Prefilter sponge with algae - how to clean

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fabsroman

AC Members
Sep 30, 2008
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West Friendship, MD
I have a prefilter sponge on my Mag 5 that is full of algae. So much so that it hinders the water flow a decent amount. I have taken it out, rinsed it thoroughly while ringing it out, and while this removes the crud, it doesn't remove the algae. What can I do to remove the algae? Would bleach work, and if so, how do I go about it? Would I soak it in bleach overnight, just 5 seconds, 2 hours? What other methods are available?

FYI - I know I can buy new sponges and am actually in the process of ordering a couple new ones. However, I am also frugal and would like to get my money's worth out of each sponge.
 
While i'm not sure of the best way to safely remove the algae, I do know that using bleach would render the sponge unsafe to place back into the filter. Even after rinsing and wringing the bleach out trace amounts would still . It's impressive how difficult it is to be rid of all bleach residue. As you surely know, bleach is extremely poisonous to fish.
 
steelshade said:
While i'm not sure of the best way to safely remove the algae, I do know that using bleach would render the sponge unsafe to place back into the filter. Even after rinsing and wringing the bleach out trace amounts would still . It's impressive how difficult it is to be rid of all bleach residue. As you surely know, bleach is extremely poisonous to fish.
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Yes, I know that beach is extremely deadly to fish and other organisms that live in water. However, bleach is used to reactivate Purigen and there is a process for completely getting rid of the bleach from the Purigen. I soak it in Prime overnight and then I soak it in Neutral Regulator overnight. I've been using Purigen this way for 2 years now and have recharged it about 6 times using bleach.

So, I am wondering if 1) the bleach will get rid of the algae and 2) if there is a method for making the sponge safe for the aqauarium inhabitants.

By the way, a bleach bath is used by some people on plants before they put them in their aquarium. I believe this is done to kill any snails that might be hitch hiking and possibly any algae. I've also heard of a bleach bath being used to kill hair algae. So, I am wondering if a bleach bath would work on a sponge covered in algae.
 
Bleach can be eliminated or neutralized with ease. That is not the problem you will have though. Bleaching will cause sponges to degrade. The stronger and longer one bleaches as well as the more times, the sooner a sponge will start to "fall apart".

It is often easier to replace the intake sponge than to try and bleach it.
 
TwoTankAmin said:
Bleach can be eliminated or neutralized with ease. That is not the problem you will have though. Bleaching will cause sponges to degrade. The stronger and longer one bleaches as well as the more times, the sooner a sponge will start to "fall apart".

It is often easier to replace the intake sponge than to try and bleach it.
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That was my other concern. I think I'll stay away from the bleach, try the hydrogen peroxide bath as suggested below, and if that doesn't work resign myself to spending the money to replace the intake sponges about once a year. In the grand scheme of things, probably not too big of an additional expense.
 
^FYI for most organisms it only takes 10 minutes of soaking in a 10% bleach solution to disinfect it.

Whenever I completely clean out a tank I use bleach to sterilize the tank. I then allow the tank to dry out for 24 hours to allow the bleach to degrade into salts. Quick rinse and the residue is gone and the tank is back in action.
 
How much algae is actually in it? Sometimes I just cut off an outer layer of the sponge (skinning it, basically..) if it gets too clogged.
 
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