Question???

[krislewis3]

How would I go about sterilizing a tank, and it's cannister filter? Since it housed diseased fish in the recent past, I want to be sure it's safe before adding expensive discus to it. Can you guys give me step by step instructions? Kris

[dragon1974]

Bleach the tank. 1 part bleach 5 parts water. Usually I just mix a cap of bleach to 5 cups of water in a spray bottle. I usually wash and wipe the tank down a couple times, then I fill the tank to the top and add safe. Let it sit over night, next day empty the tank and air dry for a day or 2. Do the process again if you feel like it needs it. I do it a couple times but I always fill with safe a couple times and let air dry for a couple days. Refill and it should be fine for fish.

Canister filter is the same thing. Media I either throw out or nuke it in the microwave, and the filter itself I use a 5 gal bucket with some bleach and water and let the filter run for a couple hours. When complete, fill the bucket with water and safe and let it run for another couple hours. Repeat if you feel you need to, and air dry once complete.

Never had an issue

[Akili]

How would I go about sterilizing a tank, and it's cannister filter? Since it housed diseased fish in the recent past, I want to be sure it's safe before adding expensive discus to it. Can you guys give me step by step instructions? Kris Last month I sterilized a tank with a cannister filter and heater basically everything it contain by pouring bleach into it and let the cannister circulate it overnight, next day I emptied the tank and let it dry took everything else and rinsed it and left it to dry.On the third day everything was dry. Put everything together and filled it with fresh water.It currently houses four Discus.

[SNap0283]

As others said bleach, throw away the canister media run it without media in a bucket with bleach and water 1:5. Id go overboard, just run the thing overnight it cant hurt. Then take it apart rinse everything down and let it air dry. Spray down the tank with the same 1:5 water and bleach mixture until its completely soaked and the water runs to a pool in the bottom of the tank. Rinse everything well and let it dry completely. Then fill the tank, put the filter on and double dose it with dechlor and let the setup run for a day then 100% water change and you are ready for fish.

Alternatively you can use PP it might even be safer since you can clearly see the color in the water so you will know once its been removed and its much less expensive. I can expound on this if you want to try it, otherwise bleach is easy available and used successfully and safely for years.



I word of caution and optimism. About a year ago I was sanitizing a smaller tank with 1:10 bleach/water I just filled it to the top and let the setup run, the lazy way! I had the whole setup run Monday overnight and was going to rinse and all that the following day. I got called into work Tuesday and forgot about it when I got home. Weds I woke up and the fish came in the mail as planned. I threw them in the tank which had 1:10 bleach and then went untouched. About 30min later half the fish were dead and I realized how stupid I was. I dumped in about 5x the normal dechlor and figured they were all dead anyway and I just left it alone. The rest of the fish lived and are about a year old now and breeding. (Angels and BN plecos, NOT discus thankfully!) So bleach is very safe and once rinsed down you will definitely have NO problem at all. Id worry more about using enough bleach and leaving it long enough to kill whatever baddies are in the tank than I would be worried about not getting it clean enough to reuse.

[DISCUS STU]

Bleach, as above. Once everything has been cleaned and the tank is up and running again I'd run activated carbon for 12-24 hours to make sure that any wisps of residual bleach are removed.

[DJW]

The effectiveness of bleach at killing bacteria and protozoa is measured by multiplying the strength of the solution by the time the bleach (as available chlorine) is in contact with the target organism. If bleach at 1 teaspoon per gallon is used for 1 hour, it disinfects as well as a solution of 3 cups per gallon does in 25 seconds.

If you are concerned about bleach (and the lye contained in bleach) "sticking" to things, you can use a much weaker solution and still sterilize your equipment. I use a very weak solution and it still strips the algae off the inside of tubing. Then I rinse with vinegar followed by water.

Here is some technical information on how much chlorine is needed to inactivate pathogens. Notice that concentrations are given in parts per million, not cups per gallon:

http://www.cdc.gov/safewater/effectiveness-on-pathogens.html

We shouldn't be afraid to use bleach, but we do need to know how to use it safely. Here is an old thread worth reading on the use of bleach:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?39638-Chlorine-Bleach-can-kill-Discus

[rickztahone]

Bleach, as above. Once everything has been cleaned and the tank is up and running again I'd run activated carbon for 12-24 hours to make sure that any wisps of residual bleach are removed.

Bleach will air dry, but after air drying I have always run the system with water/prime just to be on the safe side. Overboard I'm sure, but always play it safe.

[krislewis3]

A thank you all for the suggestions.....a few more questions..#1 ..is there any reason not to fill the tank with the bleach/water solution, and keep the cannister hooked up (after tossing the media in the trash) and then running it for a day or so, and then rinse it the same way?
Question #2 I'd like to know more about the pp approach!

[krislewis3]

As others said bleach, throw away the canister media run it without media in a bucket with bleach and water 1:5. Id go overboard, just run the thing overnight it cant hurt. Then take it apart rinse everything down and let it air dry. Spray down the tank with the same 1:5 water and bleach mixture until its completely soaked and the water runs to a pool in the bottom of the tank. Rinse everything well and let it dry completely. Then fill the tank, put the filter on and double dose it with dechlor and let the setup run for a day then 100% water change and you are ready for fish.

Alternatively you can use PP it might even be safer since you can clearly see the color in the water so you will know once its been removed and its much less expensive. I can expound on this if you want to try it, otherwise bleach is easy available and used successfully and safely for years.



I word of caution and optimism. About a year ago I was sanitizing a smaller tank with 1:10 bleach/water I just filled it to the top and let the setup run, the lazy way! I had the whole setup run Monday overnight and was going to rinse and all that the following day. I got called into work Tuesday and forgot about it when I got home. Weds I woke up and the fish came in the mail as planned. I threw them in the tank which had 1:10 bleach and then went untouched. About 30min later half the fish were dead and I realized how stupid I was. I dumped in about 5x the normal dechlor and figured they were all dead anyway and I just left it alone. The rest of the fish lived and are about a year old now and breeding. (Angels and BN plecos, NOT discus thankfully!) So bleach is very safe and once rinsed down you will definitely have NO problem at all. Id worry more about using enough bleach and leaving it long enough to kill whatever baddies are in the tank than I would be worried about not getting it clean enough to reuse.



Yes...more about the pp approach please!

[DonMD]

PP is used at 2 ppm for treating flukes in live fish in a 4 hour bath. To sterilize, it can be used at a much higher concentration, not sure how much, or what ppm. Hydrogen peroxide will neutralize it. If you are in Northern Virginia and want some, I have extra. -Don

[krislewis3]

PP is used at 2 ppm for treating flukes in live fish in a 4 hour bath. To sterilize, it can be used at a much higher concentration, not sure how much, or what ppm. Hydrogen peroxide will neutralize it. If you are in Northern Virginia and want some, I have extra. -Don



Yes don, I am interested in the pp approach,....however, I live in Richmond Va. Do you have anymore info on the specifics of sterilizing with pp?

[Akili]

Yes don, I am interested in the pp approach,....however, I live in Richmond Va. Do you have anymore info on the specifics of sterilizing with pp?This link was posted earlier in another post about PP hope it helps http://www.bidka.org/library/pp.shtml

[warblad79]

I just bought PP yesterday from eBay 100gm for $9

[SNap0283]

PP upwards of 20ppm will sanitize and given how inexpensive it is I head towards 50ppm and let the whole system run overnight. Using bleach a system of lets say 100 gallons would require 10 gallons for a 1:10 mixture and probably would run about $15. You can purchase PP on ebay or amazon and $15 would sanitize thousands of gallons. Also with bleach when you empty it you need to then be careful not to spill any or get it on any clothing and the hoses and buckets used you will need to rinse and it can turn into a hassle. PP you just need to dump in some H2O2 and neutralize it. Plus PP is pink/purple while active and tea colored once inactive. You can actually SEE it and so you can SEE when its gone, I like that about it as well. De-chlorinator also neutralizes PP, so you have that same layer of protection that its gone and even if a little bit was missed you double dose the prime when you add fish and wont have an issue.

Side note PP will discolor anything not plastic or glass. Not sure of its use on acrylic tanks so you may want to research or test before use.

[rickztahone]

A thank you all for the suggestions.....a few more questions..#1 ..is there any reason not to fill the tank with the bleach/water solution, and keep the cannister hooked up (after tossing the media in the trash) and then running it for a day or so, and then rinse it the same way?
Question #2 I'd like to know more about the pp approach!

That is how I nuked my last tank. Kept my 2 canisters running with bleach running through them. No media of course, chucked those and bought new ones.

[warblad79]

I usually used bleach to sanitize my tank but PP is definitely cheaper compare to bleach and also I'm worry about the contamination to other tank from bleach. So I'm switching to other alternatives.

[krislewis3]

PP upwards of 20ppm will sanitize and given how inexpensive it is I head towards 50ppm and let the whole system run overnight. Using bleach a system of lets say 100 gallons would require 10 gallons for a 1:10 mixture and probably would run about $15. You can purchase PP on ebay or amazon and $15 would sanitize thousands of gallons. Also with bleach when you empty it you need to then be careful not to spill any or get it on any clothing and the hoses and buckets used you will need to rinse and it can turn into a hassle. PP you just need to dump in some H2O2 and neutralize it. Plus PP is pink/purple while active and tea colored once inactive. You can actually SEE it and so you can SEE when its gone, I like that about it as well. De-chlorinator also neutralizes PP, so you have that same layer of protection that its gone and even if a little bit was missed you double dose the prime when you add fish and wont have an issue.

Side note PP will discolor anything not plastic or glass. Not sure of its use on acrylic tanks so you may want to research or test before use.


I've decided to use the PP approach, to sterilize my 90 gl. tank, and 2217 eheim cannister filter. Do you recommend tossing my Python, and other equipment used on the tank, in the tank as well? Also, I notice that the PP is sold by the ounce.....can you tell me how many ounces I would need for job that I describe above? Kris

[DonMD]

I've decided to use the PP approach, to sterilize my 90 gl. tank, and 2217 eheim cannister filter. Do you recommend tossing my Python, and other equipment used on the tank, in the tank as well? Also, I notice that the PP is sold by the ounce.....can you tell me how many ounces I would need for job that I describe above? Kris

PP dosage to achieve 2 ppm: Gallons x 0.0038 x 2 = grams.

So, 90 x 0.0038 = 0.684 grams. This gives a 2 ppm dosage, for flukes. If you want a 20 ppm, then multiply the grams by 10, right? 6.84 grams.

6.84 grams = 0.24 ounces, according to my converter. So, one ounce should be plenty. HTH. -Don

[krislewis3]

Don...thank you for the conversion. As you know, my intention is to sterilize my tank and accessories....so just to be clear, are you saying I should use .24 ounces of PP?

[DonMD]

Don...thank you for the conversion. As you know, my intention is to sterilize my tank and accessories....so just to be clear, are you saying I should use .24 ounces of PP?

If you want a concentration of 20 ppm, then yes, .24 ounces. I think someone earlier on in the thread suggesting using more than that. I was just trying to give you an idea of how much to buy to accomplish your objective.

[krislewis3]

PP upwards of 20ppm will sanitize and given how inexpensive it is I head towards 50ppm and let the whole system run overnight. Using bleach a system of lets say 100 gallons would require 10 gallons for a 1:10 mixture and probably would run about $15. You can purchase PP on ebay or amazon and $15 would sanitize thousands of gallons. Also with bleach when you empty it you need to then be careful not to spill any or get it on any clothing and the hoses and buckets used you will need to rinse and it can turn into a hassle. PP you just need to dump in some H2O2 and neutralize it. Plus PP is pink/purple while active and tea colored once inactive. You can actually SEE it and so you can SEE when its gone, I like that about it as well. De-chlorinator also neutralizes PP, so you have that same layer of protection that its gone and even if a little bit was missed you double dose the prime when you add fish and wont have an issue.

Side note PP will discolor anything not plastic or glass. Not sure of its use on acrylic tanks so you may want to research or test before use.

Ok....I PP my tank, and I also threw in some equipment and cleaning brushes....I used 1/2 ounce of PP, tossed my filter media, and left my eheim 2217 cannister hooked up, and run for 24 hours. I've rinsed twice so far, but I'm noticing that much of maintence equipment/ brushes, are now stained from the PP. Would you reccomend using them, or replacing them. (My concern is that there may be PP left on them due to the staining! Kristine

[DonMD]

Kristine, did you add hydrogen peroxide to the water when you finished the treatment? If yes, then typically it turns everything brownish. You can rinse it off, but the brown usually doesn't go away completely. It looks ugly, but it shouldn't hurt, I don't think.

[SNap0283]

I wouldn't worry about the staining at all I have airline and sponge filters stained from clout years ago and restained multiple times by PP and it hasn't caused any problems. As long as everything is rinsed well and the water stays crystal clear after refilling you are ready to go. The thing I like best about PP sterilizing is you can just look at the water and if its clear its gone and ready for fish. No guessing and praying like with bleach.

[krislewis3]

I wouldn't worry about the staining at all I have airline and sponge filters stained from clout years ago and restained multiple times by PP and it hasn't caused any problems. As long as everything is rinsed well and the water stays crystal clear after refilling you are ready to go. The thing I like best about PP sterilizing is you can just look at the water and if its clear its gone and ready for fish. No guessing and praying like with bleach.

I ran the tank with 1/2ounce of PP for 24 hours......is that enough?

[SNap0283]

Yes that is more than enough to have killed off everything

[Filip]

i have used filters and filter sponges stained after PP sterilization and havent notice anything out of the ordinary.
I gues its some kind of harmless residual but not an acctual PP buildup on objects.
I have also done a discus baths and dips in a pretty violet solutions of PP and if discus can withstand that i doubt that anything can go wrong in this case .