Sterilizing A Tank

[elmo666]

I've had to strip down my discus tank for a while,for health reasons. Now I've recovered from saying goodbye lol, I was wondering what's the safest way of sterilizing the tank, externals and filter media before putting them all to one side for a few months? Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

A very strong salt solution, followed by complete drying will do the job

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have always used a bleach solution for this. The one drawback is sponge media. It is easy to destroy the media itself from this method. That said, if the reason for sterilizing is the tank had a massive die off and the cause was unknown, I am inclined to throw out sponge media in any case. Sponges are cheap and easy to replace, so for me that is really not an issue.
 
Bleach also acts to breakdown organics, so it will also break down dried organics inside the media. This dried stuff would be starting you off with somewhat clogged media when you go to reuse it. All of the metal and plastic and glass parts etc. will not be affected by the sterilizing.
 
It easy to do, fill tank, add bleach, run filter etc. Then drain and rinse everything. By the time you are ready to use everything again you should rinse it before using it anyhow to get off the natural accumulation of dust etc. you will get unless you pretty much seal things up in bags.

 

[Byron]

I would only add that if some disease was present, I would just throw away all filter media.  New media entirely when re-starting the tank.  Depending upon the length of time and what the issue was, any chunks of wood are probably best discarded, as these will soak up and may retain substances for months.  Substrate too.
 
Byron.

 

[elmo666]

Thanks guys. No health issues at all in the tank sorry, wasn't clear. It's myself that is unwell causing me to have to take that reluctant decision

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If the tank had nothing wrong with it, you have no need to sterilize it.

 

[elmo666]

Right, two tanks, I thought it might be a good idea for my own peace of mind. I was planning on replacing the sponges in my 2 eheim externals, but want to keep the bio media as that's all eheim....expensive to replace. I plan on thoroughly cleaning all tubing of course, hate that bio waste that can come out of them no matter how often you clean them. Anyway, all that said I guess I'll go with the salt solution as, when I'm well enough to do so (June hopefully) I'll be setting it back up as a fish only marine tank.....looking forward to it even tho parting with my discus collection really got me down. The room just doesn't feel the same without them.

 

[Byron]

If no disease was present, I would not do any form of cleaning other than with tap water.  Using salt or bleach may leave some behind, depending what it is used on; filter media, substrate and wood will absorb such things.  Tap water (not using dechlorinator as the chlorine will help) is sufficient.
 
Byron.

 

[Chad]

If the tank had nothing wrong with it, you have no need to sterilize it.

I agree. A good rinse to get rid of dust and settle materials that might have landed in it and you're good to go.

 

[elmo666]

Well, thanks for all your input, much appreciated.