# cleaning dry algae from a used tank



## plantnoob (11 Feb 2013)

ive bought a 2nd hand tank which will need a good clean before use . lots of old gsa on the glass , which is no problem just a bit of elbow grease , but what about the old dried algae in the corners and siliconed joints ?  whats the best way to totally eradicate this without damaging the joints before i use the tank ?


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## roadmaster (11 Feb 2013)

I might be tempted to take a razor blade to the old sealant and re-seal the joint's .
If vinegar and warm water and scotch brite pad did not provide desired result's.


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## plantnoob (11 Feb 2013)

thanks il try vinegar . i did think about re doing the silicone as an extreme resort , but id prefer not to have to if avoidable . i will do it if need be though as i want the tank spotless before i start with it


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## ghostsword (11 Feb 2013)

Vinegar, some salt, and a tiny bit of bleach (cover eyes and mouth) will do well. Get a kitchen brush, and some elbow grease, it will get right.


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## Ady34 (11 Feb 2013)

dont forget a good rinse afterwards too 
if you use bleach you could fill and soak with dechlorinated water.


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## ceg4048 (11 Feb 2013)

It's best not to get too hung up with old dried algae. Eradicating it from your tank will not save you or will not have any impact on the probability of future algae. 3.2 milliseconds after your bleach is washed away airborne algal spores will find their way into the tank and will wait for you to make a mistake. Algae rule the planet, and you cannot escape.

Cheers,


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## ghostsword (12 Feb 2013)

Are you saying that aquatic algae releases algae spores in the open air? 




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@ghostsword


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## plantnoob (12 Feb 2013)

tank has had a good scrub down with just good old hot water and elbow grease . came up surprisingly clean


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## andyh (12 Feb 2013)

ceg4048 said:


> It's best not to get too hung up with old dried algae. Eradicating it from your tank will not save you or will not have any impact on the probability of future algae. 3.2 milliseconds after your bleach is washed away airborne algal spores will find their way into the tank and will wait for you to make a mistake. Algae rule the planet, and you cannot escape.
> 
> Cheers,



Clive you are a legend!!!


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## ceg4048 (13 Feb 2013)

ghostsword said:


> Are you saying that aquatic algae releases algae spores in the open air?


No mate, that would be difficult trick. But think about what happens when spores are in the water. Some spores are at the surface and can be carried away directly by the wind. Any object that enters the water and is later withdrawn from the water will automatically have a coating of biofilm and as soon as the film dries in air, whatever was in the film now becomes mobile as it is scraped off or as the wind or other activity pulls it off. If a dried spore is on the ground it gets easily picked up by any object that touches it, like someones foot, and so algal spores, mold spores, pollen, viruses, bacteria, pollution spiders and their webs, and anything small and light enough to be carried by the wind ultimately colonizes every nook and cranny of the planet. It doesn't matter where they originate - air, water or even underground. I mean, just think about how land plants get pollinated. The mechanism is exactly the same. An algal spore can enter your lung and later be breathed out into the tank while you are cleaning that very same tank, obliviously thinking that it is now so clean and pure.

So in The Matrix, people are programmed to think that algae is some kind of infection, and that if they avoid "contaminating" the tank with an object that has visible algae on it, that somehow they are safe. But algae do not care how hard you work. They are patient and they go where they want. That's why the whole marketing concept of those in vitro plants is so silly. It just doesn't matter if the plant is grown in some kind of algae-free clean room. The algal spores have already arrived in the tank long before the in vitro plants get there. So unless you want to live like the "boy in the bubble" there is no way to avoid the spores. Instead, it's better to follow a policy of excellent plant husbandry so that the plants are healthy, can resist the attacks, so that the overall health of the tank system dissuades the spores from blooming.

Cheers,


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## ghostsword (13 Feb 2013)

ceg4048 said:


> An algal spore can enter your lung and later be breathed out into the tank while you are cleaning that very same tank, obliviously thinking that it is now so clean and pure


 
Dude this is so radical and mindbogglingly crazy that I need to research it further.. not saying you are making this up, not at all, but it is well worth the research.  

I am ok with algae, it is after all a natural thing part of our ecosystem. 




ceg4048 said:


> That's why the whole marketing concept of those in vitro plants is so silly. It just doesn't matter if the plant is grown in some kind of algae-free clean room. The algal spores have already arrived in the tank long before the in vitro plants get there.


 
Good one on this..


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## ghostsword (13 Feb 2013)

ceg4048 said:


> An algal spore can enter your lung and later be breathed out into the tank while you are cleaning that very same tank, obliviously thinking that it is now so clean and pure


 
This book corroborates the statement.. Round, F E (1981). _The Ecology of Algae_. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22583-3 - Chapter 8, Dispersal, continuity and phytogeography, page 360.
"Spores are everywhere in all parts of the Earth: the waters fresh and marine, the atmosphere, free-floating and in precipitation or mixed with dust, the humus and in other organisms, such as humans. Whether a spore is to grow into an organism depends on the combination of the species and the environmental conditions of where the spore lands."

This is such an amazing find.. at least for me ... Learning every day..


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## plantnoob (13 Feb 2013)

great explenation ceg , hats off to you , you certainly know your stuff !


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