I've been meaning to reply to the black brush algae issue, as far as bleaching
equipment.
I found out by accident that direct contact with marine salt will kill black
algae. I now use it to treat ornaments and equipment that have the algae on
them.
I just remove the heater (or rock or whatever) and grab a handful of marine
salt and start smearing it all over. Then I rinse it and stick it back in the
tank. Sometimes I don't even bother rinsing. This doesn't remove the algae, but
a few days later it has changed color and is starting to fall apart. I use this
technique on the sides of the tank when I have it drained down, and sometimes
by holding a handful of marine salt against the algae when under water (this of
course makes the water a tad bit salty).
I would think that a good substitute would be a mixture of baking soda and
regular table salt. For all I know either one might be effective on its own.
The advantage here is that it is so easy and you don't have to rinse as
carefully as you do when you are using bleach.
Steev
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