Safe After Bleach 20:1 soak

[jlbfish]

I soaked my plants and limestone in a 20:1 bleach solution for about an hour to try to kill off some algae in my tank.

They are now in water super dosed with dechlorinator. How long should they soak there?

Also is driftwood ok to soak in this solution or is it better to boil?

I know it isn't a permanent solution but I am trying to kill off a black beard algae growth. So far it is only small spots but wanted to try.

Thanks!

[Rivercats]

I'd soak that rock for a couple days since it's porous and I wouldn't do the DW. If you only had a small amount of BBA you could have easily done a spot treatment with hydrogen peroxide in the tank. Plus if you don't correct the problem that caused it to start growing then it will come back.

How long do you leave your lights on? What kind of lighting and bulbs do you have? What is your WC schedule and how much do you change out weekly? Is the tank planted? What is your nitrate reading?

[jlbfish]

I'm not sure of the cause yet. It is a new thing. Could be that over the summer with travel and what not the weekly water change schedule slide into every 2 weeks occasionally. That is back on track.

Lights are on for about 8 hrs a day

These are the standard fluorescent bulbs and hood that come with the tank not sure of the wattage but can find out.

Water changes 1xper week of 25%-50% depending

The tank has no live plants in it. I DID put a bit of hydrocotyle in before leaving for vacation in June but it was eaten (or something) but was gone when I returned. Everything else is artificial for now.

The Nitrates are 20-30 at the moment it is time for a water change so I expect them to go down.

I will soak the rock for that long. The driftwood I can either treat or pressure wash if that would help. there are only spots on that but they aren't easy to see.

Thanks!
jana

[Rivercats]

For the DW just lay it in a sink on paper towels and pour hydrogen peroxide 3% all over it. Lay the peroxide drenched paper towels over the DW especially being sure to lay some over the spot and let sit for 20 minutes. You don't need to rinse and can just put the wood back in your tank.