How to Disinfect a Discus Tank

[Kal-El]

Newbie here... I move my two discus out of the main tank into a QT tank to recover from their infection of Heximita. How do I go about disinfecting the tank and cleaning it. There's no other fish in the tank. Should I use bleach? Any suggestion will help. (65gallon Tank)

[strawberryblonde]

Yep, bleach works very well! First, scrub the tank well, then drain, refill with cold water, add bleach and let it sit for at least an hour. Then drain, rinse, rinse, rinse and refill, add at least a double dose of dechlorinator and let it sit again. Once that's done, drain, refill with warmish water and use double dechlor again. By then use shouldn't smell any chlorine at all in the tank. If you do, lather, rinse and repeat the rinse/dechlorinator routine till the smell is gone.

If you have decor, gravel, etc you'll need to bleach those as well and then dechlorinate them. You'll also need to clean the filters. For the filters I prefer to bomb them in a small bucket using metro. Just hook them up and let them run. Be sure to add either a small dose of pure ammonia each day in order to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. Oh and don't forget to bleach heaters! If you use an airstone, toss is out and buy a new one, then add new airline tubing.

[Teshi]

does this destroy the BB in the filter? I've never had to do this but would like to know in case I ever do.

[Kal-El]

Yep, bleach works very well! First, scrub the tank well, then drain, refill with cold water, add bleach and let it sit for at least an hour. Then drain, rinse, rinse, rinse and refill, add at least a double dose of dechlorinator and let it sit again. Once that's done, drain, refill with warmish water and use double dechlor again. By then use shouldn't smell any chlorine at all in the tank. If you do, lather, rinse and repeat the rinse/dechlorinator routine till the smell is gone.

If you have decor, gravel, etc you'll need to bleach those as well and then dechlorinate them. You'll also need to clean the filters. For the filters I prefer to bomb them in a small bucket using metro. Just hook them up and let them run. Be sure to add either a small dose of pure ammonia each day in order to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. Oh and don't forget to bleach heaters! If you use an airstone, toss is out and buy a new one, then add new airline tubing.

Thanks for the advice this really helps me out.

[David Rose]

Do your homework first and read up on Hex in the disease section stickies or contact a SD Team Member.

BTW bleach will kill everything. Potassium Permanganate will work too, but controlling timing and dosage will not destroy all the BB. Please choose the right solution for the problem.

Good luck!
David

[strawberryblonde]

Actually, I recommended using metro on the filters, in a small bucket in order to lessen the amount of metro you need to use. This is just for cleaning up after hex. Metro will kill the hex and leave the beneficial bacteria fine and healthy.

You WILL lose any BB in gravel/sand if you use them, but I've never been a big believer in BB in gravel anyways. Gravel tends to hold more bad bacteria and other crud than good bacteria from my own personal experiences.

[Teshi]

Actually, I recommended using metro on the filters, in a small bucket in order to lessen the amount of metro you need to use. This is just for cleaning up after hex. Metro will kill the hex and leave the beneficial bacteria fine and healthy.

Thanks Toni, I would hate to have to lose my cycled tank after just having stressed out fish. Bookmarked just in case i need to refer back.