sterilizing sand

[Evaunitone]

I just emptied a tank I had with pool filter sand as the substrate. The tank was about a year old and it was infested with MTS. I removed all the big ones I could find and now the only ones left are the tiny babies. They should all be dead soon because the tan is drained and the sand is beginning to dry out. I suspect the snails of carrying some parasites or bacteria and I'd like to sterilize the sand, preferably without removing it from the tank. I was thinking I could pour boiling water into the tank and then siphon it out, but would that be bad for the silicone sealant? I also thought of hydrogen peroxide but wasn't sure if that would completely go away eventually. Any thoughts?

 

[Blueiz]

MTS can withstand a LOT of things. They have the ability to seal there shell and stay there in some of the worst toxic conditions.

Pooring boiling water into the tank may crack your glass, I would not reccomend this.

As inexpensive as pool filter sand is, I would take all of the old out, rinse the tank out, give at a wash down with bleach-rinse really well, towel it out, and put in new pool filter sand and triple dechlor the water when filling it.

As a side note, I have never heard of snails being carriers of disease or bacteria that would harm your fish.

 

[mfdrookie516]

just to add to what blueiz said, i had mts appear in my tank after the substrate sat in a bucket outside in 40 degree weather for 2 weeks dry. mts arent bad either, i wouldnt worry about trying to get rid of them