need it 110% clean

[noelberg]

The betta I kept in my 10g got fungus, and I want to make sure that the next citizens of the tank never it. There's nothing in the tank now, just some unplugged hardware and drying gravel.

What is the best way to clean it all and kill all germs? ... without leaving any harmful chemicals in the tank. (I don't need to put live fish in the tank for another 2-4 weeks).

 

[tstenback]

Hot water, vinegar and elbow grease has always done the job for me. Have also used a weak ammonia solution on some occassion to clean a second hand tank where i had no idea what had been in there. HTH

 

[mhoward1999]

When I want to know that I know that I know that it's clean, I use bleach. When I tell people this they give a sharp gasp, but it's effective, and bleach eventually breaks down into salt water anyway. It's not as big of a deal as it sounds. What I like to do is leave all my filters running and pour in the desired amount of bleach. I let it run for a couple of days. After it has run for a sufficient amount of time I take a clean washcloth and wipe everything down inside and out with the water from the tank. I then tear everything down and rinse it extremely well. Rinsing is the key. You have to rinse and rinse and rinse. When you think it's rinsed off completely, rinse it some more.

 

[Tropjunky]

I know that you can use bleach and if u live in the UK you can get this bleach that will foamup like mad if there's any left and trust me it will still bubble up if you put a drop in to a 12gl tank. u know when it's safe to put fish in it. just as ur LFS about interpet products

 

[noelberg]

thanks for the replies guys! - more are definitely welcome

the tank will eventually have killis in it, maybe a betta in a partition. I will probably use vinegar on some of the equipment (filter, siphon, etc) just to be safe. But I don't want to see any fungus again after dealing with it - nasty disease.

 

[Tropjunky]

well after y cleaned it use a fungus treatment at treee times the doseage and treat it for the same time or more. That should take care of the problem.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I clean used tanks with hot water and salt, but I'm considering trying the bleach method, it just sounds scary. If I do use bleach, I will give it a vinegar rinse since vinegar neutralizes bleach.

 

[silver]

Don't worry Wuv.....I know it sounds scary, but just remember you only need a TINY amount to.....let's say....clean a 10 gallon tank!!! I've been using it lately with no ill effects!! I just rinse whatever I've cleaned at LEAST 6 times or more! IT REALLY KILLS BACTERIA....

 

[wuvmybetta]

Yeah, I gotta convince myself of that...funny thing is, I bleach the hell out of brine shrimp eggs then feed them to my fish so I don't know what my problem is