# Bleaching Bogwood



## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Hello, this is my first post on this forum. Looks like a fun place to hang out 

So here's my situation:

When I brought home a tank I got from craigslist there was evidence that the tank had BGA (cyanobacteria). There were a couple pieces of bogwood that I really liked and would love to use. Not wanting to risk introducing BGA to a new tank, I researched the best way to kill the bacteria for good.

The solution I found that instilled me with the most confidence was soaking the bogwood in 1/20th bleach solution.

Of course I came across some thoughts that bleaching anything porous is a bad idea, but I found counterpoints stating that as long as you let the wood dry completely out the bleach will simply evaporate and it will be safe. I also read that you can soak the bogwood in highly de-chlorinated water to pull out the bleach.

I went ahead and did both, soaking the bogwood overnight in water that was dosed with 4x the recommended dosage of prime, then letting it dry out (letting it sit in front of a heater for about 5 hours, and it's been a couple weeks since, just sitting in the garage).

When I went to go put the pieces in last night while I was setting up my firemouth's 40 gallon, I thought I smelled bleach still. But then when I sniffed the wood, I couldn't really convince myself that I really was smelling it (paranoia?). I took those pieces out and now I'm afraid that I've done something really stupid. Is there a way I can be sure the wood is safe after bleaching it? Anyone else bleached bogwood or have any other thoughts or suggestions?

Thank you!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I've bleached wood before, what I did was double dose prime in the soaking bucket changing the water out every couple of days, never had a problem with it after 2 weeks of doing that.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

BGA doesn't move like that. The same environment it came from would have to still exist. Plus, if you just left the wood out for a couple of days in the sun it would certainly die. Drying out will take care of a bleach problem also.


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Right on, that's helpful! I'm not looking forward to using that much Prime with two weeks of soaking, but in the long run the peace of mind (and lack of dead or stressed fish) will be worth it. 

I've read a little bit about "baking" wood, but it was with regards to reptile tanks. This is a really thick piece of wood and I'm concerned about it being dry inside, so I thought baking might be worth a try, anyone tried that?

Regarding the BGA, from what I've read the bacteria does not die simply from drying out. Common sense would say that anything aquatic would not be able to survive outside aquatic conditions, but cyanobacteria is different. I've experienced this first-hand. I had a 10 gallon tank that had succumbed to cyano, and I fought with it for 6 months and could not get it to go away. I tore down the tank and cleaned it all thoroughly.

A year or more later I thought it would be no problem to set it back up and it wasn't 2 months before it was back. The tank was double filtered, I'm careful not to overfeed, and I'm pretty good about water changes (although I _could_ be better, admittedly). I've never had the problem with my larger tanks, but I've fought it with two of my smaller tanks and it's been a losing battle every time. *NA*


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

BGA can be treated with an antibiotic available at petsmarts and petcos.


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

susankat said:


> BGA can be treated with an antibiotic available at petsmarts and petcos.


Wish I would have known that earlier =/ Would the antibiotics be harmful to the fish if I had to treat a tank that was currently in use?

Anyway, getting back on track... I've already got bleach soaked bog wood, so this is could be useful for future occurrences, but here's hoping it doesn't come to that!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Like I said, BGA will not move like that. The conditions have to exist for it to thrive and if you have had a case where you had it go and come back, it wasn't because it didn't die the first time. It was because the condition existed yet again for it to start and live.

BGA is a very easy problem to control. Healthy regular water changes and keeping nutrient levels under control is all it takes. Light control helps.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

They had an article/w photo's on here about algae and it's cures/causes/controls. Could anyone give me a link to that if you know
where it might be so that I can see this BGA type algae ?


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Light control. That's it!! I'm a bit of a night owl and often stay up until midnight or 1am during the week, and 3 or 4am on weekends. I like to maximize my time enjoying my fish so the tanks lights don't usually go off until I go to bed... Then they usually get turned back on around 730 or 8... Lights being on for 17 or 18 hours a day probably isn't doing me any favors there... 

Like I said, it's only been an issue in two of my tanks, and they've been 5 and 10 gallons. *knock on wood


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I run my lights way longer than I know I should also(really don't know how the rest of you do it ,but God bless you!).BBA and cyano can be killed with hydrogen peroxide while it is in the tank.
It truly is a lighting issue(I know) .The double dechlorinator should remove any reminants of bleach as bleach and chlorine are really one in the same.I regenerate one of my chemical filter products(purigen) with bleach and the double dechlorinating is the way to go!
"That much prime" is relative ,as if your wood can fit in a 5 gallon bucket then you really won't need 2ML prime.Prime is very powerful and efficient.
Hydrogen peroxide - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki
In USA HP is 3% and in England and abroad itis Usaully 6%.


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

coralbandit said:


> I run my lights way longer than I know I should also(really don't know how the rest of you do it ,but God bless you!)


I just inherited a timer with a recent craigslist purchase but I have yet to use it (though I should). The light for my main tank in the dining room doesn't have a switch so I have to unplug it to turn it off. Not a big deal but it's a little annoying. 

Maybe I'll use the timer on that and set it to turn on at 10am and off at midnight... the light clicking off could be a good reminder for me to GO TO BED, It's FREAKIN _Midnight_!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That is still 14hrs. Too much. My guess is you don't stay by your tank viewing them that long. I'd recommend no longer than 10hrs per day. Just turn them on the period you possibly could be in the room at the same time - in other words not while your gone or asleep. For instance, if you work during the day and get home at 5pm, have them off all morning, have the light come on and still have enough lighting time for your taste and then you see the light go out before you go to bed. With that, the light would come at 2pm and go off at midnight. This is how you keep things like cyano away or other algae issues.


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Bandit, do you think the de-chlorinator would also be able to pull out bleach that may have seeped into the pores of the wood? I'm trying to remember how long I soaked then for... I can't remember if it was 10 minutes or 30... I think it was 10 (soaked in the bleach, I mean). They initially soaked in highly de-chlorinated water over night. Should I do continual soaks for 2 weeks as earlier suggested or would just an overnight soak and complete dry be sufficient? There's one big stump-like piece and one long piece that neither would fit in a 5 gallon bucket so I used a spare 40 gallon that I'm currently in the process of re-siliconing so I don't really have anything else to use... wait, except maybe my coleman cooler, hmm...


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## IchthysMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Jr, that's a good idea. my wife and I are both out of the house all day during the week so I could just set it to turn on at 2pm instead of 10am. On the weekends though, I'll have to make an exception... I usually stay up until 2 or 3am... party hardy *h/b*banana dance*h/b*h/b*banana dance*n1


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If you don't smell the bleach then it is probly safe.jrmain knows his stuff about lighting so his advice is very good.More than 8-10 hours will cause algae issues for most.


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