Sterilising a Hospital Tank

[Fox46]

Planning to close down my hospital tank for the time being. I'm planning to clean the tank in a bleach solution but am reading varying advice on the dilution (ranging from 5% to 12.5%) and would like advice on that. I keep a silk plant and one live plant on rock in the tank for fish-hiding, and plan to dip the rock/plant in hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes to disinfect and then transfer back to the main tank. Will that be okay? The silk plant I'll probably rinse in hot soapy water and leave it to air dry for a few weeks. As for the filter - not sure what to do. It's a simple sponge filter with a hole in the middle which did hold carbon but now has media. I have a spare filter running in another tank if I need to start up the hospital tank again quickly so as I won't need this filter immediately, I can wash it and leave it to air-dry for a good while but I feel I should use some kind of sterilisation process beforehand. Can anyone advise me please?

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Were there any treatment of disease in the past?
Usually I like to use bleach without water. I poured it directly into the tank and use a sponge to scrub. But don't leave it more than 5 mins (my guess).
Do a quick scrubbing and rinse a few times with tap water. You can also leave the tap water inside the tank after rinsing for a few hours.
Then wipe it and let it dry.

For serious infection, usually I will dispose the sponge filter and get a new one.

 

[Fox46]

No treatment of disease in the tank - I administered external baths for what might have been constipation, dropsy or in the most unlikeliest scenario (but remotely possible) fish TB. I'll see if I can source a replacement sponge filter to be on the safe side. Thanks.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Was the treatment for constipation successful? What was the symptom of constipation?

Take note that bleach is corrosive and may damage the silicone. So, don't leave it in the tank too long.
Some household bleach can be quite sticky and stick to the tank.
So, you have to rinse it well.
Some people will even use water conditioner(anti-chroline) to neutralize it since bleach actually comes from chroline( sodium hypochlorite ).

 

[Utar]

Just make sure that it is pure bleach with no additives like fragrances etc.
I use a 10% solution of bleach to water.

 

[Fox46]

Was the treatment for constipation successful? What was the symptom of constipation?

Take note that bleach is corrosive and may damage the silicone. So, don't leave it in the tank too long.
Some household bleach can be quite sticky and stick to the tank.
So, you have to rinse it well.
Some people will even use water conditioner(anti-chroline) to neutralize it since bleach actually comes from chroline( sodium hypochlorite ).

No it wasn't successful. There were two guppies with swollen bellies. I gave Epsom salt baths daily, one pine-coned and I euthanased, the other seemed a lot better, remained very active and keen to eat and perhaps just a little less bloated. When I transferred him back to the main tank after nearly 3 weeks in the hosp tank he was fine for 24 hours but then went downhill and I euthanased. I've noted the comments re the bleach, thanks.

 

[Fox46]

Just make sure that it is pure bleach with no additives like fragrances etc.
I use a 10% solution of bleach to water.

Thanks for that. The one I've got says "original thick bleach with limescale deterrent". Do you think that's ok?

 

[Utar]

Thanks for that. The one I've got says "original thick bleach with limescale deterrent". Do you think that's ok?

I don't know but doesn't sound like pure bleach to me, but I could be wrong. Try to find a bottle that says pure bleach.