I maintain an aquarium for some folks that run a restaurant. Earlier this week, they thought they'd be friendly and give the fish some bread to feed on :facepalm:

Obviously I am not always there so I didn't find out until my next maintenance visit the following week. As you can imagine, the bread was broken down through the gravel, smelling pretty foul and even growing a little bit of fuzz on the bigger pieces.

I managed to siphon all of this out and get it looking OK again but the walls of the tank, the pipes, the silk plants, etc were all slimy. The slime was not visible but you could feel it over everything. I'm sure this is mainly due to the yeast in the bread. Other ingredients would have also contributed, Im sure.

Anyway - The tank was in such a shocking condition that I decided to pull the aquarium out and completely do it over and get it cleaned up. I managed to get this slimy feel out of the filter box (AR620T) and all of the pipes, heater, UV filter, etc. but can not get it out of/off the silk plants, the ornament and the filter sponges (ditched the carbon cartridges).

Has anyone gone through this before? What is going to break down this stuff all over the plants, ornament, filter media?

It's going to cost a lot to replace it all! Please help!

You could try bleach. I don't know if it will work but it should cut through the worst. Bleach everything including the sponges and then rinse, rinse and rinse again.

You could try bleach. I don't know if it will work but it should cut through the worst. Bleach everything including the sponges and then rinse, rinse and rinse again.

I seriously thought about bleach in this situation but I'm worried it's going to damage the colour in the plants and ornament.

What do you think?

If it is a one off application it wont damage the colour

If it is a one off application it wont damage the colour

Interesting. How do you know this?

Thanks for your input

Would boiling it, or putting it in an oven to kill the yeast off work?

Strong alcohol bath should kill yeast to.

Assuming that the slimy feeling is from yeast on plants.

Would boiling it, or putting it in an oven to kill the yeast off work?

Strong alcohol bath should kill yeast to.

Assuming that the slimy feeling is from yeast on plants.

I have used very hot water to wash them/soak them several times. May need to try boiling water next.

Bit hesitant on the alcohol - I'm sure you can understand why.

Hmm, I just can't think of anything else that could have done it.

:facepalm: I hate it when people try to be helpful and feed your fish. Good luck with cleanup! Out of curiousity, do they pay you for this service or do you do it out of the goodness of your heart?

:facepalm: I hate it when people try to be helpful and feed your fish. Good luck with cleanup! Out of curiousity, do they pay you for this service or do you do it out of the goodness of your heart?

I know - It's such a pain. They don't realise how delicate these things are. Thanks!

Usually this is a paid service but this particular client had not been charged for any work done.

Thanks again!

I would be asking them to pay for replacements!

I would be asking them to pay for replacements!

They will be! Even if I can sort some of it out, it's still cost me lots of time trying to save it all :cry1:

Interesting. How do you know this?

Thanks for your input

I know beacuse I have done it on several occasions due to BBA. You dont soak it for long just 5 minutes will suffice

I know beacuse I have done it on several occasions due to BBA. You dont soak it for long just 5 minutes will suffice

Brilliant - I will get onto it today Thanks!

An update:

I filled a bucket with hot water and added some bleach. I left the plants for about 5 minutes as recommended. They seem to be OK now. Obviously the smell of the yeast is gone due to the bleach - I will keep rinsing them until they smell like nothing.

Seems to have dome the trick!

As for the ornament - Similar result. Might need a fair bit more rinsing than the plants due to all the little nooks and crannies.

Will update later!

As long as you have given it a really good rinse, and its a big enough tank don't panic toooooo much if there is still some smell of the bleach as it wont be toxic in a large volume tank.

And if it was a chlorine based bleach, and you are really worried, then just soak it in some water with prime (or what ever chlorine remover you use) added to it to remove/de-toxify the chlorine.

And if it was a chlorine based bleach, and you are really worried, then just soak it in some water with prime (or what ever chlorine remover you use) added to it to remove/de-toxify the chlorine.

Smart!!