HOW TO DISINFECT POUROUS AQUARIUM DECORATIONS AFTER COLUMNARIS OUTBREAK

[Cichlido]

I’ve had a columnaris outbreak on my black mollies and i disinfected the tank with h2o2 . I filled up the tank with al decorations and let the cannister filter run for 2 days. I also had a lot of of clay/terracotta pots( picture) that i put in the tank. I wonder now if the h2o2 will be enough to eradicate the disease that may still be lingering in the tank and filter. If you can help me out by finding a soluation to make sure the tank, decoarations and the cannister filter+ media is sterile. Ty

 

[Colin_T]

Fill the tank with tap water and add a heap of salt (sodium chloride). Add enough salt so it no longer dissolves. Leave the filter to run for 24 hours then drain and rinse everything under tap water. Let it dry and it should be free of diseases.

After that your ornaments can be put outside in the sun and an hour under full sunlight will kill most things.

 

[Cichlido]

Fill the tank with tap water and add a heap of salt (sodium chloride). Add enough salt so it no longer dissolves. Leave the filter to run for 24 hours then drain and rinse everything under tap water. Let it dry and it should be free of diseases.

After that your ornaments can be put outside in the sun and an hour under full sunlight will kill most things.

What kind of salt are we talking? And will just sunlight kill of ich and columnaris from the clay ornaments? Ty colin

 

[Colin_T]

If the ornaments are left out in the sun to dry completely (both inside and outside of the ornament) and are exposed to full sunlight for at least an hour, then it will kill white spot and Columnaris. It's the UV light and drying from the sun that does it. If you live in Alaska or somewhere there isn't much sun, then boil or bake the items, but most other parts of the world have sufficient UV light to kill bacteria and protozoan parasites.

Drying things completely will normally kill any external protozoan parasites like white spot, velvet, Costia, Chilodonella & Trichodina).

Getting the items up to 60 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes will kill everything too.

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You can use any sort of salt to disinfect the tank. Rock salt (aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, sea salt, or even table salt will work. Swimming pool salt is the cheapest and available from hardware stores or places that sell pool gear.

 

[Cichlido]

If the ornaments are left out in the sun to dry completely (both inside and outside of the ornament) and are exposed to full sunlight for at least an hour, then it will kill white spot and Columnaris. It's the UV light and drying from the sun that does it. If you live in Alaska or somewhere there isn't much sun, then boil or bake the items, but most other parts of the world have sufficient UV light to kill bacteria and protozoan parasites.

Drying things completely will normally kill any external protozoan parasites like white spot, velvet, Costia, Chilodonella & Trichodina).

Getting the items up to 60 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes will kill everything too.

-----------------------

You can use any sort of salt to disinfect the tank. Rock salt (aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, sea salt, or even table salt will work. Swimming pool salt is the cheapest and available from hardware stores or places that sell pool gear.

Okay i will use the poolsalt. Do you have an opinion on h2o2 for sterilization or any experience using it?

 

[Colin_T]

I have never used hydrogen peroxide for disinfection. They use it in hospitals now because it kills bacteria and viruses like bleach but doesn't have the fumes of bleach. I don't know what dose rate they use.

 

[GaryE]

I would expect you'd need a massive dose of H2O2 - too massive. I once spilled it into a fishless tank, and both plants and killie eggs survived after. As a general biocide in water, it isn't great., Sunlight though - that's the killer.

 

[Cichlido]

I would expect you'd need a massive dose of H2O2 - too massive. I once spilled it into a fishless tank, and both plants and killie eggs survived after. As a general biocide in water, it isn't great., Sunlight though - that's the killer.

So sunlight drying is the way to go?

 

[Cichlido]

I have never used hydrogen peroxide for disinfection. They use it in hospitals now because it kills bacteria and viruses like bleach but doesn't have the fumes of bleach. I don't know what dose rate they use.

Okay thanks a lot the only problem is i think i let the pots and pleco caves dry out for about a month but indoors so not much exposure to sunlight will it still be sterile or should i take em out of my newly setup quarantine tanks and sterilize everything again before adding te fish? I set them up yesterday and used the pleco caves and pots from the infected tank that were dried out indoors

 

[Colin_T]

If they were completely dry for a week or more, they shouldn't have anything on them.

 

[Cichlido]

If they were completely dry for a week or more, they shouldn't have anything on them.

Okay thanks a lot for your help