Sterilizing my tank

[BettaMomma]

There are a BAZILLION posts out there on this, but I want to get this done ASAP.

I still have the pitiful little tank sitting here staring me in the face that Amos died in. There are even some little shards of his little tail left in the tank.

It makes me REALLY really sad to sit here and stare at it all day long.
SO. I want to get it cleaned out and get something else in there. However, I want to make sure that I get EVERY possible nasty thing out of that tank before subjecting any other living being to go into it. I know that there was some kind of nasty bacteria growing in it when he was in there.

I'm a complete freak with putting anything into a tank where bad stuff has been, so I'm tempted to throw the whole damn thing away and start new, but I can't afford to keep doing that.

I'm going to be tackling this at some point in the next day or two so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

what kind of tank is it again? glass or acrylic?

 

[laboul]

Bleach it with repeated rinses in hot water. That is the only way to sterilize anything properly. Should not feel AT ALL slippery when done, really rinse it out well. Then I'd rinse a few times in conditioned water just to make sure all the chlorine is gone.

 

[rdd1952]

Here is an old thread that I ran across last weekend when researching how to clean one of my tanks. The very last post on there is very detailed about how to clean it with bleach. It was very strange for me to run across this thread considering that my son was the one that started it after his wife's betta died. I scrubbed mine out last weekend but I was just trying to clean it to get rid of any of the film residue that may have still been in there, not because of disease in the tank. I will be glad when this tank finishes cycling again as I will be able to go get another betta.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=72606&hl=

 

[pica_nuttalli]

actually, if you're planning to fishless cycle anyways and can stand the stench, why not just use ammonia? its a pretty potent cleaner and any residue would just go towards the cycle.

 

[rdd1952]

Ammonia will dull the clearness of acrylic tanks. It is ok for glass though. WORD OF WARNING---NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH. They create a very toxic and deadly gas when mixed.

 

[redtailblackshark]

my mothers tank hasn't been setup for 10 years, just got setup a few weeks ago. She took all rocks out, all plants, all gravel, starelized it (three times actually) and bought brand new parts for it, brand new gravel, so everything is clean, she has had no fish die in it do far, it is a goldfish tank right now, and they are all happy at the moment. Just try steralizing the tank and taking out gravel.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i didn't know that about acrylic.... knew that about ammonia+bleach (mild first-hand experience )

 

[BettaMomma]

It's a 2.5G glass tank.

I'm petrified of bleach.
But if I rinse and rinse it should be fine, right??

 

[BettaMomma]

SO...
After I read that post...
here's what I'm planning to do:

Empty the tank
Fill it with 1 part clorox, 20 parts water.
Leave it sit for an hour and then rinse the tarnation out of it.

Then rinse it again.
I might even stick it in the shower and let it just rinse and rinse for a while.
Then I'm going to douse it with dechlorinator, then rinse again.

And of course get all new gravel, decs and plants - because I threw everything out the day I came in and everything was covered with bacterial crap in that tank.

 

[rdd1952]

I just put water and bleach in mine and scrubbed it good. I didn't let it stand long enough to soak into the acrylic. After rinsing it very well, I filled it with water, put in a new filter pack set it out in the sun and let it run for about 8 hours. I then emptied it and rinsed it several more times. It is now full and cycling, waiting for another betta.

 

[laboul]

Bleach is good. You want to kill that nasty white stuff you had. Although I agree with what someone said about ammonia being a very good cleaner, it does not kill microorganisms like bleach does. After all, the good bacteria feed off it. The only other thing that can kill everything that was in that tank is UV light or boiling the whole thing for a prolonged period. The concentration of bleach you are using is not too high. You don't have anything to worry about. (This week-end my bf washed our whole apartment floor with a 25% bleach solution that about knocked my socks off... now THAT's concentrated! I was ready to choke him... heck, I was choking!!!)

Just don't bleach any porous items like rocks or driftwood as the bleach will soak into it and you won't be able to get it out.

Can't wait to see what type of new betta you get. The pictures of your other boys are lovely.

Go, good bacteria, go!

 

[BettaMomma]

I commend you for finding a boyfriend that will clean your floors.



I can't wait to pick out another fishy either.
PetWorld is getting a slew of crowntails in next week.
I hope they have a sick one that comes in

 

[mom and me]

A word about bleach. If you let whatever your sterilizing dry out completely, the bleach will evaporate like alcohol.

 

[MsDad]

I've always used a combination of white vinegar and table salt with a clean cloth. Of course a brush with sturdy plastic bristles to scrub off any algae or stubborn gook works well too. Then I rinse it well with hot water. The vinegar and salt (which by the way is one of my favorite potato chip flavors - no relevance, just a funny coincidence B) ) seems to also kill nasty microorganisms as well as clean everything. Makes sense since adding salt helps cure some fishy diseases. And there's no worry about killing your fish if you don't rinse enough. In rare instances I too have used bleach. I've always just rinsed several times, then used a strong baking soda solution to finish off the odor. Then rinsed some more! I'm sure you could also use a dechlorinator to neutralize any remaining bleach, though I never have. But even after all the rinsing, I've still let everything sit for at least 24 hours. You definitely don't have to throw the tank out. The only things I would ever consider just pitching are decorations that are extremely porous and may be difficult to disinfect. But then those items may be small enough to boil. Back to the vinegar and salt. This works great for glass tanks - for acrylic, just be sure the salt is dissolved so it doesn't scratch.