# Bleach :)



## Marcom1234 (Aug 16, 2006)

ok don't get scared  ..... well maybe a little  

anyway.... i have the green water problem as i posted in another thread... i decided to start from scratch and try and use all the things you people have suggested to me... which all were very much appreciated.

what im gonna do is set up my 55 gal tank again and make it a fish only tank.... which will hold the fish i had in my planted tank with the green water..... i used a mild bleach dip/soak for the rocks... not the gravel...and all the other "things" in the tank... proceded to rinse ... and rinse... and rinse... and rinse... well you get the idea.... anyway its all clean and non bleachy now....

the one question i have is this.... 

should i or shouldn't i bleach dip the laterite gravel that i have? 
if i am guessing correctly then im assuming that laterite gravel is sorta like a very hard clay... i might be wrong.... but im worried that the laterite might soak up the bleach and won't rinse out.... does anyone know if im assuming correctly or just being justifiably paranoid?

has anyone done this or should i just boil the gravel? or do i not even have to do any of this? basically i want to tear down the tank and sanitize it and restart  

any advice will be much appreciated


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Well I'll start off with probably a lot of similar thoughts. There's really no need to restart your tank. You can defeat green water if you can be patient.

But since you already started the process. I wouldn't soak or dip the substrate into any bleach. it'll be more of a pain then it's worth. I would just rinse out the substrate, let it dry for a few days and then go from there. You can even rinse it out and let it dry again to be sure that things that need water die.

Boiling will do the trick, but I imagine it to be pretty messy.

Ultimately, I suggest you hang in there, do the complete tank black out and tackle the problems head on. Green water is one of the easier algaes to overcome from what I've seen.

-John N.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Marcom, I am sorry to hear about your frustrations. 

Do you have any duckweed? My local fish store told me that they don't sell it, they will just give it away because it floats on top of the water and just gets into things by mistake sometimes. I have heard that it and some other plants can suck up nutrients in the water incredibly fast and therefore clean up the 'green water'. 

If John N. has spoken to you before regarding other techniques, you may want to try them. I have always found him easy to understand, and with what you are putting yourself through; what could it hurt? 

I have just read a great thread by Bert H. that speaks about beginners (that would be everyone including Bert) not planting densely enough in the beginning. I can understand that because in the beginning, I did not have enough money at my local fish stores to afford to heavily plant. 

freshwaterplants.com for $19.94 had a plant package for 5-10 gallon tanks that should contain some fast growing plants that could help out with this. 

Let us know how things work out for you. Don't give up. We have all been there.


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## Marcom1234 (Aug 16, 2006)

thanks for the replies guys. i will do as you say john and not bleach the rocks.. i still think im gonna tear down and clean everything real good though.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

:crybaby: 

QUICK! Call your local library and speak to the reference Librarian and ask for Diana Walstad's book!

Or better yet, click on the link at the top of the page!
It is very easy to do, and the price is very, very good.
I ordered mine on Friday afternoon and received mine this morning! How is that for fast!

Or seriously, ask you local fish store for some of their Duckweed! What can it hurt?

Oh well, best of luck!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Sounds like you are taking a lot of effort to combat the Green Water. Nothing is wrong with tearing down the tank and starting over but a simple 3-day blackout will suffice for ridding Green Water from the tank as will a diatom or UV filter. The fish will be fine for 3 days and so will the plants plus, a blackout is free assuming you have some trash bags and a heavy blanket. Try the blackout the next time you have green water, it is very easy to do


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