This is why i used hydrogen peroxide
An alternative to beach for cleaning filter socks
I posted this thread on my local forum and people liked it, so I'm gonna publish it here too. I'm sure a lot of people are already using this method.
Enjoy
I'm reading pretty much everywhere about the common practice to add household bleach for cleaning filter socks.
I never used it for many reason, some due to the facts, some to some suspects.
Some facts:
-Even in small amount, the Sodium hypochloride contained in the household bleach will be released in your water column.
-Sodium hypochloride (NaOCl) reacts with metals, it can release chlorine gas and many other fun stuff that you don't want to happen in your tank.
-It also causes the precipitation of minerals such as calcium carbonate which is present in good amount in our tanks mostly producing trihalomethanes which are carcinogenic
-When mixed with some sort of ammonia (that we have in our tanks) it produces chloramines which are toxic.
-NaOCl will damage the fibers and the lifespan of the sock will be shortened. We all know that this is true for natural fibers, but it is also proven that some polymer can be damaged by acid and bleach
-There are some more effects of bleach on a water solution, you can find a lot of readings online.
Again, it will be present in a low level on a dry filter sock, but it will be present.
The suspect:
When beaching a filter sock you are just getting rid of stains, but you are not really cleaning the sock better, that being done with the mechanical action of cleaning (extra rinse in your washing machine).
So if you are just getting rid of stains for the pleasure of your eyes while introducing potential hazard for your tank, why you should use it?
I had to prove my suspect so I decided to perform a couple of tests.
I cut a used filter sock (felt) in 2 parts and washed one with and another one without bleach. Then I prepared a section and mounted it on a few slides.
At first sight under the microscope looks like the bleached one is much more clean than the other one.
But after I stained the sample I was able to see pretty much the same amount of particles (mostly algae) in the two samples.
The bleach just "bleached" the algae (what a genius!!!) but it DID NOT REMOVE THEM FROM THE SOCK.
The purpose of cleaning a filter sock is to get rid, as much as we can, of the particles that are clogging it. The test I performed showed me that bleach is not helping that way. I thought that bleach was able to somehow "destroy" the particles present in the sock, helping the mechanical cleaning, but it is not, probably due to the nature of the fiber used for filter socks.
I went ahead and I did another couple of tests.
First of all I put 3 samples of algae (which is most of the stuff trapped in your filter socks) in 3 liquids: household bleach, hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar
I let them sit for 30 minutes. The bleach turned the algae white, while the other 2 liquids left the color.
Then I did an empiric test, pulling apart the algae. As I imagined the bleach was the one who performed worst, followed by the vinegar and then, the winner: hydrogen peroxide
I then prepared my slides
And I put them under the scope
What I've seen under magnification confirmed my theory: bleach just remove the color from pigments (you can see at the end the solution is kinda green), while the other 2 solutions act more deeper on the algae structure. You can see how they started to break down
I then tried to wash a filter sock after soaking it with hydrogen peroxide.
It worked!!!
Soaked with about 1/4 of a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide for a couple of hours, then washed (cotton, hot, extra rinse).
Hydrogen peroxide does not leave any chemical, it dissolves into water to water and oxygen. You can now safely have a white filter sock with no risk and without a lot of rinsing. I still suggest to let them dry to let the chlorine evaporate
Some algae already decomposing and living a brown juice
Clean as with bleach
But without the risk and the bad smell
Just a little bit of bubble noise lol
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