Advice for tank sanitization - spray option?

[Gideyon]

My betta died after an almost 2 week bout with dropsy.  

Question... 

Since I have no idea what the cause of his illness was, I'm thinking I need to sanitize. 

I understand the bleach method (1 gallon bleach + 9 water), but that seems like a waste.   Wouldn't a bleach solution that is sprayed on the glass be more efficient or is it not as effective? 

I do plan to do about half that amount to do the gravel, decor and filter. 

If the spray is possible, what is proportion? 

 

Also, another note... I know people say toss the gravel, but I don't plan to reuse immediately. I was thinking of bleaching, drying, and storing it away. Is that okay? 

[KBOzzie59]

On 7/30/2021 at 9:46 AM, Gideyon said:

bleach method (1 gallon bleach + 9 water), but that seems like a waste. 

Not really because that is the ratio you would use in s spray bottle.  I don't know of anyone that actually fills their tank with water and bleach to sterilize it.  There is no need to sterilize the water column, just the surfaces.  As for the gravel, you could rinse it in a bleach solution but I've on ever just let it air dry real good before re-use.

[Gideyon]

On 7/30/2021 at 12:58 PM, KBOzzie59 said:

Not really because that is the ratio you would use in s spray bottle.  I don't know of anyone that actually fills their tank with water and bleach to sterilize it.  There is no need to sterilize the water column, just the surfaces.  As for the gravel, you could rinse it in a bleach solution but I've on ever just let it air dry real good before re-use.

I meant that filling a tank with that much seems pike a waste. And that's what I've been seeing online. 

If spraying, it just seemed like I could just spray bleach directly instead of diluting. 

[KBOzzie59]

I'd still mix it down, I did some cleaning years back with straight bleach and got some pretty serious burns on my hands and arms.  Filling the tank would be a terrific waste. 

[Guppysnail]

I use hydrogen peroxide as there is no residue then let dry out thoroughly most aquatic bacteria and parasites can’t tolerate drying and hydrogen peroxide is much more effective against mycobacterium (long story got hit with hubbies fish hook hospital recommended over bleach for the myco disinfectant) it deteriorates the outer cell wall allowing it to destroy it takes bleach 6:1 ratio 20 minutes to kill myco is what hospital told me. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Guppysnail
Typo

[Gideyon]

I was going to throw away my filter media, but I was curious, can the coarse sponges (from co-op) be bleached and dried and be safe for reuse?   Assuming it's completely dried. 

 

[Ozymandias]

Concentration of bleach necessary for disinfecting is a little stronger than sanitizing:

https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/8340/970-216-Disinfect-en-L.pdf

You can see that straight bleach from the bottle is way too strong and unnecessary (and potentially dangerous to you!). 

Make sure to rinse the tank very well afterwards. Probably you also should mix a 5-10x dose of dechlorinator with some water and wet everything down as well. Or for small tank you could fill the tank, overdose dechlor, stir for a few minutes, and drain.

Bleach in fish tanks makes me nervous. I tend to use only white vinegar, but I've also never suspected any truly nasty bacterial/viral diseases in my tanks.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Ozymandias
a word

[Gideyon]

Thanks.  I'm using a high concentration bleach, so it'll be less than the 1:9 ratio I've seen online.  I think that chart makes sense. It'll be about a tenth of a gallon (30 tbsp I believe) for disinfection. 

 

Any thoughts on the sponge media or just replace it to be on the safe side? 

 

I used bleach once before in this same tank because I was taking it out of storage. 

Using a dechlor while rinsing is a good idea.  

[lefty o]

just thinking outside the box, but you could probably run the sponge filter through the dishwasher. the heat cycle, and heat dry should be hot enough to kill off anything on it, but not hot enough to melt it. try at your own risk though.

[Gideyon]

On 8/4/2021 at 3:37 PM, lefty o said:

try at your own risk though

Just about everything in this hobby is try at your own risk 🙂

[ARMYVET]

On 8/4/2021 at 3:38 PM, Gideyon said:

Just about everything in this hobby is try at your own risk 🙂

It sure is...I risk getting killed everytime my wife opens the CC statement and sees what I have spent on this hobby🤦‍♂️

[Gideyon]

@ARMYVET, that's why my next project is with all cheap stuff.   Even the fish.   

[ARMYVET]

On 8/4/2021 at 4:07 PM, Gideyon said:

@ARMYVET, that's why my next project is with all cheap stuff.   Even the fish.   

Thats what I said too...never works out though.