Tank teardown

[Crystal]

What is the proper way to teardown an aquarium? I have sadly lost all my fish to a huge outbreak in my 10gal tank. I would like to know the best and most proper way to teardown a tank and get it ready to go into a fishless cycle. I don't mind if it takes a long time as I am not getting any fish until the tank is fully cycled and ready.
thank you everyone.

 

[Crystal]

I have readin some places to use very diluted bleach, and rise extremly well. I am not sure abt using bleach on my tank though, is there another way, perhaps boil everything, and use very hot water, or will that not kill any bacteria/etc that is left in there? Also, should I buy new filter nedia, or keep the one I have. It is not too old, justa few weeks.

 

[Rusty_S]

Yeah you could use very dilute bleach as long as you do really rinse it thoroughly, it's only a small tank so it shouldn't be too difficult

As for the filter media, if you want to start with a clean slate I'd bin that too, if you really did have a problem with disease then it might still be contaminating it.

 

[David]

I'm sorry for your loss, and hope you have better luck in the future. As for the teardown, when I gave away all of the fish in my 10 gallon, I just left it for about a year before getting back into fish lol. That killed the bacteria for sure.

 

[Crystal]

Thanks David, I don't want to leave it that long though.

What should I do with the gravel? Buy new, or how do I clean/sanatize it?

 

[Arfie]

Just got a used one myself and it had unlove coldwater fish in and the water was proper green . The stains have been difficult to get rid of, but to clean the tank, I scrubed it with a nail brush (just used for cleaning fishy stuff) and then filled with sterilising fluid used for babies bottles which is a mild bleach, I then emptied it and scrubbed again, the put the hose in and let it fill up and continue flushing it out for about 2 hours, scrubbed again and re-flushed it.

It might be a bit overboard but rather that than risk the fish.

I will start fishless cycling next week, hopefully it'll be ready for when I get back from my holiday in November B).

Anything that is small enough, like stones, shells etc I would put in a pan with water and boil it and I would bin all filter media to be safe

Arfie

 

[Crystal]

Thanks Arfie.
My tank is really clean, and in good condition, it just needs to be steralized. I figured I would be able to boil the rocks. I had to do that with other things I had put into my tank, my roomate will look at me weird when there is a pot of rocks boiling on the stove, but it is better than sick fish.
Now, another queation. What about fake plants? toss, or steralize?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Crystal

I'm sorry to learn about the trouble you had but glad to hear that you will not be giving up the hobby.

What was wrong with your fish? It might make a difference in how you clean the tank. In any event, I would get rid of the old filter media and any other disposable items like airline hose if you use it.

If your gravel is natural rock it can be safely boiled, and that is what I do with mine whenever I take a tank down and want to save the gravel for reuse at another time.

 

[Crystal]

My little tetras had a really bad case of ich, in which nothing was able to help, that, accompanied with fin rot, and the poor things dropping all over, made me want to restart from the beginning.
The rock I have is the aquarium gravel that you buy at the lfs.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Crystal

Your poor fish had what might be one of the worst combinations of diseases because the temperature needed to treat one makes the other worse. I hope your luck is better in the future; after that, you deserve it.

I think you could give it a good enough cleaning using just salt an a sponge, but if you want to use a mild bleach solution, you could do that too. Don't make it very strong and rinse the tank, decorations and equipment that you use it on very well. It's a good idea to use a generous amount of the dechlorinator that you in your tank water for the final rinse and let the tank dry thoroughly before refilling it.

If your gravel is natural rock with no coating or paint, go ahead and boil it. If not, just rinse it well to clean the debris out and then add salt. Any table salt will work, but rinse it well. I would not recommend using bleach on gravel because it is too hard to get rinsed out. I learned this lesson the hard way!

Both diseases your fish had are common, and frequently present in a tank. The important thing, in the future is to avoid stresses that weaken the fish's immune systems and make them susceptible to them. This means that you do not have to do exceptional cleaning to your tank. So, relax and don't worry too much. You have surely learned a lot by your experience and your next batch of fish will benefit from it too.

 

[Crystal]

Can I use aquarium salt to clean my plants (fake)? I am guessing I would soak them in a saltwater solution for a bit, then rinse, right?

 

[Bignose]

Ich will not live if it gets dried out (why you should not share nets between a diseased tank and a clean one!). So, make sure everything is dry before re-use. Other than that, everyone has their own way, so clean to your heart's content, just rinse thouroughly and you should be fine.

 

[zoraak]

Bleach (with no detergents) is your best bet... add bleach to a bucket of water (dilute it) and pour it in your tank, leave it for a day or more. Put your gravel and decoration inside a bucket or the tank with bleach in it... after a day or more, get a milder bleach solution and rinse everything once more. Then get rid of the water and leave it for a day (preferably in the sun)... And a final rinse in cold/hot water and it should be done.

Some of the decoration if not that expensive just throw it away.

You can even use pure ammonia (sold in detergent section of many stores) for the final cleaning of your tank -- it might even help you with your later fish-less cycle .

 

[Inchworm]

Can I use aquarium salt to clean my plants (fake)? I am guessing I would soak them in a saltwater solution for a bit, then rinse, right?

Hi Crystal

Yes, you can soak them, or use the salt as an abrasive (before it melts) if necessary. Just be sure that you rinse them well. A little salt will not harm most fish, and will come out while you are doing your water changes if you "fishless cycle," but since you will be cleaning many things, it's best not to take a chance and have a lot of it in there. It is much easier to rinse away than bleach.

I should probably mention that when I said "bleach," I meant a chlorine bleach, like clorox, not a powdered bleach or something intended for colored fabrics.

 

[Crystal]

I picked up some chlorine bleach from my mom's house tonight when I was out getting new filter inserts. I don't need the abrasion of the salt, I thought it might be easier on the fish than using bleach. Thanks again Inchworm!!