My New To Me Tank Is Here

[misty_blue16137]

and it's actually a 55 gallon, not a 50!! They even had it brought here at no extra cost. I have it out on the porch and just finished filling with water to (a) make sure it's water tight & (b) disinfect it. Figure if it's going to leak better out there than in the house, lol. So far so good tho'. Looks like it's in really good shape but did need some wiping out. Think it's been stored a while. So, I got the tank, a nice stand, lights, heater, new filter inserts (but no filter) and a box of stuff that includes 4 containers of food, none for Goldfish and looks pretty old, a crapload of Jungle products for algae, fungus, and water clarifiers. Stuff to regulate PH. Most of it looks pretty old as well. They apparently had major problems with their water and the fish health. Since I don't use any of that stuff even new it will be going in the garbage. I figured as much from what I could tell from the pic in the listing so not bothered there. So, I feel I got a good deal on what I did want, lol. Now as to disinfecting it, I only have bleach here. How much should I add to 55 gallons of water? I'm used to dealing with smaller amounts. Will post a pic in a bit.

[alexiscool]

Make sure you throw away the fish meds and not pour them down the drain ok

congrats on getting the extra 5 gallons and that is doesn't have any leaks

[cometgirl]

When I disinfect with bleach I use a 1:12 ratio, or you can even use a 1:10, which should kill anything. So for a 55 gallon tank you would need about 4 and a quarter gallons of bleach for the 1:12 ratio, or 5 gallons for the 1:10 ratio. Then just fill the rest with water.

IF you know the ratio, it is actually pretty easy to figure out how much bleach you need. For a ratio of 1:10 you are looking at 11 parts total, 1 of bleach and 10 of water. So to figure it out for any tank, take the total volume of the tank, 55 gallons, and divide it by 11.

Here is a post from Daryl on disinfecting with bleach:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...st&p=463722

[misty_blue16137]

When I disinfect with bleach I use a 1:12 ratio, or you can even use a 1:10, which should kill anything. So for a 55 gallon tank you would need about 4 and a quarter gallons of bleach for the 1:12 ratio, or 5 gallons for the 1:10 ratio. Then just fill the rest with water.

IF you know the ratio, it is actually pretty easy to figure out how much bleach you need. For a ratio of 1:10 you are looking at 11 parts total, 1 of bleach and 10 of water. So to figure it out for any tank, take the total volume of the tank, 55 gallons, and divide it by 11.

Here is a post from Daryl on disinfecting with bleach:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...st&p=463722

Thank You!

I'm horrible at math, always have been so these ratios tend to leave me going DUH, lol. I was hoping for actual measurements which you did, hurray! Cups, quarts & gallons I get.

[jyoti411]

..tht is so sweet of you Kathy...hahahaha..

[cometgirl]

Glad I can help with something! Math is one of the few things I do get. Actually, I was double checking after with my husband who is the real math wiz in our house, and all I said was, " 55 gallon tank, 1 to 12 bleach to water". He said, " 4 and a quarter gallons of bleach?!? That's a lot of bleach!!!"

[misty_blue16137]

Glad I can help with something! Math is one of the few things I do get. Actually, I was double checking after with my husband who is the real math wiz in our house, and all I said was, " 55 gallon tank, 1 to 12 bleach to water". He said, " 4 and a quarter gallons of bleach?!? That's a lot of bleach!!!"

It surely is. Gonna be a bugger to get rinsed out of a tank that size. And will probably kill the grass where I drain the tanks with the Python. So, I think I'm going to try and find some PP tomorrow instead. But I saved your post for future reference, lol.

[Peanuts]

Have I been doing things wrong? I never fill the tanks full of water to disingfect them. I scrub them out using a water bleach solution that I pour into a bucket. Once I've scrubed every inch of the tank and it's foaming i then attack it with the hose. The repeat - Just like doing my hair - Lather, rinse repeat.

[cometgirl]

With bleach, and I believe PP, you really want it to be in contact with the whole tank for at least 10 minutes to kill bacteria, etc everywhere, including small gaps in the sealant. Swishing it around will probably kill most things, but the most virulent may be hanging in on in the little nooks and crannies. This has been for my 10 gallon hospital/QT tanks, so we're not talking quite as much bleach as Kathy would have to use.

For my syphon and any other small equipment, I put it in a bucket with enough bleach solution to fill and cover it, and let it soak at least 10 minutes.

[misty_blue16137]

Well, my tank is finally full of the most beautiful shade of purple water, lol. I have found out potassium permanganate is nearly impossible to find around here. And it is impossible to get it in anything smaller than a five pound container when you do find it, sheesh. And it is expensive to boot. Considering how little you use, I now have enough of the stuff to probably do every tank in the USA, rofl. With luck I can get it in the house and set up by tomorrow.