How To Sterilize New Tank Things

[drango91]

iknow boiling somethng like a cave in seering hot water will do it, would putting it in the freezer be effective? i think the cource of my fishes death was from the new cave i bought

 

[Synirr]

Normally a brand new decoration is already tank-safe and just needs a rinse to get the dust off. Freezing won't do it as it doesn't kill bacteria, just slows them down.

 

[vancouver]

You could clean it with bleach.. mix maybe 5% bleach to 95% water, and clean it in a bucket... then rinse a whole bunch of times, then put it in another bucket, and put water conditioner in to take away any bleach that could still be there.

 

[drango91]

what about freezing it for a while, then covering it in boiling water right after its taken out of the freezer

 

[Synirr]

That would be the same as boiling it.

 

[Spader]

yeah it would be the same as boiling..... and is its plastic it'll break if going from a cold temperature to boiling water

 

[BBrain]

I don't trust "plastic" ornaments. Who knows what materials have been used in them, such as dyes and mold release agents? (They also look cheesy to me, so why not use real wood or stone? About the same price, or free. )

And, I just had a bad experience with one. Check out my post here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=142019&hl=

 

[Synirr]

Can you imagine how much sh*t a company would get if an item they made for tanks ended up not being tank safe when used as it was made to be used? They'd be sued for sure. No, that simply isn't something they'd be stupid enough to risk, I don't care how much money they might be saving in production cost by doing so, the potential loss to the company would be too great. Especially when you buy a decoration from Petsmart or somewhere like that, it is going to be safe, because then not only is the company that makes the product liable, but Petsmart is also liable if something goes wrong with the product. Any coating the ornaments do have, believe it or not, has to be tank safe; it is in the best interest of the manufacturing company for it to be so.

Of course, they don't intend for you to boil it or anything like that before putting it in your tank, so if it releases a noxious chemical after you do that that's none of their business; not that I can see why that would cause it to do so, just saying...

 

[ocean_baby]

just give it a quick rinse with cold water that usually works, at least for me

 

[Fadi]

yea freezing something will only slow the growth of bacteria. The best thing to do is boil.

 

[Teelie]

Bleach will work better. So long as it has no additives and you rinse it off well, then let it dry, you should be fine. Bleach will gas out and disappear once it comes in contact with air. Just give it time to dry off.

 

[Tolak]

For items that have been in a tank, a 1:20 bleach/water mixture will kill most anything. For anything that has been sitting dry for any amount of time, the chlorine in tap water should do fine.

 

[BBrain]

Can you imagine how much sh*t a company would get if an item they made for tanks ended up not being tank safe when used as it was made to be used? They'd be sued for sure. No, that simply isn't something they'd be stupid enough to risk, I don't care how much money they might be saving in production cost by doing so, the potential loss to the company would be too great. Especially when you buy a decoration from Petsmart or somewhere like that, it is going to be safe, because then not only is the company that makes the product liable, but Petsmart is also liable if something goes wrong with the product. Any coating the ornaments do have, believe it or not, has to be tank safe; it is in the best interest of the manufacturing company for it to be so.

Of course, they don't intend for you to boil it or anything like that before putting it in your tank, so if it releases a noxious chemical after you do that that's none of their business; not that I can see why that would cause it to do so, just saying...

Well, it's your choice, Synirr, to place unlimited trust that all products on the market are safe. But considering that many, many thousands of lawsuits have been, and continue to be, involved with dangerous or shoddy products, that kind of blind trust is crazy. Would it not be wise to be cautious, especially considering everything that we put into our tanks has an effect on our pets? In any case, I doubt you'd ever see a lawsuit about toxic aquarium ornaments sold at Petsmart, considering most of their fish are only worth a very few dollars, so what Petsmart customer would pay thousands of dollars in legal fees in such a case?

BTW, I did not say in my post that our plastic ornament was boiled: just soaked in cool water. And, the smell it gave off was definitely noxious....like an aromatic hydrocarbon/solvent.

 

[Synirr]

In any case, I doubt you'd ever see a lawsuit about toxic aquarium ornaments sold at Petsmart, considering most of their fish are only worth a very few dollars, so what Petsmart customer would pay thousands of dollars in legal fees in such a case?

BTW, I did not say in my post that our plastic ornament was boiled: just soaked in cool water. And, the smell it gave off was definitely noxious....like an aromatic hydrocarbon/solvent.

You don't have to get your fish from Petsmart to buy ornaments there . I buy products from Petsmart on occasion, but I've only ever bought about 3 fish there since they don't carry anything I'm interested in (and their fish are usually diseased anyway, at least at the Petsmart I go to). Besides that, my oscar only set me back $8, but you can bet your life I'd be furious to the point of suing if a supposedly aquarium-safe product caused him any harm. He's my baby

I didn't say you boiled your ornament, that was aimed at people who make a practice of doing it. There aren't many bacteria or virii that can live on a dry plastic ornament that are going to be dangerous to your aquatic life, so I don't see the point
It's good to be safe about it, but it just seems kinda extreme to me to be afraid of plastic ornaments made for aquarium use. Perhaps if they're made by a manufacturer I've never heard of and don't know I can trust I'd be wary, but otherwise... My first thought in regard to your case is if you've ever used that bucket for anything else? If not, the ornament I think you're talking about is made by Top Fin, so maybe you should email them with your concerns

 

[Marcos]

You don't need to boil it, all bacteria should be dead at around 70degC but I'm not sure how well a plastic ornament will stand up to that.