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View Full Version : Sterilizing an entire system, am I doing it right?



kris2341
10-27-2014, 06:09 PM
Hey guys, a few of you remember my first attempt at keeping discus, it was in a 60 gallon acrylic tank that started with 10 fish and dropped down to 3. Anyways, yesterday i transferred my 3 remaining discus to my rack and proceeded to sterilize the aquarium.

The way I did it, and always did it for other tanks usually was to remove EVERYTHING that can be hand washed or baked or boiled etc. from the tank and sterilize them like that.

the problem is that there is still a number of things that cannot be cleaned easily, like the inside of a canister filter or the intake and outlet of the filter as they could warp in heat. What I did was rinse out everything as well as possible to remove any loose gunk, then reassembled the system with the canister filter completely empty of media and filled the tank with fresh chlorinated water. I primed the filter and everything started circulating.

I then dumped half a gallon of regular Clorox bleach into the tank and let it sit. Almost immediately I see film peeling away from the surfaces of... everything! I let this sit for 24 hours at least, maybe longer as long as I see the plastic not taking any damage.

Right now the tank is still filled with bleach and I will probably drain it tonight or tomorrow, but my question is, is this a solid sterilization technique? can I expect every part of the system interior to free of dangerous pathogens? Because it is not TOTALLY spotless and there still is the thin layers of oxidized scum that can be seen here and there, is it possible for stuff to survive under those? They are white so i figure not, but I have been wrong plenty of times before!

The top of the tank which isnt submerged in the bleach solution, I will wipe down with a mix of bleach and water. I used to use a 1:1 ratio to kill stuff but reading that 1:9 is fine, I will probably do that to save my hands and the plastic the trouble.

finally, the system will be drained of the bleach, and fresh water will be pumped in, and/or all the parts will be thoroughly rinsed as well as the tank if i can move it. And a heaping overdose of dechlorinator is added. It sits and is aerated thoroughly until the bleach cannot be smelled at a minimum of 2 days wait time.

Then the tank is drained and filled normally!

But again I ask, is this good enough?

rickztahone
10-27-2014, 07:54 PM
That is a good method and one I have used myself many times. I overbleach, then dechlorinate and then air dry until it is fully dry. You should be ready to go.

musicmarn1
10-27-2014, 08:54 PM
it sounds great to me ! i also run PP through the entire system and then just do the water changes to wash it out but i do that usually when im not taking everything down, like between batches of grow out juvies, so i dont have to do much to the sponge filters just pp the whole thing pretty well and then put the next batch in. id do bleach in your case of course, just as you are !

DISCUS STU
10-28-2014, 03:29 PM
It sounds like you would have killed everything including the "Alien" and the "Predator".

I'd run activated carbon at the last stage to adsorb any wisps of bleach or anything else that could possibly linger from the disinfecting/sterilizing.

musicmarn1
10-29-2014, 12:43 AM
It sounds like you would have killed everything including the "Alien" and the "Predator".

I'd run activated carbon at the last stage to adsorb any wisps of bleach or anything else that could possibly linger from the disinfecting/sterilizing.

lolol !! and thats a really good piece of advice too

kris2341
10-29-2014, 01:34 AM
tank and canister has been drained, rinsed, scrubbed with water, and refilled with about 8 tablespoons of safe dumped in, it is filled with all sorts of bleached plastic pieces, suction cups etc. that i rinsed as thoroughly as i could in running water.

I will let this sit as is until thursday.

There was no notable bleach smell in the tank after the rinse but i am sure theres plenty in the canister and tubes, so it shall run for a good long time with the Safe overdose.

then the system will be drained and rinsed again, refilled, and carbon will be placed into the canister for a day as an added precaution

musicmarn1
10-29-2014, 02:09 AM
wehey!! Kris your awesome :p those fish will be lucky to have you

OC Discus
10-29-2014, 07:17 PM
A couple of things:

1) I would let the bleach flow through the canister and any other filters for 24 hours, removing only the heater, decorations, etc and bleaching them in a bucket for 2-4 hours. 24 hours will damage the suction cups on the heaters. You said you "let it sit" did you mean without the filters running? If you are fighting disease, you can replace the floss and bio media.

2) You used more than enough bleach. I would wipe down the tank to remove the spots and stains while the bleach is in the tank.

3) I would also wipe down the top glass that is not in water, as well as the rim, hood, everything that contacts water with the bleach mix from the tank early in the 24 hour process.




remove EVERYTHING that can be hand washed or baked or boiled etc. from the tank and sterilize them like that.

the problem is that there is still a number of things that cannot be cleaned easily, like the inside of a canister filter or the intake and outlet of the filter as they could warp in heat. What I did was rinse out everything as well as possible to remove any loose gunk, then reassembled the system with the canister filter completely empty of media and filled the tank with fresh chlorinated water. I primed the filter and everything started circulating.

I then dumped half a gallon of regular Clorox bleach into the tank and let it sit. Almost immediately I see film peeling away from the surfaces of... everything! I let this sit for 24 hours at least, maybe longer as long as I see the plastic not taking any damage.

Right now the tank is still filled with bleach and I will probably drain it tonight or tomorrow, but my question is, is this a solid sterilization technique? can I expect every part of the system interior to free of dangerous pathogens? Because it is not TOTALLY spotless and there still is the thin layers of oxidized scum that can be seen here and there, is it possible for stuff to survive under those? They are white so i figure not, but I have been wrong plenty of times before!

The top of the tank which isnt submerged in the bleach solution, I will wipe down with a mix of bleach and water. I used to use a 1:1 ratio to kill stuff but reading that 1:9 is fine, I will probably do that to save my hands and the plastic the trouble.

finally, the system will be drained of the bleach, and fresh water will be pumped in, and/or all the parts will be thoroughly rinsed as well as the tank if i can move it. And a heaping overdose of dechlorinator is added. It sits and is aerated thoroughly until the bleach cannot be smelled at a minimum of 2 days wait time.

Then the tank is drained and filled normally!

But again I ask, is this good enough?

I would dechlorinate the same way you sterilize- Drain the bleach water out, refill with clean water, double dose prime, let it run through the filters for 24 hours, wipe down all surfaces with the clean water at the beginning of the 24 hours.

Drain that water out, refill and dechlorinate again. Add new filter media. You will need to cycle this newly sterilized tank before adding fish, or use bio spira.


tank and canister has been drained, rinsed, scrubbed with water, and refilled with about 8 tablespoons of safe dumped in, it is filled with all sorts of bleached plastic pieces, suction cups etc. that i rinsed as thoroughly as i could in running water.

I will let this sit as is until thursday.

There was no notable bleach smell in the tank after the rinse but i am sure theres plenty in the canister and tubes, so it shall run for a good long time with the Safe overdose.

then the system will be drained and rinsed again, refilled, and carbon will be placed into the canister for a day as an added precaution

kris2341
10-29-2014, 07:50 PM
A couple of things:

1) I would let the bleach flow through the canister and any other filters for 24 hours, removing only the heater, decorations, etc and bleaching them in a bucket for 2-4 hours. 24 hours will damage the suction cups on the heaters. You said you "let it sit" did you mean without the filters running? If you are fighting disease, you can replace the floss and bio media.

2) You used more than enough bleach. I would wipe down the tank to remove the spots and stains while the bleach is in the tank.

3) I would also wipe down the top glass that is not in water, as well as the rim, hood, everything that contacts water with the bleach mix from the tank early in the 24 hour process.



I would dechlorinate the same way you sterilize- Drain the bleach water out, refill with clean water, double dose prime, let it run through the filters for 24 hours, wipe down all surfaces with the clean water at the beginning of the 24 hours.

Drain that water out, refill and dechlorinate again. Add new filter media. You will need to cycle this newly sterilized tank before adding fish, or use bio spira.

1) The tank wound up sitting for 48 hours with bleach in the end, with the filter running and everything, so the canister, tubes, every little nook in the system got a nice dose of bleach solution. I have a bottle of tetra safe start for just the occasion of starting this thing back up. as for the bio media, I have too much of it that would be pretty costly to replace, so it will simply go into the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes to an hour, its seachem matrix so it really doesnt matter to me if the stuff cracks or anything.

2) Was also wiped down a few hours before draining, the tank walls are clean and i kept the hose running while i siphoned water out of the tank, one side was jacked up so everything drained into a corner of the tank.

3) Was a little late to using the tank bleach mix, but upon wiping the top and underside of the top brace of the tank, I mixed a fresh mix of bleach solution, I wiped down the canopy and top of the tank, then wiped it down with fresh water 20 mins later and let it air dry.

OC Discus
10-29-2014, 09:21 PM
Sounds like your almost ready for some fish.

kris2341
10-29-2014, 09:35 PM
In the end, I am most likely not going to have discus in here, it is going to have a large schoal of cardinal tetras, anywhere between 100-200 of them. Supplied by John over at Freshwater Tropicals!

The plants will all be cuttings from my hexagon tank that will be dipped beforehand. going with the overabundance of Amazon swords and mopani wood for a biotope look.

I will fishless cycle the tank first to build the bio as nicely as possible, and then add fish. The tank is going to have daily water changes so i dont think i will have a real problem with ammonia as long as it is cycled beforehand.

The Aquatop CF500 is a MASSIVE canister as far as media goes. When the discus were there, 3 trays were loaded with matrix, and pond matrix. 6 liters of media in 3 trays with 1 tray being the mechanical filtration.