Chlorine based sterilisation

[idris]

Before I moved house stripped my main tank down I had more algae than I'm happy with, so am considering using Milton to kill off the algae on everything hard (pipes, pumps, glass, hardscaping etc.) and then recycling the tank.

The substrate is Adakama and has stayed just covered in water as there are lots of Assasin Snails I was never going to manage to catch.

I assume choline will be bad for the snails.
Keeping the substrate as it is will help with the cycling.
Chlorinating the substrate will kill off algal spores in it, but will slow down the cycling.
Having used chlorine, I assume a heavier dose of dechlorinator will be required.
Will plants will suffer as a result?

Any thoughts on the pros and cons, or things I've not thought of?

 

[rebel]

By Chlorine do you mean hypochlorite ie bleach??

 

[idris]

Milton sterilising fluid. I think it may be hypo (but the printing is too small for me to read).

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Milton sterilising fluid. I think it may be hypo

It is 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and about 15% salt (NaCl).

I assume chlorine will be bad for the snails.

Definitely will be.

Chlorinating the substrate will kill off algal spores in it, but will slow down the cycling.

I'm not sure it will work, partially because of the organic matter in the substrate.

Baking the substrate in the oven would be more likely to kill any spores, bacteria and snails, but I don't think it will make any difference to levels of algae in the tank.

cheers Darrel

 

[idris]

Thanks Darrel
I was thinking I probably wouldn't treat the substrate as I don't want to kill the snails. If I'm left with algal spores, so be it.

How much if an issue is the salt?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

How much if an issue is the salt?

I don't think either the salt or chlorine is really a problem on the hardscape etc. Milton's will wash off with a good rinse, and because the NaCl is really soluble it will just rinse away as well.

Wood might need a longer rinse (or soak for a couple of days with a change of water), but the pumps and glass etc will be safe to use once they are rinsed.

As you suggest you can neutralise the chlorine with a dechlorinator, and you can dry the hardscape really well, once the water has evaporated any residual chlorine will have gassed off.

cheers Darrel

 

[idris]

Thanks.

 

[Mortis]

For filter parts and hard plastic I would use bleach and for porous stuff like rocks and driftwood I prefer hydrogen peroxide as a light rinse and scrub after treating will clean it and be safe without having to worry about chlorine that has seeped in and getting it out since it just breaks down into water. It might be more expensive but its the safer bleaching agent. I use it for my inline CO2 atomisers as well.

For the substrate maybe a little overdose of Excel or liquid carbon for 20-30 minutes ? Should take care of most of the algae

 

[idris]

I like the idea of Excel for the substrate (assuming I understand what it does correctly).
When you say overdose for 20-30min ...
What concentration are you thinking of?
Are you suggesting just soaking the substrate in that solution and then rinsing it?
How will the snails cope with that?