank I use bleach then wash with vinegar and rinse a couple of times. I also use hydrogen peroxide on my fish nets and have a net for each tank. As for pails just rinse with hot water and wipe dry.


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## FONE (May 21, 2013)

I'll switch over to vinegar as a cleaning agent and see how that goes. One of my harlequin rasboras is hiding near a filter intake a lot. I'm thinking it is because the area is sheltered. 

Will any kind of bleach do? How do I know the concentration of store-bought bleach?

Thanks for the responses!


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## k2x5 (Mar 12, 2008)

No, many types of "Bleach" contain additives and perfumes that may be dangerous - If you simply must use bleach (Though, why use bleach at all?) ensure that is ONLY bleach, and nothing else.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Bleach is only needed in a few situations.

For cleaning equipment that was used by someone else just to be safe.

Cleaning equipment you know is infected

diluted bleach is a way of killing hair algae also

Other than these things, no reason to use bleach, vinegar is best for everything else


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

To answer the question concerning bleach strength, well, good luck finding out what concentration a brand of bleach has these days. Many brands no longer list the percentage, because there are so many variations now, and they don't want to make it easy for the consumer to compare products fairly.

It used to be quite standard. Laundry bleach was usually 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and water. Now, cheap no name or off brand bleach is often only 3% SH, so you are paying mostly for water.

The so called 'ultra' strength is rarely more than 6%, not much more than the standard. Fabric safe bleach, if labeled as such, is typically 4%. It's only safer because it's diluted more, not because of any magic ingredients. I won't buy it.. if I want to dilute it, I use my own water, it's much cheaper than the stuff in the bottle.

Depending on price, the best deal is often pool bleach. It's around 10.~~ %, I forget the precise fraction, but it's less than 11%, and can be diluted easily so it goes a long way. Identical content to laundry bleach, just more of it in the bottle.

Some places you can buy tablets of pure sodium hypochlorite and mix your own, to whatever strength you wish. Don't ask me where, I haven't seen them for awhile. 

Usually name brands, like Javex, with the blue and white label, will be the ones with the highest percentages, so long as the bottle doesn't say Fabric safe or ultra, or instruct you to use half as much as the usual bleach. So generally those are the most economical for the usual uses. 

If you are concerned about how strong it is, buy the dirt cheap stuff, it's more water than anything else.

Household bleach for laundry very rarely, if ever, has anything other than sodium hypochlorite in it. If it does, it will say so on the label and cost more too. 

Bleach really does break down quite quickly, as pyrrolin said. It breaks down first to sodium and chlorine, and then the chlorine gasses off pretty fast, even if you don't rinse. That's how they get 'salt water' pools now. Still use sodium hypochlorite, just the chlorine part stays in the filtration system instead of the actual pool, so the sodium portion is what ends up in the pool. Smells nicer, much kinder to skin and hair.

If you allow an item washed with water and bleach to air dry, all you will have left is maybe a bit of sodium, wipes off easily or rinses off. So reasonable rinsing and air drying is all that you need to do to be sure of having no problems with it. And if for some reason you can't rinse, using extra Prime or other dechlorinator will also get rid of the chlorine. And the amount of sodium is pretty negligible in the amounts you'd be using to wash anything, so of no real concern.

Be aware, there are many cleaning products that have bleach in them, and those are no good for tanks. 

Be safe, and never, ever mix bleach with any acid, like vinegar, or with ammonia, it causes a toxic gas that will really make you wish you'd never breathed it, and if you are asthmatic, it might just put you in emerg.


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