Regular Member Kissy Posted July 22, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 22, 2005 My goldfish I got from the petstore a little over a week ago died. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I think it was a number of things. I know for sure that he had an external parasite, but that was cured the day before he died. He also may have had internal parasites, hole-in-head, and/or flukes. The tank I have is 29 gallons, and Its too big for me to even wrap my arms around in. I wouldn't mind bleaching/boiling everything (tank, acc, rubermaids, filter, etc) but getting it out of my room, down the stairs, and out the back door, and then back again is a real problem. If it needs to be done, I'm sure I can figure out a way to move the thing, but is there another way? I've heard of using meds, water that is not dechlorinated, and using white vinager to totally clean it out, but I'm not sure how thourough the job will be. Once I have it nuked, there won't be any fish in there for at least 1 month, most likely 2 or 3 because I have to cycle, get a job, buy more fish stuff, buy some tropicals first, etc. I treated with prazi and it did some good but i think it was too late. Is there a safe, reliable alternative to using bleach water? Thankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Maceo Posted July 22, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 22, 2005 I heard a white vinegar water solution works well. I know in the "olden"days they used vinegar as a disinfectant on ships and such so I wouldn't see why it wouldn't work and i would be a lot safer than bleach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member orandas*r*my*heart Posted July 22, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 22, 2005 I've heard the same about the white vinager and water solution...stinky, but then again so is bleach! I think that would be okay...when I ripped mine down a couple of weeks ago and started from scratch to clean and drain it I used my Python...I would fil it, scrub, and drain...and I repeated that process like 7 or 8 times until I was sure I'd gotten it all out and safe...it worked for me but you may have another idea all lined up....hope that helps a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member daryl Posted July 23, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 YOu can use potassium permanganate - purple circulating for 4 hours and then clear it with hydogen peroxide before draining it to avoid staining anything. Or, a simple spray bottle of 1:10 bleach concentrate that you simply spray over the tank and let dry. IT whould take care of just about anything left in the tank. Then store the tank away and let it stay dry. There are few things that might survive that treatment - but very very few..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 I have no idea what "potassium permanganate - purple" is...can I get it at a certain store? The spray bottle of bleach sounds like a good choice, probably need to go buy a spray bottle tho! When you say there are some things that could survive it...would you still recomend it? Would those "things" survive after 3-4 months of no host? Just gotta be careful not to spray on anything else! After it dries, should I wash it out before starting to cycle again? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becky Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Here is a link Dataguru steered me to when I needed to sterilize my qt. Basically you run chlorine through the tank for about an hour and then de-chlorinator at 10X normal rate for another hour. Hospital tank link Use one teaspoon of plain unscented chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Allow the bleach/water solution to run through the filter for about an hour. Drain all the water and refill with fresh tap water, dose with a cheap sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator -- such as AP's Tap Water Conditioner -- at about 10 times the directed amount. Allow the super-dechlorinated water to run through the filter for another hour. Drain, refill and dechlorinate/dechloraminate as you would normally before putting the Q/T back in service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 Is prime a "sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator"? Chlorine bleach....is it just like regular clorox bleach or is it something else? Also, would this work for sitting water in a rubbermaid? I kept the fish in a few rubbermaids and one I want to use for quarentine later, but I have no filter at the moment. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becky Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Yes, Prime is an expensive "sodium thiosulfate dechlorinator". Prime treats the water for chlorine and many other things, but the de-chlorinator is all you need for this treatment. It will work. Yep, clorox bleach is all you need. As for the rubbermaid. It will work, I don't know if you need to go the full hour. That is for the filter to sterilize I think. Sorry about your little fish. I read your other thread and followed the ordeal. Next time you will be ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 Thanks Becky I'll probably use your method. Its a little more work than the spray bottle, but I've already got everything I need and its still much less work than trying to haul the thing outside I'm going to try and start all of this tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Graham Posted July 23, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 Hiya! Potassium Permanganate (Permoxyn) is an oxidizer so it can sterilize by killing nasties and also be used to treat some fish illnesses. You should be able to get it at a LFS (what do I know - I only shop online) for a few bucks (under 10) depending on the size bottle you buy. One advantage of PP is that it can be used to sterilize plants without causing as much damage as to them as bleach can. But, bleach is the best destroyer of nasties! It is easy to come by and cheap - you probably have tons of it in the laundry room so no need to get more! No need for a spray bottle - you could fill up the tank (as instructions above to include the filter) or just use the 1:10 ratio and really wash the tank out well - and rinse well - I would think. I am not an expert in tank sterilizing but I can tell you that bleach will kill just about anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jeana727 Posted July 23, 2005 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 I have a 29 & on the rare occasion that I feel only a complete cleaning will do. I just empty it out & lug it to the bathtub. I scrub it out using just water & get into every nook & cranny. (I have used a solution of white vinegar & water too) Then I rinse real good. Then I put the gravel in a bucket and flush hot water thru it. And i even scrub the shells & rock & decorations. For the most part I use good ole hot water & elbow grease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 I'm gonna use my tetra aqua conditioner instead of my spiffy new prime. I've got a little less than half a big bottle left Going to the store today to look for ammonia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 I just thought of something...will the chemicals in the air from the bleach hurt my other fish? Their tanks are right next to the 29 gallon and there really isn't anything I can use to stop fumes from going into the tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becky Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Definitely use the cheapest de-chlorinator you have! No sense in wasting the Prime when there are no fishes to benefit. I don't think there will be any bleach fumes with such a dilute concentration, once you get it in the water. Now, that full strength bleach bottle under your nose is something else! I sanitized my hospital tank this way a couple of months ago, and I couldn't even smell the bleach. Just make sure to do the 10X de-chlorinator for an hour to really make sure you get rid of all traces of chlorine before putting any fish back in. You will really be safe if your tank is going to dry out for awhile too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 23, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2005 Okay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 26, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 26, 2005 Okay so far I added the bleach to the water, drained, filled and added 10x the amount of tetra conditioner, and then I drained last nigt. I think I may have added too much bleach before because when I was dumping the buckets of water into the bathtub it was all fizzy and bubbly. The tank is in its "drying" stage right now. Should I try and wash it out some more before filling and cycling? How should I do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becky Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Well, if I was really worried about the possibility of any bleach still being there, I would do another round of the 10X dechlorinator and let it run through the filter and all. That should take care of any trace that might be lingering. Better safe than sorry. But, if it dries out completely you should be ok. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 26, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 26, 2005 Lol I'm runnign very low on dechlorinator, and I don't have enough of the cheap stuff to go through another rinse 10x the normal amount. I think I'll let it all dry up completely and put the filter and media out in the sun. Then Maybe I'll fill it half way and scrub. Do you think that'll do or should I had more dechlorinator also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becky Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 A good dry in the sun should do it! You should be ready to go after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kissy Posted July 26, 2005 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 26, 2005 Okay Filter and cartridges are on the back patio right now. Shouldn't take too long in the AZ temps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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