I think bleach got into my saltwater tank!

[driftwood]

I have a 125 gallon. saltwater tank,with a bio-ball filter.It has a cloth in it to filter out the big stuff in the water. My girlfriend was trying to be helpfull and washed the cloth in bleach water,but she didn't rinse it out very good befor she put it back in. now my fish seem to be dying. they won't eat and there breathing is labored. I have a lionfish(about 11 inches long), A striped grouper(8 inches long) and a spotted grouper(9 inches long). Is there any way I can nutralize the bleach in the tank. I did a 30% water change imeadiatly but didn't seem to help much. HELP PLEASE ANYONE! I DO NOT WANT TO LOOSE MY FISH! I WOULD RATHER GIVE UP THE GIRLFRIEND!!! PLEASE PLEASE ANY SUGGESTIONS.

 

[Jimold]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

I would do 2 things... first off, continue doing water changes... also, I'm pretty sure bleach is chemically similar or the same as chlorine (i.e. chlorine bleach...) Try using Prime or AmQuel+ to neutrilize the chlorine.
Also, don't dump your girlfriend over a mistake... only dump her if she does it on purpose...lol

 

[driftwood]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

Thanks Jim, I know she didn't do it on purpose, i just wish she had'nt tryed to help. I was curious about the chlorine/bleach driffrences and if that kind of chem. would help.

 

[Luniyn]

If it's regular "chlorine" bleach, then use your tap water treatment chemical to get rid of it (Prime, NovAqua+, Amquel+, AquaSafe, whatever). If not then a much larger water change is needed. And then another one right after that. Do a 50% water change and then the moment you get done do another 50% water change. Each time you do this you will lessen the concentration of bleach in the water. The idea is to get it down so it isn't as toxic of a level. You'll have to keep doing water changes until the water quality gets better over the next few days. Good Luck!

 

[Jimold]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

I'm not positive about it, but it's what I would try first.

 

[agsansoo]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

Totally agree with Jim ... AmQuel will neutralize the chlorine bleach ! Unless it was scented bleach ... Then your fish might be toast !

People and myself included use bleach to clean filter socks all the time ... After cleaning with bleach, always dry filter material out completely (24hrs).
This neutralizes the bleach. Rinse, and your good to go.

 

[driftwood]

thanks Luniyn yes it was just a cheap laundry bleach.

 

[driftwood]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

I allways clean this cloth with bleach also, but I rinse it out until even the slightest smell of bleach is gone. thats why she did it that way. she just didn't know that I rinsed it so thourghly. like I said she was just trying to help. THANKS ALOT FOR EVERY THING. It was not scented bleach,and just a cheap brand. AGAIN THANKS.

 

[sirdarksol]

Fish are the only pet that you should use bleach around, because as Luniyn suggested, the chemicals we use to neutralize chlorine in our tanks will also deal with the chlorine in bleach (You may want to use a bit extra of the chemical to dechlorinate your water. Bleach can introduce much more chlorine than is put in by municipal water sources). Note that this doesn't mean you should use bleach while your fish are in the tank, it just means that it's easier to fix if an accident introduces bleach to the tank.

 

[Luniyn]

One thing to note though is that it will kill your good bacteria and possibly lead to a mini-cycle or in worst case a full cycle from scratch. So keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels to make sure they don't start to go up.

 

[Mike]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

Right on Jim!

 

[JGoldinger]

Re: BLEACH IN MY SALTWATER TANK! HELP!!!!

You have a pretty awesome girlfriend for trying to help you out with your tank!

Sit down and show her how stuff works and how things impact the tank like bleach!

It will probably build your relationship and stop this from happeneing again! lol

 

[bhcaaron]

So what ever happened with the fish? And the girlfriend too lol