Sanitizing the tanks

[vss]

Hi i'm about to sanitize one of my two tanks. It has not been used for 2 months, and is completely dry. there is some minor water stains I have to clean though. Wonder in this case, do I need to use any chemical like PP or bleach to sterilize it or not?

I found many people prefers bleach over PP to sanitize their tanks and equipment. why would bleach be a better choice? :confused: thought PP were safer to use since it's easy to be nutralized, and already strong enough.

Thanks!
Xiaofei :)

[seanyuki]

Bleach is easier to use......bleach the tank and rinse the tank a few times and air dry......I hate to remove the strains left behind using PP......why you need to nutralized the PP when sanitizing the tank?

[Jhhnn]

I've used bleach solutions to sanitize the used tanks & equipment I've bought with apparent success. I'm doing that now with a tank being prepped for arrival of new fish from Kenny. I poured ~a quart of bleach into the 75gal tank, filled it right to the rim, left it running for a couple of days. I lowered the water level, scrubbed away any organics not dissolved, disassembled & scrubbed the removable parts in the sink & put them back. I'm now letting it operate, doing daily 100% water changes with prime. Sponges turned to mush in the process, and have been discarded. In the past, when the weather was good, I used stronger solutions outdoors & just rinsed well, let the tanks dry completely before use, ran removable parts through the dishwasher with heated dry turned off. Bleach seems to break down organics better than PP, making it all easier to clean, and also eliminates stains on things like sponge filter bases.

I'll transfer sponge filters from another healthy tank the day before the fish arrive, let the canister filter play catch up. Some people prefer to cycle tanks from scratch, but I don't have that luxury atm. I hadn't intended on buying new fish, but, well, I'm sure you know how it goes when Kenny offers some that are extremely tempting...

[indica09]

Hydrogen peroxide is good too.

[Frankr409]

Bleach will not stain like PP.

[vss]

Bleach is easier to use......bleach the tank and rinse the tank a few times and air dry......I hate to remove the strains left behind using PP......why you need to nutralized the PP when sanitizing the tank?

that's because for my current setup, when draining the tank I have to remove the water manually by 5 gallon bucket several times :(, and I don't want any chance of dyeing my carpet by the spilled PP...

-Xiaofei :)

[vss]

Thanks guys! I haven't used bleach before. Wonder where you get your bleach? and is it in powder form or liquid form? I assume it's not the bleach for laudry use that we see in Walmart? I just did a search and found the bleach/water ratio to be between 1:5 and 1:10. that's a lot of bleach for a large tank, and doesn't that cost a lot?

and is bleach corrosive to silicon gel and plastic?

-Xiaofei :)

[vss]

Hydrogen peroxide is good too.

Hi Indica09, thanks for the info. Could you let me know more detail of how to use hydrogen peroxide, like what concentration should be used, and if there is anything in perticular that should be paid attention to? Thanks.

-Xiaofei :)

[Eddie]

Just go with bleach and water.

[Jhhnn]

I use the liquid chlorine bleach from the supermarket, in the laundry section. Look for the brand name "Clorox", then buy the cheapest stuff in the bottle next to it...

Works great, honest. Dilute it considerably, and don't get it on your clothes or especially in your eyes. Rubber gloves won't hurt, but the stuff isn't terribly irritating to the skin, in general. Never mix it with ammonia, as chlorine gas will result.

[DerekFF]

bleach at any store should be fine. if you go with the cheaper bleach brands, its less concentrated, but still works fine (just so you all know you really arent saving anything as you have to use more ;-) There are ratios on the back of the bottle or you can look up suggested ratios online too. Most bleaches are neutralized by Prime so ive heard from someone much smarter than me who knows his chemicals. Either way its easily rinsed and diluted to nothing if you had no Prime.

[vss]

I use the liquid chlorine bleach from the supermarket, in the laundry section. Look for the brand name "Clorox", then buy the cheapest stuff in the bottle next to it...

Works great, honest. Dilute it considerably, and don't get it on your clothes or especially in your eyes. Rubber gloves won't hurt, but the stuff isn't terribly irritating to the skin, in general. Never mix it with ammonia, as chlorine gas will result.

Thanks a lot John!! I'll get two bottle of clorox after work today. One thing I'm really confused is about the concentration. On the forum somebody use very high concentration like 1:5 bleach/water ratio, while others use way much less, like 1 cup per 50 gallon. Wonder why there is such a huge difference...

-Xiaofei :)

[vss]

Thanks Derek!

-Xiaofei :)

[Jhhnn]

Thanks a lot John!! I'll get two bottle of clorox after work today. One thing I'm really confused is about the concentration. On the forum somebody use very high concentration like 1:5 bleach/water ratio, while others use way much less, like 1 cup per 50 gallon. Wonder why there is such a huge difference...

-Xiaofei :)

I think maybe people get carried away, and there's the issue of exposure time. If I'm using it to scrub an empty tank, I keep it strong, like the 1:5 ratio you mention. If it's in a full clean tank that can be that way for a day or two, much lower concentrations can be used. If you put a pint in a 55 gal tank, clear full to the rim, let it soak and circulate for a day or two, it's a kill zone for microscopic life. I'm sure there's some literature on the question, but that's more than adequate, imho.