Cleaning Fake Plants???

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Ian086

Aquarium Advice Addict
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Nov 1, 2012
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Location
Drogheda, Ireland
Hi, i just wanted to get some advice/tips on cleaning my fake plastic plants..I have read that i should use bleach and water. I was just wondering if anyone has tried this??. I heard a ratio of 1 part bleach for every 10 parts water. Is this ok? Do i use hot/warm/cold water with my bleach??. I will of course rinse very well after and soak in Prime/water mix. How long would i need to let them soak in the Prime/Water...Sorry for all the questions, i just want to keep my fish safe..
Don't know if it makes a difference but my tank is a 55g freshwater...
All tips/advice welcome and appreciated...Thanks, Ian
 

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Those ratios seems safe and just be sure to rinse them off well. But with your substrate and lighting, why not go for the real thing??
 
Thanks, i just have regular playsand and the LED's are just cheap 5050 RGB LED strip lights. I don't think they'd be strong enough for real plants??. I know absolutely nothing about plants and at the moment don't have the time to really care for them. I definitely plan on planting in the near future...
 
Update...
I went ahead and cleaned the plants(plastic). I used the bleach water solution. I used a 10/1 water to bleach ratio..I used cheap own brand supermarket bleach, which didn't actually smell that strong. If using a branded one, you might want to weaken the solution a bit more. I left them in there over night but when i checked them after a few minutes, they seemed spotless. I was heading to bed, so i just left them. This morning i rinsed them in fairly hot water for about 5mins, then cold water for another 5mins. I then soaked them in a Water/Prime solution. I used 10ml Prime in about 3ltrs of water. I used a plastic basin to soak them for about 5hrs. When i took them out of the basin i checked them for a smell of chlorine and there wasn't, so i put back into the tank... So far so good..
I could have left it less in the bleach, and probably overdone it with the rinsing and dechlorinating but i didn't want to take any risks with the bleach..The plants came out like new and i didn't have to scrub them. Just soak and rinse!!!
PS..Remember to use proper gloves and use the bleach in a well ventilated room...
 
For sanitizing, approximately 5-10 DROPS of bleach is all that would be needed for a quart or liter of water.
Agree, but i needed to give them a really good clean. They were pretty dirty. All the dirt just dissolved, i didn't even need to touch them. It really did the trick. I rinsed them really well and then i soaked them in a strong solution of prime and water overnight. I checked them and there was absolutely no smell of bleach. They look brand new now....
 
Hi, i just wanted to get some advice/tips on cleaning my fake plastic plants..I have read that i should use bleach and water. I was just wondering if anyone has tried this??. I heard a ratio of 1 part bleach for every 10 parts water. Is this ok? Do i use hot/warm/cold water with my bleach??. I will of course rinse very well after and soak in Prime/water mix. How long would i need to let them soak in the Prime/Water...Sorry for all the questions, i just want to keep my fish safe..
Don't know if it makes a difference but my tank is a 55g freshwater...
All tips/advice welcome and appreciated...Thanks, Ian

I have never tried cleaning any of my aquarium items with bleach. I use hot water and vinegar it works quite well and best of all its not a chemical and non-toxic.
 
I have never tried cleaning any of my aquarium items with bleach. I use hot water and vinegar it works quite well and best of all its not a chemical and non-toxic.
Bleach is fine, once you rinse well and dechlorinate properly..Purigen is recharged with bleach....
 
Maybe i will try it on some gravel that really needs a good cleaning
Just try this first, get a decent size bucket with a lid. Put some of the gravel into it and fill with very hot water. Leave to soak for a few mins and then give a good shake. The gravel will use itself to clean itself, if that makes sense!!. I would just try this first because i'm not sure if the bleach would damaged the colour of the gravel(if it's coloured)..Have you considered switching to sand, so much easier to keep clean...I just swapped out my gravel in my 10g fry tank. The amount of dirt under the gravel was unreal, and it was only set-up 4mths. I was vacing it every week...Ian
 
Just try this first, get a decent size bucket with a lid. Put some of the gravel into it and fill with very hot water. Leave to soak for a few mins and then give a good shake. The gravel will use itself to clean itself, if that makes sense!!. I would just try this first because i'm not sure if the bleach would damaged the colour of the gravel(if it's coloured)..Have you considered switching to sand, so much easier to keep clean...I just swapped out my gravel in my 10g fry tank. The amount of dirt under the gravel was unreal, and it was only set-up 4mths. I was vacing it every week...Ian

I have actually thought about sand but heard it was a bit harder to deal with and you need undergravel filters and can't stick the siphon right into the sand. And if you stir it up it makes your tank cloudy. You have no problems?
 
I have actually thought about sand but heard it was a bit harder to deal with and you need undergravel filters and can't stick the siphon right into the sand. And if you stir it up it makes your tank cloudy. You have no problems?

Under gravel filters should not be used with sand. Cloudiness depends on the kind of sand. I've got it in five of my tanks
 
Under gravel filters should not be used with sand. Cloudiness depends on the kind of sand. I've got it in five of my tanks

Ya i would probably choose a coarser sand i actually seen some called cichlid mix and since i own mostly cichlids i was very interested in getting it. I posted a new thread on asking opinions on either to use gravel or sand so i can get more info and insight on it so i will see how that goes :)
 
Ya i would probably choose a coarser sand i actually seen some called cichlid mix and since i own mostly cichlids i was very interested in getting it. I posted a new thread on asking opinions on either to use gravel or sand so i can get more info and insight on it so i will see how that goes :)
Hey PolyptRus, I would guess alot of people will recommend sand, because as far as i'm aware cichilds like to siff through the sand for food(i stand corrected on that!). I use children's play sand, i get the light coloured one, it's pretty fine. If you wash it really well, all the light sand will be washed out and you'll be left with the heavier sand. This when disturbed in the tank will simply sink back down and not float. The trick is to wash the sand really, really well. This stops the cloudiness. I switched out my gravel on the 10g today and the water is only very slightly cloudy and should be crystal clear tomorrow. I have nearly always used sand as i find gravel, although it does look nice, it also hides all the dirt. Sand is also very easy to keep clean, you just hover the siphon/gravel vac slightly above the sand and all the dirt will rise. You shouldn't get any sand coming up..Another benefit is it is super cheap. A few dollars worth will do a 50g tank, no problem...
 
Hey PolyptRus, I would guess alot of people will recommend sand, because as far as i'm aware cichilds like to siff through the sand for food(i stand corrected on that!). I use children's play sand, i get the light coloured one, it's pretty fine. If you wash it really well, all the light sand will be washed out and you'll be left with the heavier sand. This when disturbed in the tank will simply sink back down and not float. The trick is to wash the sand really, really well. This stops the cloudiness. I switched out my gravel on the 10g today and the water is only very slightly cloudy and should be crystal clear tomorrow. I have nearly always used sand as i find gravel, although it does look nice, it also hides all the dirt. Sand is also very easy to keep clean, you just hover the siphon/gravel vac slightly above the sand and all the dirt will rise. You shouldn't get any sand coming up..Another benefit is it is super cheap. A few dollars worth will do a 50g tank, no problem...

Awesome i always thought sand looked alot nicer maybe i will try it out in a small tank before doing anything big but i will definitely give it a go! Thanks so much for the info :)
 
Awesome i always thought sand looked alot nicer maybe i will try it out in a small tank before doing anything big but i will definitely give it a go! Thanks so much for the info :)
Your welcome..Imo don't bother with the sand from the lfs, way too expensive. Check out my 55g album and you'll see mine. I have to update the photo's but you'll get the idea..Just make sure you wash the sand really good. When you think the sand is clean, wash it again and again. It's worth it in the end. I just use a bucket, garden hose and a stick. Give it a good blast with the garden hose and stir it up with a stick or similar. Tilt the bucket and all the dirty water will pour out. Repeat a few times until the water runs clear. You will lose some sand but this is just the junk and all the light sand that will float and cloud your water...It seems like a lot of work, but it's not really and it's worth it in the end...When i was talking to you earlier, i said my 10g was slightly cloudy, well it's crystal clear now..I use pillow floss in my internal(can't fit purigen in it) and it keeps it crystal..Also dirt cheap $1, will last you a very long time....
Good luck if/when you change and if ya need any help, just give me a shout...Ian
 
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