How long before I can use a tank that was infected with ick

[CGill740]

Good evening all,

I had 3 mollies in a 10 gallon tank, but all 3 died from what I believe is ich. One of them definitely had ich as it had the characteristic white granules. One of the mollies had babies which I moved to an unfiltered 5 gallon tank with a heater. I gradually Increased the heat to 86 degrees for about a week and a half and placed an air stone at the top of the tank to introduce oxygen while the temperature is elevated. I have been performing 10-20% water changes twice a day and trying to use the net to remove excess food and waste.

My question is how long before the ich is completely eradicated from the tank from a lack of a food source. This tank has been empty and unheated for about 2 weeks. I also have concerns about using the filter as I am afraid the babies will get sucked into it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Miyavp]

So as far as the ick goes I had a 5gal with a bad case of ick.(no fish at this point) What I did is did water changes with drasticly different temp water. The water temp change causes any leftover eggs to hatch. And when the live ich have no fish to attatch ttoo they die off. I did this quite a few times along with adding ich medication to completly irradicate those buggers. No outbreak since :EDIT: I've read people adding some sort if aquarium sponge to the intake valve.