What now? Completely cleaning a tank...

S

sageautumn

AC Members
May 14, 2008
63
0
0
Kentucky
I posted before about my tank going south, with four fish in it. So... all of those fish, except the very smallest one, have died.

Since I have an additional/extra HOB filter (rated for 30 gallons) on my 59 gallon tank, I'm going to put it on an empty 15 gallon I have... and transfer the little fish to it. The move may be a bit traumatic to him, but treating him in a fifteen gallon tank should be better on us both. (I should have a bit more control over the dosing, I can keep a closer eye on him and it'll be easier on my pocketbook.)

Anyway... the question is... how do I proceed from here with my 59g tank?

Do I start over completely? Do I add fishfood a bit by bit to try to keep the biofilter alive while I try to clean up my tank? Do I... ...run clear, chlorinated water through everything to rinse it out, and kill off the biofilter, or even add a bit of bleach?

I'm pretty sure my fish had (at least) colunmaris, maybe worse/more things also.

I hate the idea of killing off the biofilter to clean everything--especially since my numbers were sooo good for sooo long, but if there's no way around it in order for the tank to be truly clean, and useable again... then that's that.

I need advice, please help!
 
I read your other posts but couldn't get from them what exactly it was that killed your fish, except that you were not doing regular weekly water changes, sometimes going out to three weeks.

In any event for a total tank clean, you would :

1. Drain
2. Clean tank and all equipment, decor & media in a mild bleach solution, rinse thoroughly,
3. I'd probably put a new substrate in.

I can't say if that's necessary in your case though.
 
if you are not sure what killed your fish i would break down the tank and clean everything and keep a good eye on your last fish and see if anything happens and i wish you the best of luck
 
I was concerned that I'd need new substrate. That's a pretty large expense. *sighs* But... what must be, must be.

And I am planning on cleaning everything... I'm just not quite sure how to do that.

Mild bleach solution... ...Should I change out the water, then run the tank with a bleach solution in it... then clean everything again (manuallly) from there?
 
No, just wash the tank with the bleach solution, then rinse it out thoroughly. If your substrate is gravel, you can simply soak it with the bleach solution, rinse it, and let it dry out; this should kill any parasites or pathogens. You can probably do the same with sand, or you could boil it instead. I'm not sure how you would disinfect a soil-type substrate.
 
for the soil you could put it in a stocking or other nylon type bag and run the bleach through it or any other way of disinfecting it
 
It is gravel... I suppose I could do it in my bathtub, maybe.

It's probably about fifty to sixty pounds of large-ish gravel. I'm thankful there is a method for this, as it wasn't something I was looking forward to replacing... if I even replace it.
 
you could also get some cheap 5 gallon buckets at home depot and drill holes in the top of the bucket so the water wont come over the rim and you could do it that way
because i did that and i had to have my drain snaked as it clogged up my drain
 
wildman117 said:
you could also get some cheap 5 gallon buckets at home depot and drill holes in the top of the bucket so the water wont come over the rim and you could do it that way
because i did that and i had to have my drain snaked as it clogged up my drain
Click to expand...

Ahhh. That sounds like a good idea, then. My husband wouldn't be very pleased if we had to call a plumber in, that's for sure.
 
i got lucky because my dad is a janitor for the local juvie but if it was not for that we would have had to call a plumber phew
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom