Dump Bleach in that ex-reef...or...just change the water?

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girliefishlips

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 1, 2010
33
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6
North TX
:WHOA: LOL! Note that said EX-reef! I decided I am going to switch back to fresh water with my 37g saltwater tank, but, I've been away from the fw side of the hobby for...hmmm....well, decades, so, I have a great deal to catch up on! Anyway, I removed my one fish, and, snails, and, am ready to switch over, so, I'd like some opinions on whether or not I should bleach this, or, should I just switch to fw and allow the marine bacteria in the liverock walls to cycle out naturally and convert over to fw bacteria. This tank has a built in artificial liverock wall on three sides that cannot be removed for cleaning. I'm just wondering if there is actually an advantage to leaving it, or, should I go ahead and bleach it before draining and rinsing? I'm planning to set up a planted tank with a South American river theme.

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girliefishlips said:
I'm planning to dump a cup of bleach in the tank tomorrow and let it run for a few days before, rinsing and re-starting as fw.
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+1 - this is what I was going to recommend, this not only cleans the tank but your filter & equipment as well. 24hours would probably do it. Make sure to use Prime when refilling the tank after you drain the bleach water. Prime will help neutralize any leftover bleach.
 
I would just rinse and let dry. No need to bleach. I converted a couple tanks from salt to fresh this way, no problems.
 
Inglorious said:
But wouldn't the dying BB in the LR actually fuel the cycle for the FW BB?
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Good question. Short answer is, I don't know. It could aid the cycle or you could just have rotting stuff in your tank. I've been doing the fishless cycle & dosing straight ammonia for a couple years now and I don't see myself ever using any other method ever again. Takes all the guess work out of cycling.
 
Inglorious said:
But wouldn't the dying BB in the LR actually fuel the cycle for the FW BB?
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That's what I was thinking, too. If I just leave it, the marine bacteria and algaes will just fuel the cycle, which is fine by me. I think this is what I am going to do. I actually started to put bleach in the tank today, but, this new bleach we have has me worried that it might not be 'just' bleach. It is concentrated and thick as snot, and, when I mixed a cup into a bottle of water to thin down, it turned to a thick foam. The bottle said it was phosphorus free, but, I still worry it might have some toxic residue that could end up poisoning my tank, so, I'm not going to use it. I'll just get some fw bacterial starter and use that. First, I need to remove a 5" sandbed and rinse the tank out well, then I want to set it up with a potting soil base with sand cap for planting. Once that is done, I will refill and let it cycle. I would add plants right away, but, my budget won't allow it for another month, so, I plan to run out to Petsmart and see if they have a water wisteria or other fast growing plant and a pothos if I can find one, so, I can get some plant filtration going until I can plant it properly. Next step, will be to figure out what I want to do with the 20gal sump. :)
 
Well, I decided to bleach it after all. It has been running for a couple days with bleach and I've removed the liverock and bleached it too. Now, to get time to drain and refill. :)
 
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