@the 27:00 mark, duckweed is an important part of stirfry, you know!😅😆 Biosecurity is key when breeding for profit/fish farms. Our biosecurity on the farm in WA was *not* what the USDA wanted (our poultry were free-range, and UV decontamination) but we never, ever, ever even tested positive for salmonella (unheard of), much less avian flu. Most of the needs for biosecurity were originally established to protect indigenous species from invasive species.... and somewhere along the way we forgot the focus was supposed to be protecting the earth so we could *all* be healthier... which is not actually disease free.
In elementary school, i dreamed of owning or working in a Pet/Fish Store. You just made me remember a part of my childhood. It would be a dream to work in your Fish Store. The amount of wisdom and experience from your keeping fish and selling them for years is invaluable. Many, many thanks for sharing. 🙂 ❤️🐠
Great discussion as usual:) IME H2O2, 90% isopropyl, salt with a rinse, desiccation or a combination work well. I use a microscope to study what kills what critters and do my best to target.
Thanks for the tips Corey. I use your method where you just dry it out. Boiling nets might not be the best idea. i tried it and my net melted. lol I dd not realize some of them use a plastic mesh.
Dealing with colomnaris outbreak want to build a rack system but scared because colomnaris will spread throughout the sump and other tanks even after disinfecting I need help
I’ve heard that the American Flag fish eat duckweed. I used to have it, but I’ve noticed since I’ve had baby flag fish in my 30 gallon long breeder tank the duckweed us all gone! You just brought it to my mind. Thanks
Hi team thanks for the info hey just wanted to ask everyone the question. I've bought a property in NZ where I'm born and breed . The previous owner was breeding tropical fish in the backshed which he lined and keep at a warm temperature for the fish. The fish and tanks are gone . I've opened up the shed I'm picking bleach is the best way to sterile the shed ? I am asking this as I've been a bit sick lately and are wondering if it was possibility from takening down the wall that had mould etc on it from the shed sweating. Would be keen to get people's thoughts. Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi there! Thanks for the video! I bought a used 280 liters fish tank, with sand, plants and lot of other internal accessories. I'm going to clean and disinfect the tank and everything before running the tank because I don't know if it was infected or smth. Do I need to disinfect sand as well or it's better to not use it at all? If so how do I do that?
What about just a soaking tools in a large sink of scalding hot water with just a mild addition of bleach (two capfuls), then rinse thoroughly and soak in water with the addition of Prime for added dechlorination.
Hi Corey, Love your videos! they have been a real source of education for me and I know my fish appreciate it! So I am still learning and need some specific advice please for my new freshwater tank.... Question: I just bought a second hand 120 litre tank (31 gallons) from a guy who advertised on the internet. How do I disinfect/sterilise everything before I go out and get fish?! Included new stuff to be sterilised is: - The tank itself 120 Litres - fill the tank with salt water in high heat for a week? - Syphon - hot water only flush? - White Sand (dry with some black bits in it) - should I use this? - Filter - filter the salt water for the week? - Heater - Net - hot water with salt? - Silk plants - steep in hot water with salt? - Ornaments - steep in hot water with salt? Have i been listening? lol. Would appreciate some guidance. ;D
So I just started up an old tank and put in some guppys. Now I bought a bigger tank and put the filter of the new tank in the old tank to get the bacteria going. Now I found out I apparantly bought guppys with callamanus worms. How can I go about getting the new filter into the new aquarium without introducing the worms into the new tank? Is it possible without killing the good bacteria?
I've never worried about it... but I don't worry about much... nature will fix it, or maybe not... Keep up your awesomeness and go enjoy some nature today...!
Modern Americans can be overly stressed about sanitizing for themselves and for their fish. I'd say, watch your tanks closely. Be aware of any problems. Watch carefully. Then if there is a problem, use a different net and a different siphon on that tank. If you have more than one tank with problems, use one set of nets and equipment on the "good" tanks and one set of nets and equipment on the "bad" tanks. Many of the "bad" things exist in every tank anyway - like ick. The more fish you are going to have, the more likely you are to encounter problems. And yes Lamont, I keep 2-3 filters on every tank so that I can pull one off and start a new tank (and then I add another new filter to the tank I removed the filter from).
I rinse in hot tap water, spray hydrogen peroxide and let it sit a little and then rinse again. Filter I let it soak in watered down hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours rather than just a few minutes of straight hydrogen peroxide and then let it completely air dry. Not sure how well it cleans, but I assume it works. It does break down organics that may be still hanging on plastic.
i only use a bleach solution when im cleaning a used tank i bought from someone. it really works for me and i have used it to clean rocks too. i have never lose a fish to bleach
Hydrogen peroxide works wonders for cleaning equipment if you have hard water. I was really surprised how quickly it took the scale off the top couple inches. Also kills algae in a hurry. I like that it is essentially neutralized once it hits the water. Im sure it would be like cleaning with hot or salt water, probably kills most things, but who knows, lol
For chemical options, quaternary ammonia solutions ie: spartan hdq neutral is a good disinfectant. Side note: potassium permanganate is abbreviated by its chemical formula(KMnO4) in the circles I run in, "PP" could too easily be mistaken for an easily acquired urea solution 😂
I was watching and like halfway through i was thinking why don't you just have a net for each tank....and then you said it! I also thought though ...what if instead of letting that dedicated net air dry every time you leave it in the water column just separated from the fish either down in the sump or behind a corner-foam filter/sump setup etc....then the net is subject to the same dosing for treatment the fish get? I don't know just thinking out loud...I'm very new to the hobby and honestly 98% of what I know I learned from either you or the king of diy!!!
I am getting an old 75 gallon tank from a friend with canister, gravel and decorations. He has not used for a couple years now. Should I sterlize everything? Do I keep or replace the media in the canister filter?
So is air drying the best way if you have the time to wait. I recently bought a used fx5 and I'm not sure if there was any issues with the tank it was on. I cleaned it all up with plain water and power washed the hoses out. It's been setting for a few weeks drying while I'm waiting on my media and new pads for it. Any need to bleach anything?
i just had catastrophic die of in my community tank. Every bit of livestock perished ( velvet).Now i have to disinfecrt it. it's a 20 gallon long with a pea gravel substrate. Recommendations?
I had ich in my 75 gal tank I moved all fish out for treatment. Sadly I lost them all. Now for the 75 gal I cranked the heat to 84-85 for 5 days. I'll do a large water change on the 6th day. Will it be safe to add fish to?? Do I need to do anything else?? Is my filters like sponge and hob ok ?? Thanks
Question.... Since I seems I cannot find anything about it... Because of my sensitivity to Bleach what would be another alternative to sterilizing my fish nets, hose and other utensils I use for my tanks. I have been searching for a while and again....just bleach. Can Distilled white vinegar work just as good or is there something else I can use?
What my plan would be if my 100G display tank gets infected. Is to use their aquarium coop qauratine medication trio. It says on the description safe for plants and invertibrates. I'll go which ever is cheaper. Either to dose the whole tank for 4 weeks or just start all over again with new substrate and plants. ;(. Hope we get a reply and get better ideas.
For weeds i use 3 parts vinegar per 1 liter of water for 3 days during a dry spot in the summer. Maybe it will work on duckweed. Even better if it works to sterilize nets and stuff.
I have five tanks of varying sizes at home and I have a bucket filled with water and diluted with methylene blue, and dip all my nets in it works very well BUT I hate the tank of blue in the tank water, it also stains the silicone :(
I have a fake plant (small needles coming off a main stem) in my daughters 10 gallon that has a lot of algae on the small needles of the plant. I have Amano shrimp and they aren't making a dent. How can I get the fake plants clean? I'm a little nervous about using a bleach solution but trust your advice. Thanks:)
Hi There thank you for this information I have 500 L aquarium and 2 month ago I had around 10 discus died on the aquarium, after that I just flush it and cycled it and 15 days ago I bought other 8 discus fish and after a week they start to be sick ,so now I transferred them to quarantine tank. I put some guppies in the aquarium and the funny thing that guppies are alive for a week now. I wand to sterilize and disinfect the aquarium but I do not like to use bleach. So can I do that with aquarium salt and how much salt I must use for 500 L aquarium. Please advise ? Happy new year in advance . Thank you
I wish there was a way I could patent my duckweed killing skills, I'd make a fortune. I specifically bought some for my shrimp tank, it all died. I bought some more for my guppy tanks, every single tank....I just can not keep duckweed alive!!
Hi. I left bleach (one capful) in a seven gallon tank (my fish had just passed) for two hours. I know you're supposed to only leave bleach in the tank for 15 minutes before rinsing but I couldn't get to it. Now that it's been rinsed and to dried out completely, is the tank safe to introduce more fish? Is two hours too long? Thanks.
I know this is a month old but if anyone needs the answer yes the tank should be fine. If you're really worried just use a double dose of dechlorinator.
If you have a microwave in your aquarium room or store just get a container of water and bring it to a boil and place your nets or other instruments in the boiling hot water, outside the microwave, and then rinse and let the air dry.
Use "Lysol No Rinse Sanitizer at the rate of 7.5 ml per gallon of water. This product contains dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and will not harm nets.It comes in a gallon size, so probably too big for the average hobbiest ,but good for a business.
My fidh have columnaris. I was told to clean everything with bleach. And im scared to use it. If i use ot on my bucket and pump and hose. How do i make sure i got all thr bleach out will prime make it safe?
Ryan Erb once it is all the way air dried all bleach has evaporated. It takes time to fully dry. Unlike alcohol which evaporates fast after killing almost everything.
So interesting! Sterilizing to assure healthy conditions. If schools actually taught this stuff we would have a more Conscientious educated society. Thank you for all that you do!
Aquarium Co-Op thanks! Do you think I could reuse my substrate if I bleach it or is the safest best to just scrap it and buy new? I use dark fine substrate.
keep an extra hob new still in the box in the wings that will be enough for multi tank sizes. least thats what i do. now buying a new filter isn't an emergency.
Hello! i know this is an old vid, but what can i do to save the live plants in a tank i am stripping down for sterilization? I've lost half of my stock in the last month and this was a last resort. My plants look a long time to get where they finally are and i would like to save them if i can without carrying whatever this disease is right back into the tank i just sanitized
Peroxide dip for 30 seconds each plant fully submerged. Then rinse well. I've also did 1 part bleach 9 parts water and dipped 10 seconds and rinsed. This is from my personal experience only.
+1deaver Yeah I think that would work great :) Just isn't practical at the store for us or in my fish room. But if you've got access to doing that easily awesome!
+dannifasho Sure, could be a whole episode dedicated to that really. I'd say look up dosing excel or hydrogen peroxide. Siamese algae eaters, amano shrimp, flag fish and find a solution that is going to work in your specific case.
+dannifasho Regarding BBA: I bought a Siamese Algae eater, but I think I had too much BBA for the little guy so it didn't help. I finally decided to dose Excel daily. (Taking a syringe and actually squirting it over the most heavily BBA area.) It has been only 4 days of this, and I can see a difference!
i use peroxide let it sit on net for up to 5 mins a rinse with hot water as peroxide is the only thing that will kill fungus . And it harmless as long as you rinse .
OMG yes duck weed. I had no idea when I first started out. I still have duckweed and don't know where it came from ha ha!. Boiling water and peroxide soak. But I only have 10 nano tanks.
I use my hand to take my fish out of the bags. But I only have 2 tanks so I don't need to worry. But I do have a fish net, just haven't used it because I don't need to move my fish. One tank has a female glo betta, 6 neon tetras, 7 glowlight tetras, and a few ghost shrimp. The second one just has a male twintail betta. But I want to get minnows and cherry shrimp. Hopefully he takes well to having friends in his tank. My girl loves to school with the tetras, and they even had her back when she was flailing at my boy. So I'm hoping he also makes himself a little family. If not then he can have his 20 gallon to himself. He is active, so he isn't boring to look at. I just want to have something other than snails with him.
I've never had more than 3 tanks in use till now. I now have 6 betta tanks. After my goldfish died from old age & diseases, I sanitized everything with bleach & hot water (according to food handling standards), rinsed in straight hot water 3 times, then dried the tank & lid as best I could, & let it air dry a couple of days before giving it to a friend who had a crowded goldfish/koi tank. My city water is high in chloramine sometimes to the point it smells like a dirty goldfish tank. I figure that much ammonia & chlorine in 210°f water will kill most things. The rest usually die in air drying due to lack of food/water. I don't use my net on a daily or even weekly basis so it's not an issue for me. I do have a back up net but it's a small net for like young or baby fish or anything the size of a guppy or smaller.
+Agr414 I have noticed the same thing, along with what seemed to be excess amounts of surface scum/oils while the jungle val was taking over. I hooked a aqua clear surface skimmer up to a power head and that seemed to work to chop it up and put it down low enough that it was eaten, or broken down. That seemed to finish it off for me.
i use rubbing alcohol to disinfect my hands after going into tanks or touching stuff that has been in tanks.....i use potassium permangante to sanitize stuff it works good in my usage it does stain your hand for a couple days and usually comes off of surfaces in a couple days of cleaning...idk how u stained your concrete with it mines just washes off....i even dip fish in it when i first get them to help rid of any external parasite or hitch hikers
+Rico Suave Well I personally didn't stain my concrete was at a wholesaler. So figure nets being used hundreds of times a day, dripping on the floor every single day etc. Maybe just because it never got washed out etc? I wonder if the rubbing alcohol would dry out my hands sterilizing them 50 times a day.
+Stephen Bamber Yeah, I've used em, It's just about impossible to manage it at a store, we actively are removing it from tanks and bringing it in with plants from the wholesalers etc.
I am going to sterilize my entire aquarium because of a massive coloumnaris outbreak I had. I thought I was done treating it and it came back a few days after I stopped meds. In the video you stated 1 pound of salt per gallon. Is that a number you just threw out there or is that what you would use. I have a 180 gallon tank so I would obviously need 180 lbs of salt. Is that correct? Since I only have 6 fish left out of about 35 I'm going to take them out and put them in a quarantine tank. I had not previously taken them out to be put in a quarantine tank because of the number of fish that already showed signs of columnaris by the time I properly diagnosed it. I understand this is going to kill whatever beneficial bacteria I had left after the meds (I'm guessing it's all been killed anyways because of the antibiotics) but I need to make sure my FX6's, powerheads, substrate, etc. are sterilized as well and salt seems to be the cheapest and safest way to do so. I've came to the conclusion I need to start my tank over. I appreciate any advice in advance. Thank you
+Chris Niemeyer Well to fight off most illnesses I use 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. If I was going to "reset" my tank in the way you're describing. I would go to home depot or lowes and buy a 40lb back of rock salt and dump it in and let it set for a few days. Then do 100% water change, let that run for a couple days, then do that one more time. Here is a link to what I am describing. www.lowes.com/pd_25656-113-100012411_1z10xx1__
That is exactly what I'm planning on doing. I was just wondering how much. I'm going to take you up on your advice. I'm not trying to get subscribers but if you check my channel out you can see why I need to "nuke" my tank. Its been crazy. Never had anything like this happen and there really isn't enough info on the internet about what to do after a columnaris outbreak. Thank you for your time.
Definitely will let you know. Not that it's rocket science but I will probably do a video on it because I haven't seen any videos that show how to do that.
Duckweed is a scourge, no doubt. Ever considered making Real Fish Talk a podcast? Because of its length it'd be easier to listen to, while doing water changes for example.
+Iowa Discus Yeah, it's on the to do list. I figured get like 10 episodes out then start uploading them. I need to figure out best place to host them etc.
+Aquarium Co-Op Good to hear! Podcasts from the Apple store are what I typically listen to, I've heard it's pretty straightforward on the content creator side as well.
Yeah, I believe I have to host them somewhere ,then submit to feedburner, then submit to Apple, takes a couple weeks to get authenticated. Just haven't gone all the way down the rabbit hole yet.
So in my opinion, the best thing to do is a combination of leaving your nets in a bucket with water and air drying. Basically you want to have 1/2 of your nets underwater while the other half dries. Then switch them every like 12-72 hours depending on preference. Works best if you’ve got 3 nets per tank. The reason the dry out method won’t work on it’s own is because of how rapidly microbes mutate.In tanks you’ve got a mix of microaerophiles and facultative anaerobes. And whole lotta of autrophic bacteria. If you consistently switch from 02 to h20 methods of cell respiration it forces surviving microbes to become either obligate aerobes or obligate anaerobes. This kills most harmful pathogens. But sure you could also just go through gallons of bleach. KMnO₄ method I’m curious to learn more from you about. But the risks seem to be similar to a saturation point method, except it leaves a nice color behind. What circumstance would that be preferred?
