How to Disinfect a Used or Contaminated Aquarium with Bleach 

Would this help if my fish has suffered Fin rot abd is now no longer with us but I am keen to start up again. Thanks for taking the time to read my questions and keep up all your excellent work, I very much appreciate all the help you give people. While I'm on do you have any other tips to help stop fin rot in the future. Thank you so so much x Take care and I will subscribe right now.

Ironic

Michele fish room

Very true

I really struggle with this too thought it was just me🤣

Yay, thanks for sharing! I'll have to try the vinegar and lemon trick next time.

Columnaris is usually a surefire death sentence unfortunately

Yay, thanks! Yeah it's such an effective method, but I was surprised to find out some of my friends are afraid of bleach.

@@GirlTalksFish Agreed !👍😀 Same with my friends also.😂😂

Really, really bad method. The amount of time greatly depends on the specific pathogen involved. Certain aquarium diseases are extremely adaptive and can stay in a dried tank for several years... You could, however, put the dried aquarium in direct sunlight for maybe 24 to 48 hours. (You'd be using a really, really cheap version of the UV light method that way. UV light is a common alternative to bleach sterilization for aquariums. Much more effective than merely hoping that it will die off from dry indoor conditions...)

Here's a good one: Take hydrogen peroxide 3% (the normal strength found in stores) and soak the plants in it for up to about 4 minutes. Afterwards, rinse them well in dechlorinated water. This works for many plants species, although a few are sensitive to it.

My son put a frog in with our red eared slider and the turtle ate the frog. Granted our turtle is over 10 years and the frog was fairly small.

Hmm, what disease were you treating the fish for? Paraguard is pretty mild, so it may not be strong enough or the right medication for treating whatever's going on.

what brand bleach do u use

Any non-fragrance bleach is fine! It must have sodium hypochlorite atleast 3-6% , the more the better most can have up to 12%. 10-15 minutes kills everything but I just do 30 minutes because incase the hypochlorite is low like 3% it gives it more time to disinfect I think 30 is definitely enough time from my experience anymore may leave bleach powder stains which could be removed with some hot water

I just set up a 10G QT tank which I plan to keep running 24/7. I want to know how I can sanitize in between uses without losing my cycle. I don't want to have to be switching bio media from any other tank. I want this to be a stand alone system to prevent cross contamination. I'm running a sponge filter plus an HOB. Thank You ahead of time.

Hi, try using a UV Sterilizer.

@@Just_Lurking8 Agreed. Aquarium Salt wouldn't be very effective. They COULD use hydrogen peroxide, but the UV light sounds like the best option here.

I just did that after an outbreak of columnaris in my quarantine tank. I mixed white vinegar in the tank with really hot water and an air stone to keep some movement in the water. I left it for an hour and then drained it and refilled the tank with just hot water. Then I left that for a 1/2 hour and drained it again and filled it with cold water. I was told that columnaris likes warm water so I thought that using cold water as the last rinse might help. I have left the cold water in for a week. Now I'm going to drain it and put fresh water in and hope that did the trick.

​@Beehindblueyes hey its been a while but did this work out for you? :)

it's trash. you gotta recycle

I wouldn't recommend that... Dish soap is VERY TOXIC to your fish, and as stated in the video, it can get absorbed into parts of the tank. Not to mention MIXING bleach with whatever traces are left, along with potentially mixing traces of that mix with salt?!? I'm honestly surprised that the fish haven't gotten poisoned from that. It's intriguing for sure, but kinda freaks me out a bit. As long as the fish are alright, I have no place to get in yourway. Just please be careful with them, and do everything you can to help those poor babies!

@@kidwolf0015 She asked to share what we do. This is what I do. Put it down in the gentlest nicest way you can but it still works for ME. Didn't ask you. Nor put down your way of doing it. Sick fish get better and so on. No point in explaining myself or process. I can tell I got a snarky fish troll on my hands. Hope I'm not the only little burr under your saddle today. 😔👻

Yes some people boil or bake their wood. Just remember to tie it down with rocks or weight because it’s bound to float after being dry.

Don’t boil rocks

See, I've always been told to avoid dish soap like plague... Especially for acrylic tanks. It's said to leave some residue on acrylic and plastic. I would be extremely cautious about mixing ANYTHING with bleach. Bleach is a very reactive substance, so it has to potential to create some really dangerous concoctions...

@@kidwolf0015 I have a question for you . My sister’s betta is fighting a an eye problem ( looks like popeye ) for some weeks now,treated him with Erythromycin , looked better, but after a week of stopping the medication it looked bad again.Treated him with Paraguard, with no big improvement. Today when she fed him , saw some blood with mucus, that came out of his GILLS. Do you have a idea, what’s going on ? Help 😧

@@Just_Lurking8 That sounds like it could be a severe bacterial infection (the Popeye can be a symptom of a severe gill infection). Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing WHAT type of bacteria. Some are deadlier than others. Unfortunately, large amounts of mucus coming out of fish gills is a REALLY BAD sign. Gill bleeding is more normal than it sounds, but excessive mucus is almost always sign of severe infection. Also, do you see any small worms coming out of thier gills? (I'm assuming that the answer is no, but I want to rule out gill flukes. Those are generally visible.) Are there any other distinct symptoms and is the tank fully cycled? (High ammonia can cause bleeding gills.) Have they developed dropsy? (Thier scales will look like a bit like a pine cone.) I'm so, so sorry... It might unfortunately be best to euthanize them at this point. Having one of these symptoms is one thing, but all three at once indicates the the infection has been around for a VERY long time. It also very likely to be antibiotic resistant.. Thier internal organs are probably damaged at this point. I would also keep watch of your hands and your sister's hands. While it's still pretty unlikely, it's actually possible that this could be fish TB. If you develop any sort of bloated rash on your hands, then you know it is. There's several nasty bacterial gill infections that can lead to this. Unfortunately, most of them are nearly impossible to treat effectively. They also tend to be highly contagious.

@@kidwolf0015 hi there, first he had the problem with his eye,and then everything else came along. The mucus wasn’t very large and today when she fed him , no mucus came out.We also checked his gills and we didn’t see any worms. The tank crashed unfortunately, because of the meds. As for the pine cone, they always look raised. I yesterday we added aquarium, started with 1 tea spoon, for a gallon of water. We need to medicate him, but don’t know what’s going to happen with his tank. Parameters Ammonia 0, Nitrites 3, Nitrates 10 .

@@Just_Lurking8 The nitrate could pose a potiental problem (Unfortunately, very heavy medication will do that.) It's definitely not normal for his scales to be poking out. (Unless he's a dragon scale Palakat. But that doesn't resemble a pine cone.) Usually, when scales poke out, it's a sign of droopsy. Droopsy is a buildup of fluid from an ongoing infection. It's sounds to me like he's had this infection for a while, but it was hidden for a long time. Many diseases can do that. There isn't much that can be done for droopsy on a small fish. It's basically impossible to surgically remove the fluid. I have heard of using Epsom salt for droopsy, but it doesn't have a very high success rate... Mostly because droopsy is a hard symptom to reverse. I don't fully know if aquarium salt helps with it or not. If it's a very mild case of droopsy, it may have a chance at being reversible. Not seeing worms is definitely a good sign, and it is good that some of the discharge cleared up. If it was a one time occurrence of a little blood and mucus, it was probably from ammonia poisoning. (Bleeding gills is a very common symptom for ammonia poisoning. Mucus isn't as common with ammonia poisoning though. It could be that the mucus was from the ongoing infection and the blood was from the poisoning. It's still something to keep an eye on.) It would be a good a idea to get a good cycling bacteria supplement (like Tetra QuickStart). It won't cure him, but it will help to restore and maintain the nitrogen cycle in the tank somewhat. Kinda like taking a probiotic after being on antibiotics. Is the Popeye still reoccurring, or has that mellowed down? It really does sound like he's been sick long before anyone noticed, which is unfortunately really common. It sounds like you're already taking the best course of action here. Try to be careful with the aquarium salt though. If he's exposed to it for more than about a week total, he can get kidney failure. (Out of curiosity) How long have you guys had him for?

Zen aku hey you need to disinfect it

JcubFn we might be a bit late to help out friend here haha

Some types of Protozoans thrive in warm water springs. Bleach is the way to go. Or chlorine.

There's no "ammonia bleach". I assume you meant household chlorine bleach. Ammonia mixed with bleach creates potentially deadly gas.

Hmm, good question. I never had an problems using it with my acrylic tanks (especially at diluted concentrations for only 10-15 minutes of soaking). This website (www.gettankedaz.com/get-tanked-tips/acrylic-care) says that "A half gallon of bleach mixed with 20 gallons of water or more is great for sterilization and is perfectly safe for acrylic."

Some parasites may just remain dormant but not die, there's evidence of bacteria that have been extinct for 100's of years but when they have been exposed to the right conditions, have become activated again. It's best to ensure they are actually killed, rather than just remaining dormant.

I'd toss them. I'd assume a sponge would hold bleach in it. Your best bet is to start fresh and use filter media from an established tank

@@chico6085 thank you.

Good question! I haven't had any problems with bleach weakening the silicon at the seams of the glass, but all of my tanks were new. Maybe do some more research online or consider resealing the tank? Even if you weren't bleaching the tank, it might be worth resealing it anyway since silicone seams don't last forever, from what I understand. Best of luck to ya!

@@GirlTalksFish thanks ♻️☯️😄

no it will not, I used it in my tank for years.

She mentioned in a reply to another comment below that she puts them in the bleach solution along with the other things.

No, anything porous has to be tossed away…

Yes, check seals also as they can push on glass and break the seals.

I'm pretty sure that she's just being extra careful is all. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Because it’s porous, get new substrate, it’s safer.

Old myth

Yes! Just fill up a spray bottle with bleach solution, spray down and wipe every surface of the tank, and let it completely air dry.

@@GirlTalksFish Oh yeah...duh...you even said maybe a spray bottle...lol Thank you!

Yup. It's a milder, broad-spectrum treatment that I've used in the past to treat ich. (Nowadays I just use Ich-X.)

Thank you so much!

Good question! I have heard of people using salt and/or high heat, but I've personally never tried it myself. Let me know what you find out because I'd definitely love to know.

@@GirlTalksFish thanks for your interest. I lost a lot of fishes from dropsy and some other deseases ,and I try to find out if theres a way to disinfect a tank without restarting it or using any chemicals. My tank is (60 L)16g cube and the circulation is pretty mature.

@@dimitris.4484 Yikes, I can see why you don't want to restart. I can't think of anything that would disinfect a tank and kill the bad microorganisms without also killing the beneficial bacteria. Even hydrogen peroxide will still restart your cycle. :/ www.thegreenmachineonline.com/blog/cleaning-disinfecting-hydrogen-peroxide-h202/

Remember to cycle

If the stuff won't melt in boiling water, it should be ok. But you might read the manual just to make sure (especially with electronics). I would still use a bleach solution for the aquarium though since boiling water and glass/acrylic do not go well together. As for the filter, it depends on what kind of filter it is. I got rid of my filter media but I was able to keep the hang-on-back filter casing and motor by disinfecting it with bleach.

i wonder that too. i also have old tanks mates who i'm not sure whether to re-unite the betta with in a new clean tank :/

@@prettybud21 in my opinion whether we disinfect something or not columnaris is exist all of things. Only we can do is decrease the ratio of calumnaris. According to my experience,go down the temperature is effective.

@@paintingchi2711 that makes sense!!

I think so,it protects you from the strong light from the light bulbs

It was to hide her face on the Internet or at least that’s what I thought

Maybe she was filming during during a bad migraine & the bright lights she uses for filming hurts.

@@ajoyrod she wore them a lot in her first couple of videos.

does this hinder the information she provided?

Not necessarily. I don't know of a good way to disinfect plants, but if you float them in an empty tank without any fish, sometimes the parasites will die without a host.

@@GirlTalksFish awesome!! thank you!

I have dunked mine in a strong brine for a few minutes then rinsed them with no issues. I use rock or pickling salt.

Did you end up getting rid of the milk?

@@alextaylor5619 Yes, thanks for asking I still have my 3 baby's. 🐟

How did you get rid of it

Hi, you also need to treat the Popeye.Erythromycin is a good ingredient, you need to use.

Do some water change not 100%, though…

Honestly, I'm not sure... It should work within theory, but I can't help but wonder what may be lurking within the blower... Dust and possible hygenic chemicals are issues I'd look out for. Perhaps, if you got a dedicated blower dryer for the job (one that has never been used for anything except the fish tanks) and put it on the cool setting it would work?

Allowing the bleach to evaporate is the important part, maybe a fan would work also.

I, hoard introducing more bacteria. Also you need to wait because chlorine and chloramine need-time to evaporate .

I've definitely heard of people who bleach their substrate and haven't had any problems with it (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-50QmY-nObBI.html). Other people recommend using high concentrations of salt instead of bleach. But yeah, do some more research and I'm sure you'll find a way to reuse the substrate. 👍

Sulena Chan I think “dump it” means throwing it away

Great question! Bleach is totally safe for turtles and other animals *as long as you let the tank and accessories completely dry.* One time I had a canister filter that still had some diluted bleach in the closed off motor compartment, so I probably should've let it dry for a couple of weeks, not just 24 hours.

Is ur turtle ok?

Thanks, that’s a really good idea, I’m going to try it. Silly question but what type of vinegar do you use, there are so many different kinds, like brown or white, etc

@@jessegee179 I use just the white vinegar and usually the cheapest one which here in Australia it’s called a generic black and white brand it comes in a 2 litre bottle and I make it quite strong I’ve used half and half, but generally 2 parts vinegar to one part water, hope that helps

@@michellenorton2698 thank you Michelle, I’ve bought some as you suggest 👍

would this also work for freshwater tanks as well I have a 10 gallon where the fish had died due to neglect *was not the original owner of this tank* and wanted to disinfect anything that would be in it do you think cleaning vinegar *some reason exist* would work?

@@silverclawgaming2653 absolutely as long as there is nothing else added to the vinegar to make it thick, it must be pure uncontaminated vinegar I have always just used the plain white vinegar, I just used it on my betta and tropical tank yesterday when I did a 50% water change hope this helps.

Did any fish die from that?

@@iilavenderii21 no bleach fades off when it drys and I washed it with regular water after

RandomPerson how long to leave it dry also can i put turtles un it i want to so it cause u know corona

@@marieclarke68 You have to de chlorinate your water . Use Prime , always before adding fish in.

I just set up a 10G QT tank which I plan to keep running 24/7. I want to know how I can sanitize in between uses without losing my cycle? I don't want to have to be switching bio media from any other tank. I want this to be a stand alone system to prevent cross contamination. I'm running a sponge filter plus an HOB. Thank You ahead of time.

Yes, bleach will take care of fungus as well! Hope this video helped ya. (I think I lost part of your comment so lemme know if I didn't answer your question.)

I was ganna say, I'm pretty sure bleach is a big no no for cleaning tanks, and I think there's other ways to disinfect. I'm sorry your fish died 😔

Oh no! How long did you let the tank air dry? I just did it to my tank and hope it will be safe for a future betta.

How well did you clean it? Was your tank properly cycled? Did you test your water regularly (test kit/strips, not petco) did you have a thermometer on it? How well did you rinse and air dry it? How old was your bleach? Did the fish go through the quarantine trio? There’s a million possible reasons why fish die, one cannot just assume one factor caused it.

Woah bud, slow down a bit! The moment you rush is the moment you doom your aquarium to middle-ages styled plagues, painful poisoning, and dead plants. I would would wait a couple of weeks minimum as to ANY minor traces. Even those can kill a fish. I would dump out that water, let it dry wait at least another 9 days, and THEN work on fixing the nitrogen cycle. That cycle usually takes up to a few MONTHS to stabilize. Then if you're going for a planted tank, go ahead and give those plants a few months as well. Then you can get the fish, with a quarantine tank. Quarantine every new fish for a bare minimum of two weeks. Really, that should probably be more like a month as well. Any sick fish should be carefully treated in their quarantine tank. I personally recommend getting fish from a proper breeder instead of a big store like Petco, as proper breeders tend to actually care about keeping their fish healthy in the first place. Also, find out if they were given any preventative treatments. If not, try to ask an experienced fishkeeper for any ideas for a gentle, yet effective course of preventative treatment. Once everything is clear, including all of the treatments being finished and all medications removed, it should be safe to put those Lil' cuties in.

In short, no. Your tank is absolutely NOT ready for creating a safe, ideal environment.

Also, I want to apologize if I sounded aggressive... I really don't mean to. Sometimes when I get really invested in a topic, I can unintentionally sound a bit like a drill Sargeant... 😂 I just recently made really similar mistakes with my beloved betta, Chloe. She was a impromptu purchase from my sister, so I was in a rush to get her in a proper environment... which my sister simply wouldn't have done. Unfortunately, she passed away after almost 10 months... I would love to prevent such painful losses for others. I've learned quite a bit from her...

@@kidwolf0015 bro i had a bottle of bacteria dumped it in got a betta which has been living really well for like 3 weeks now.

@@fortfff4936 Wait... an entire bottle? Is that actually something you can do?!? I've always heard that one couldn't ever "overdose" on bacteria supplements, but does it actually safely speed up the process THAT MUCH by putting an entire bottle in at once? Or is there a certain amount at which it would matter if more was added? How big of a bottle? What's the normal dosage? Man, I wish I would have known about that before... I was always told to only double dose until the tank was cycled. 😂 Sorry for all the questions, this is such an intriguing (and shockingly simple) way of solving the cycling problem... I'm glad to hear that your betta is doing so well.

Yes, you can. UV light is another reliable method.

Same thing - I soaked it in bleach water and let it completely dry for several days. 👍

How’d it go? Because I’m about to sterilize a sponge from a tank I tore down I was get the tank back up but I’m scared to bleach the sponge I would throw it away but I’m in a tight spot Rn so yeah.

Probably to protect privacy

Yeah, I've heard it's great for getting off water stains!

Hmm, is it parasites or fungus? Those are two different things. If you'd like additional one-on-one help with me, I offer personal support to my patrons on patreon.com/agamerswife where you can post pictures and video of your fish so that I can better assist you. Otherwise, I'd recommend joining the Aquarium Group Support on Facebook as an excellent resource where lots of knowledgeable people can give their input.

Definitely fungus

You need to invest in a good one though …

Back in the day, I was concerned about privacy issues since some RU-vidrs that lived near us got attacked by a viewer. However, I have started showing my face in more recent videos. 😎

@@GirlTalksFish oh that makes sense. I'm glad things have changed and you're more comfortable now!