I have 35 gallon tank that my father-in-law gave to me. I let it sit in my garage for about 2 weeks while i took my time building a new lid for it. Well today i set it up in my house nd I was about to start filling it when i noticed Mold growing on the rift wood in the tank. I looked closer and it is on the plastic plants as well. Should I bother trying to clean this off? The piece of wood is really big and I know it was pricy. I dont really care about the plants i can get new ones. any info would be appreciated. I have attached some pictures to help identify. Thank you in advance.
Need Some help with Mold
- Thread starter WesleyC
- Start date
An extra heavy dose of dechlor after a few good soaks also does it.
Really you shouldn't need to boil it to get rid of the bleach. Chlorine evap's at relatively low temps so HOT water from the tap normally works fine. The big thing is you shouldn't be able to smell any chlorine when your done. FWIW, I use bleach on a lot of things for my tanks... never had any problems in many years of doing it. Just gotta pay attention
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LOL, love the new sig Jay Just think of all the stuff you'll be able to fill it with after the move.
Chris
Really you shouldn't need to boil it to get rid of the bleach. Chlorine evap's at relatively low temps so HOT water from the tap normally works fine. The big thing is you shouldn't be able to smell any chlorine when your done. FWIW, I use bleach on a lot of things for my tanks... never had any problems in many years of doing it. Just gotta pay attention
. LOL, love the new sig Jay
Just think of all the stuff you'll be able to fill it with after the move. Chris
I don't know what's in those mold killing products or how to neutralize it. However, I do know what's in bleach and that dechlorinator will neutralize it, and I have plenty of that around, plus I have used bleach many, many times to disinfect items for my tanks... including the tanks themselves. Bleach is the way to do, just use lots of dechlor in the final soak as stated above.
Just to concour - Mold is relatively common on anything like this where it has been wet for prolonged periods. Especially when we are actively encouraging bacterial gorwth on there.
Bleach is a surprisingly strong but easy to remove germ killer. Thats why its used so much around hospitals etc. Give all the plants and wood an overnight soaking in a bucket with a weak bleach solution, this will kill the mold then keep rinsing with warm water till the smell has gone, and then reinforce this with a soak in water with Dechlorinator to remove any last vestiges.
Good luck and enjoy getting your tank ready...
Bleach is a surprisingly strong but easy to remove germ killer. Thats why its used so much around hospitals etc. Give all the plants and wood an overnight soaking in a bucket with a weak bleach solution, this will kill the mold then keep rinsing with warm water till the smell has gone, and then reinforce this with a soak in water with Dechlorinator to remove any last vestiges.
Good luck and enjoy getting your tank ready...
BlueStraggler, Yeah I forgot the "D" in drift. Thanks guys for all the input. I think I am going to soak it all in a light bleach solution rinse and repeat a few times like suggested above. one more thing should i worry about the gravel? soak it with bleach too? and if i am soaking the entire contents of the tank should i just do my bleach solution soak in the tank it self or will that damage the sealant?
Personally I wouldn't *soak* the tank its self. Like you picked up on, it could cause issues with the silicone. That said though a light spray with 1:8 or 10 bleach to water solution and then a good rinse/wipe should do the trick.
For the rest of the stuff... Couldn't hurt! I use the same concentration as above. A rubbermaid or a few 5 gallon pails come in really handy for this.
Chris
For the rest of the stuff... Couldn't hurt!
I use the same concentration as above. A rubbermaid or a few 5 gallon pails come in really handy for this. Chris