How to Clean Decorative Coral
For many fish owners, decorative coral is a great and easy way to add a simple touch to your fish tank. Eventually, though, you'll have to clean not only the tank, but the contents within it. Cleaning can be an easy process, if you don't let the coral go uncleaned for long.
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Instructions
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Preparation
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Before attempting to reach into the tank to retrieve the coral, be sure to clean your hands. You don't want any germs that may be on your hands to transfer into the water.
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Place a plastic container beside your fish tank. Make sure that it is at least slightly larger than the item you are going to be placing inside it.
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Reach into your tank and retrieve your plastic coral, then place it inside the container.
Cleaning
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Take the container that holds your decorative coral and place it inside the sink. Position your faucet so it is directly over the container that holds the coral, then run the water on hot. This ensures that surface debris on the coral will be removed quickly and easily. Allow the water to run for five minutes.
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After you have allowed the hot water to run for five minutes, run cool water into the container so you do not burn yourself. Once the water has cooled, reach inside and grab the coral. If debris still remains on the coral, scrub the surface of the coral with a toothbrush.
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If for some reason you cannot get the debris off by using the toothbrush, take the rough side of your new, unused sponge and scrape the coral. You will most likely be unable to remove all debris, but try to remove as much as you can.
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After you have scrubbed everything you can off the coral, dump the dirty water out of the container, then run hot water into it. This ensures that the bacteria from the tank is killed by the temperature of the water. Once you have allowed the hot water to run for five minutes, submerge the now-cleaned coral into the container and turn the hot water on. Allow it to sit for five minutes before removing it.
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When you see debris float up from the coral and out of your container, cool the water and retrieve the coral. You may then place it inside your tank.
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Tips & Warnings
A larger container is recommended so the coral can be completely submerged in water.
Don't be afraid to apply extra pressure when scraping debris off the coral.
If necessary, clean your tank before removing coral or any other decorative object so new algae growth does not quickly occur.
Never use soaps or any other chemicals to clean your tank decorations. Harsh chemicals may seep into the water and kill your fish.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit white coral image by Daria Miroshnikova from Fotolia.com
