Few Questions From Newbie In Training

[kbod]

hi all ive been fish keeping since nov so still newbie by my reckoning ,
anyway i already have 2 x 64 litre tanks running both were brought from lfs new and sad to say were set up using the fish in cycle as advised from my lfs ,never heard of cycling before found this place,needless to say both tanks experienced probs and losses as well as possibility of infection from tb from poorly fish at same lfs.. obviously steering clear of that place .

well not one to be put off from a wonderful hobby ive just purchased a used 200 litre tank and have been given equipment and decorations etc as well as a friend giving me some old fish decs etc.
what i need to no is
1) how/with what do i clean tank ? (tank prev no probs fish upgraded to bigger tank )
2) how/with what do i clean rock and decorations from this tank ?
3) how/with what do i clean bog wood from this tank ?

4) from friends garage a box of bog wood but cobwebs and been standing for a while etc so how/with what do i clean ?
5) heard about boiling bog wood but one piece from friends garage is very long too long for even a pressure cooker sized pot so any ideas ?

 

[fatheadminnow]

hi all ive been fish keeping since nov so still newbie by my reckoning ,
anyway i already have 2 x 64 litre tanks running both were brought from lfs new and sad to say were set up using the fish in cycle as advised from my lfs ,never heard of cycling before found this place,needless to say both tanks experienced probs and losses as well as possibility of infection from tb from poorly fish at same lfs.. obviously steering clear of that place .

well not one to be put off from a wonderful hobby ive just purchased a used 200 litre tank and have been given equipment and decorations etc as well as a friend giving me some old fish decs etc.
what i need to no is
1) how/with what do i clean tank ? (tank prev no probs fish upgraded to bigger tank )
2) how/with what do i clean rock and decorations from this tank ?
3) how/with what do i clean bog wood from this tank ?

4) from friends garage a box of bog wood but cobwebs and been standing for a while etc so how/with what do i clean ?
5) heard about boiling bog wood but one piece from friends garage is very long too long for even a pressure cooker sized pot so any ideas ?

1. To clean the tank you can do 1 part of bleach to 10 parts water using s plastic scrubber/sponge. Then after cleaning the tank, make sure you rinse it out with water Very well. Then when filling the tank up for the first time, make sure to double up on water conditioner.

2. For rocks you can boil them, but this could make the rock explode. If there is water inside the rock, then when the water raises from boiling the rock, the water inside the rock will start to evaporate and expand, which could make the rock explode.

-So, you can soak rock/decor in hot de-chlorinated water for a day.

3. You boil the wood that can fit into pots and what not. If the piece of wood is too big for this, just soak the wood in hot de-chlorinated water for as long as you want. The longer it soaks, the more tannins will leak out, that is if there are any tannins left from after being used in your friends tank.

Hope this helps a little?

-FHM

 

[OldMan47]

I am going to assume that all of the old materials were used in a healthy tank and have not been contaminated with chemicals since. All I would do, actually did do a few months ago, is wash the tank and decor with a plastic scrubber or brush. The wood and stones can also be scrubbed clean with plain water. If you suspect that garden chemicals or similar things have been sprayed on anything, it is not worth the risk to try to save it, throw it out. Any gravel may need to be treated as waste and replaced with new substrate since it is almost impossible to truly clean sand or gravel. The most you can really do with it in a home environment is to remove any dust or dirt by rinsing.