Disinfecting tank after medication and disease?

[DeZ]

well I tryed to quarenteen some fish that beat up on each other during shipment to my LFs, The wounds soon turned to a cotton cover and I now only have one left. My LFs gave me the medication and I guess it was a lost cause.

Anyways I do have live plants and a couple tubes in that tank and I'm wondering how to clean it all without damaging the plants. How do I make sure the tank has NO disease left so I can use it again soon?

So far eveywhere I have read says to disinfect the tank but also dosent say how.

any help will be appreciated.

 

[cindywindy]

DeZ,

Sorry to hear about your fish.

Breaking down and disinfecting the tank is not generally a good idea if you are planning to reuse the tank right away, but would work fine if your plan is to break it down and store it away with no plans to restock it anytime soon.

There is no better method of disinfecting after a bout of pathogenic fungus than with the use of salt, however, salt is not advisable in planted tanks. Therefore I would suggest a large-volume water change of 70-80%, raise the temperature a degree or two every hour to 82* and the addition of a carbon pouch to your filter to adsorb any residual medication. Leave the pouch for 48-72 hours, then remove it, as carbon is only activated for 2-3 days before losing its efficacy.

 

[DeZ]

so by doing that when would it be safe to use again? and how many times would you suggest to do that? I always use carbon in my tanks but I never realized it would clean up a diseased tank... So is that all thats involved in cleaning it? I just want to make sure that when I do use it, there is no chance of the new fish getting sick.

The last gaurami is laying on the bottom just about dead, so I want to do this asap.

 

[revfred]

The charcoal will remove the medication but is likely not to remove whatever it was that caused the fish to be diseased. Personally, I would suggest a broad spectrum medication ... I use Rid-Ich+. Follow the directions on the bottle for about 5 days . . . remove the charcoal during this time. That should kill any disease that remains in the tank. It is safe for plants. Do a final water change at the end of the medication cycle, and replace the charcoal filter . . . that will take care of any residual medication. And then you should be good to go.

 

[DeZ]

so what does raising the temp do? does it kill bacteria and how long do I need to keep it up?