Hello all. Does anyone know a good way, short of scrubbing by hand, to clean intricate plastic aquarium plants. They gather algae after several months, and make the tank look dingy, even if the water is clean. New ones really brighten up the tank, but cost $$$. I have tried everything short of the dishwasher! Thanks!
2006-12-12 12:32:23 · 9 answers · asked by angleheart20 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Bleach, yes it does kill fish if put in the tank but most people take the plants out to clean them. What I do is use a bleach solution 1 part bleach to 10 parts hot water, then I let them soak while I do other tank maintenance like a water change, scrub the glass and things like that and by the time I'm done the plants are done too. I rinse, rinse, rinse the plants in fresh water until I don't smell anymore bleach then soak them for a few mins in water with a little extra water conditioner in it then put them all back in the tank and they look like new. I do it every month and a half to 2 months and have never lost a fish yet so it can't be as dangerous as some people say and water conditioner removes the chlorine out of the tap so why wouldn't it remove any from the plants?
2006-12-13 01:41:01 · answer #1 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
How To Clean Aquarium Plants
2016-12-24 09:12:22 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bleach is one good means of cleaning plastic plants because most folks keep bleach at home anyway. The important part is to make sure all the bleach is off the plastic plants before putting them back in the fish tank. After I've bleach sterilized any fish equipment & dumped the bleach water out, I soak (overnight because I'm lazy) the stuff in water that I've put twice the amount of dechlorinate in (same stuff you dechlorinate your water with), swish the plants around periodically to make sure all the nooks and crannies get dechlorinated. Then rinse well with clean water. the plant should no longer smell like bleach at all. Another thing you can use is hydrogen peroxide (you can get it from any drug store)--just pour the peroxide in a container with the plants (try to get as much water off the plants and then submerge them in the peroxide), don't dilute it with water. The peroxide will probably start to bubble the crud away. leave overnight or longer. (If peroxide gets on your skin, rinse immediately or it start to burn.) Then rinse the plants well with hot water. The beauty of using hydrogen peroxide is that it easily dilutes with water and turns into H20 (more water) when it gets hot and when mixed with water. As long as you rinse it in hot water, your fish are safe AND when you dump it down the drain it won't do any damage to the environment. Don't use anything with soap it in; they make soaps these days with chemicals to keep water spots from forming and other things that you can't see or feel or smell but it's clinging to your dishware (it's why taverns and wine bars don't use regular soap to wash their glassware) and soap residue will kill fish.
2006-12-14 16:00:17 · answer #3 · answered by Inundated in SF 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
items needed. 5 gallon buck, bleach, fish water conditioner. a one cup bleach to bucket and soak plants overnight. then rinse plants off with clean water until they do not feel "slimey" from the clorine. Dump and refill bucket with clean water you may rinse out the bucket first if you would like. Add to the clean bucket of water a tablespoon of water conditioner and soak plants overnight again to remove any remaining clorox. I do this method with all 8 of my aquariums at home and all 113 tanks at my place of buisness.
2006-12-12 18:00:07 · answer #4 · answered by talisy77 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bleach and a scrub pad bleach is the only chemical i have found that doesn't leave a residue on aquarium items other than expensive cleaners from the pet store. Take and soak them in hot water and some bleach then if that doesn't work put on some gloves and scrub them and rinse and they will be good as new.(SOAKING THEM IN HOT WATER AND BLEACH USUALLY CLEANS THE ALGAE OFF OF THEM THAT NO SCRUBBING IS NECESSARY)
2006-12-12 12:39:09 · answer #5 · answered by sillymomma 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Note that if you use salt you can not use much because it WILL kill your freshwater fish. You should only use 1 tablespoon for every 10 gallons. Bleach and soap will also kill your fish. The best way would be to buy a pleco (aka algae eater, sucker fish), shrimp or other algae eating fish. Most fish will eat some algae but fish that base their diet on algae will work best. Also check your filter and if there is algae, or any other substance growing or developing on it then change your filter cartridge, sponge, etc...
2006-12-12 13:10:58 · answer #6 · answered by SED757 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
you can not use bleach or dish soap, or anything that has any types of chemicals in it... best thing i've found is to do a ton of salt in water, and swish,, it will help kill the germs, and the grains will help scrub the plants clean.
the salt won't hurt freshwater fish, because most freshwater aquarium stores will tell you to treat your water with salt if you don't use chemical treatements. but, please,,, don't use anything with any chemicals in it to clean those things, because any types of chemicals that the fish aren't used to will cause stress on them.... please be nice to your fish. thanks!!!
good luck!!
2006-12-12 13:00:16 · answer #7 · answered by Silver Thunderbird 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Soak them in Dawn with Bleach Alternative. Be sure to rinse very well. I would also do a baking soda rinse to be sure all soap residue is gone.
2006-12-12 12:42:05 · answer #8 · answered by Chub-a-lubby 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
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HOT water & bleach...SCRUB....rinse well......ta-dah
2016-04-02 05:59:16 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PEOPLE YOU CAN NOT USE BLEACH, IT KILLS FISH
2006-12-12 12:52:33 · answer #10 · answered by rhino_man420 6 · 2⤊ 7⤋