Rinsing

[swozzie]

Before I go anywhere near my tank, I rinse whatever is going in there under the tap (hands, algae scraper, gravel cleaner etc). How long does it take for clorine in tap water to kill any bacteria that may be present? I rinse for 10-20 seconds but will 5 seconds do or is 30 seconds more likely to do the job?

 

[snoobab]

Swozzie, rinsing quickly with tap water may wash some surface bacteria off but as for killing them...no! Chlorine takes quite a while to kill bacteria, your hands will go all wrinkly long before the chlorine kills the bacteria. But it is still a good idea to rinse everything as you still remove dirt, oil, and all sorts of crud!

 

[Tempestuousfury]

If you're afraid of contaminating the tanks, you can boil the stuff or use chemicals (I wouldn't recommend the latter unless you know what you're doing).

You'd have to soak for a really long time, and the chlorine'd dissipate after a while too.

 

[LynX]

holy crap! i woudnt even worry about it just wash ur hands and dry them with a towel, thats what i do and my fish havnt died