Can I bleach this tank?

[Pomatomus]

Hello all,

I was wondering if there is any reason why I can't bleach this tank to get rid of algae. It's an acrylic tank with white marble chips siliconed to the back. Glass chunks on the bottom. I'm gonna pull the submersed lights out but I was thinking of just letting the pump circulate the system while bleaching.

Any reason why I can't? I'm going to pull the neon tetras and bioballs out of course.

View attachment 1154225

 

[xraycer]

Sure you can bleach it, as long as you rinse it out really, really well. Then refill the entire thing with water and dose heavily with dechlorinator. Then another round of heavy rinsing. Make sure the dechlorinated water reaches all the way to top and under trims that could potentially collect residual bleach

 

[boldtogether]

Bleach away.

That is one groovy tank.

 

[Woefulrelic]

If there's no fish you could empty and bleach it, let it dry completely and then refill. I'd still wash is after, but I've read that when completely dry bleach breaks down into salt and water. Someone might be able to confirm/deny that, but you would need to let it sit for some time. If you don't have another place for the fish for an extended period then this likely won't work.

 

[xraycer]

I've learned the hard way that residual bleach is a fish killer. Use heavy dose of dechlorinator if you're messing with bleach

 

[Pomatomus]

Cool! I have more than enough Alpha to dechlorinate a whole pond so I'll be sure to give it a healthy dose! Thanks guys!