I Can't Get The Algea Off!

[haleystropicalfish]

How would I go about cleaning algea off the inside of my filter? I've soaked it in dishsoap and now it's soaking in Comet (that powdered bleach stuff) and I scrubbed the crud out of it but it won't come off! Is there some kind of magical comboniation no household products that will clean it off? It's seriosly gross in there!

 

[modaz]

How would I go about cleaning algea off the inside of my filter? I've soaked it in dishsoap and now it's soaking in Comet (that powdered bleach stuff) and I scrubbed the crud out of it but it won't come off! Is there some kind of magical comboniation no household products that will clean it off? It's seriosly gross in there!

i would just keep it soaking in there and eventually it will die from the chemicals but your gunna have to rinse it like crazy to make sure its safe to put back in the tank.

also try bicorbonate of soda

or lemon juice

 

[-germ-]

Yeah, your going to have to be very careful about making sure all the cleaning products have been cleaned off the filter themselves before putting that in a tank.

Bleach'll get it off eventually but if you have to use an extra strong solution IMO its best being safe and leaving it to soak in water that has been overdosed with dechlorinator, maybe add a PH neutralizer as well, bleach will act as a buffer, before returning it to your tank.

 

[haleystropicalfish]

Trust me, it will go through multiple stages of rinsing. And it's not going back into a tank for a while. I'm compleetly cleaning out an empty tank. I might not use it again for a long time.

 

[-germ-]

good stuff

 

[robertherrington]

Dont Give Up On The Guppies. Try Again Its Not As Bad As It Seems

 

[haleystropicalfish]

Thanks Robert, but I don't want to breed guppies anymore, I want to breed angels. They're so pretty!

 

[GuppyDude]

Try a razor blade, be careful though. Id suggest putting a little oil on the edge of the blade to avoid scratching the glass, though that might still happen. diatomic organisms like algea are tough to get off if they have had time to accumulate on a surface. When they die, they continue to stick to the glass surface, and new liveing algea gover over top of them, so you get a tough calcification(sp?) effect that is a paint to remove. Once the algea dies and dries out, it will come off alot easier. rtaher than soaking it, let it dry real good and try scrapeing it off. And before adding fish, insure that the tank is cleaned and rinsed excessivly, those chemicles are insta death to fish.

I'm a guppy guy myself, angels are beautiful, but they will be quite a differant set of obsticals. Goodluck on your fish keeping, w/e those fish might be.

 

[theotheragentm]

Soaps are a BAD idea. Residues stay around for a long time. Pure bleach is a better idea. After you soak it, rinse it out well and leave it in the sun. The sun will make sure no bleach is left. You'll have salts leftover only. Then you can soak it and rinse it with normal tapwater. Always go above and beyond with rinsing. You don't want soap residue.

 

[orange shark]

Thanks Robert, but I don't want to breed guppies anymore, I want to breed angels. They're so pretty!

Breed Both!

 

[community begginer]

just curious... has anyone tried: bleach, bi carb soda, dechlorinator and lemon...... you have all mention either one of teh chemicals mentioned but would it be wise to try it all in one lethal dose
community

 

[-germ-]

Erm... i didn't mention dechlor as a cleaning product, but as a way of preventing problems due to the use of bleach as a cleaner....
I don't think using the 2 at the same time would be wise, dunno....

 

[haleystropicalfish]

Thanks Robert, but I don't want to breed guppies anymore, I want to breed angels. They're so pretty!

Breed Both!

I was actually thinking about that, but not to sell or anything, I was going to feed the fry to my angels I need another tank first though.... and a place to put it. I'm hopefully going to remove all the stuff from my room exept my bed and my TV and replace it all with fishtanks! The sound doesn't bother me, but lack of space does. I can't put it anywhere else, because the monster that lives in my house coveres everything with his junk and flatly refuses to heat a room in the basement. Jerk.

And for everyone else, thanks for the help, I got it all off. And I'm not going to use it again for who knows how long. I'll be using sponge filters.

 

[the biffster]

why bother if its on the inside of a filter out of site out of mind if it on the out side
try denture cleaning tablets not toxic like bleach or just scrub with some filter wool


good luck biff