Help disinfecting tank!

[ocminpin]

I have my 10g QT used to house 2 mollies with the horrid Camallanus worm... One died and one managed to pull thru worm free with Fenbendazole In about 2 months.
My plan is to move him to my 29g Molly tank with the girls, throw away the gravel, boil the rock decoration, wash plastic plants in super hot water, and run diluted bleach thru the filter/tank for a couple days...
I've heard 10% bleach?? What's your recommendation? How many days? Also I won't be able to set tank out in sun as I live in a condo without sun on my balcony... What is the safe method here?
My plan for the tank is to use it for 2 bettas with a divider in the middle...

 

[jlk]

I dont know specifics about camallanus worm but 10% bleach is the general recommendation for disinfection in general. Anything that you want to reuse (tank, plants, rock, filter) should be soaked in bleach solution for atleast 15mins. I would run the filter with the bleach solution in the tank as well for atleast 15mins (solution running through it). Make sure everything is wiped down with the solution as well (ie outside of tank). Empty & rinse everything very well with hot water after soaking & refill with plain, conditioned water & then let this run through the filter as well for atleast an hour to make sure any traces of bleach are removed. Air dry everything for atleast a day before reusing. Hope this helps!

 

[ocminpin]

I dont know specifics about camallanus worm but 10% bleach is the general recommendation for disinfection in general. Anything that you want to reuse (tank, plants, rock, filter) should be soaked in bleach solution for atleast 15mins. I would run the filter with the bleach solution in the tank as well for atleast 15mins (solution running through it). Make sure everything is wiped down with the solution as well (ie outside of tank). Empty & rinse everything very well with hot water after soaking & refill with plain, conditioned water & then let this run through the filter as well for atleast an hour to make sure any traces of bleach are removed. Air dry everything for atleast a day before reusing. Hope this helps!

Sounds awesome! Just move Cesar (male Dalmatian Molly) into my 29g with the females.. He sat there a minute looking around... "Man is this where you guys have been living?? You REDECORATED!!" HAHA... I upgraded tank size since he's been sick. Then had a field day with the females...

I heard something about running filter with bleach solution for 24 hrs.. Or maybe I can just run overnight? I dont want to ruin any insides cause of it. 15 mins sounds good to me...

 

[ocminpin]

I set it up and have it running in bathroom... Will let go overnight...

 

[jlk]

I was going to suggest the bathtub! Lol! Good luck & i hope the evil worm never returns!!

 

[ocminpin]

I was going to suggest the bathtub! Lol! Good luck & i hope the evil worm never returns!!

Thank you... I hope it doesn't... Can't stand the stress on ME or the fish...
Check out my new thread: Cruella & Cesar Fighting... The saga continues lol

 

[ocminpin]

Wow the tank sure is bright and sparkly... draining it now and will refill, rinse out with super hot water and cycle thru with clean primed up water then rinse super well again and sit out for a day to air dry

 

[jlk]

Good job! How are your guys (and gals) doing today?

 

[ocminpin]

Good job! How are your guys (and gals) doing today?

Cesar and his pack of ladies are quite peaceful.. Yay
Hmm guess it's not a pack of fish... I'm still thinking in dog terms!
Think they will start calling me "The Fish Whisperer"??

 

[jlk]

LOL!!

 

[ocminpin]

Just finished final super rinse
Will sitting out overnight be good enough and fill it with water in morning??

View attachment 68019

Just put hood on for pic

 

[jlk]

Did you run the filter with conditioned water? If so, you should be good to go (im on a friends computer here)!!! Good luck with everything!

 

[ocminpin]

Yes it ran with Prime water for about 6 hrs then I rinsed super well with hot water... Stuck my head in the tank, and can't smell bleach at all.

 

[jlk]

You should be good to go!

 

[ocminpin]

Just finished disinfecting my 20g. Bleached my gravel rock... Can't seem to get smell of bleach out of it...
I'm Assuming it's not safe to use, right??
Will air drying take smell away?

 

[jlk]

Soak it in really hot water with a hefty dose of dechlroinator for atleast 24hrs (stir well!). Rinse & see if it still smells like bleach. Is it possible its coated gravel?

 

[ocminpin]

Soak it in really hot water with a hefty dose of dechlroinator for atleast 24hrs (stir well!). Rinse & see if it still smells like bleach. Is it possible its coated gravel?

Okay I will...
And heres a pic of the gravel... It's small rock "gravel". Common used in Petsmart fish tanks...

View attachment 71369

 

[jlk]

Hmm...i dont know if this gravel is coated or not. You could call & ask them but i doubt they would have any clue either (or know what you are talking about!). A guess here,because its natural coloredd, its not. The colored gravel is typically coated & the coating can absorb stuff (like bleach). If you can, spread it out in the bath tub (or some other big container like plastic storage bin) so all of the rock can get equally exposed to water/dechlorinator for soaking.

 

[ocminpin]

Hmm...i dont know if this gravel is coated or not. You could call & ask them but i doubt they would have any clue either (or know what you are talking about!). A guess here,because its natural coloredd, its not. The colored gravel is typically coated & the coating can absorb stuff (like bleach). If you can, spread it out in the bath tub (or some other big container like plastic storage bin) so all of the rock can get equally exposed to water/dechlorinator for soaking.

Just looked it up.. It's
TOP FIN PREMIUM AQUARIUM GRAVEL Polished Pebbles...
It's natural small sized "river rock"

 

[jlk]

Good to know! The bleach should dissipate with the dechlorinator & hot water after it sits for awhile. I dont know if drying it in the sun is possible where you live but this would help as well.