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	Sterilize A Tank - How To Do It
TW Fish Master * * Fish Slave * * Posts: 1947 Kudos: 278 Votes: 338 Registered: 14-Jan-2006	My QT tank, where I quarantine my new fish has recently needed to be treated a few times, as new stock has brought in diseases. I now don't trust this tank & think there might be something lurking somewhere in the tank. Although all my water parameters tested OK by me (and this was confirmed on Saturday when I asked LFS to do a full water test) I have just lost faith. So I have emptied the tank and I'm washing it all out. I've washed the gravel & spread it all out in a single layer on a large sheet to dry outside in the sun. I did the same with the media matrix - but also poured boiling water on it first, to make sure that there was nothing alive. I've washed everything (tank & filter parts) in boiling water. Do I need to do anything else. I've heard of people cleaning tanks with bleach - but I'm a little scared to do this. Is it safe to do that & how do I be sure that I've rinsed every scrap of bleach off the tank after I do it. Your advice on how to get this tank back to A-1 condition would be appreciated. Thanks so much. Cheers TW
Posted 01-May-2006 13:58
Shinigami Ichthyophile Catfish/Oddball Fan Posts: 9962 Kudos: 2915 Registered: 22-Feb-2001	IMO, what you've done is plenty. Nothing is coming out back out of that. -------------------------------------------- The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.
Posted 01-May-2006 14:32
Bob Wesolowski Mega Fish Posts: 1379 Kudos: 1462 Registered: 14-Oct-2004	Use a bleach solution that is one cup of bleach to 19 cups of water. The weak bleach solution should kill any other nasties that may have escaped your "mother of all" cleaning. Be sure to use an old toothbrush to get the tank edges. Rinse it well with freshwater then fill the aquarium. Use a triple dose of dechlorinator to neutralize any remaining bleach. If you also bleach the filter and hardscape, add it to the aquarium with the dechlorinator. __________ "To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research." researched from Steven Wright
Posted 01-May-2006 16:10


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