Multiple Tanks

[Boohoo]

I would only assume that when a person has multiple tanks that each tank should have its own supplies (siphon, algea magnet,net,etc...) in case you would have a disease in one tank, so that it would not spread to the others. Am I correct in assuming this or am I too cautious. :confused:

[slipknottin]

Certain things like nets can be dipped in certain solutions that will kill any bacteria or anything of that sort. Generally I have an algae magnet for each tank, but thats more for convience than preventing transfer of diseases.

[Emg]

I imagine it's a good idea....but I don't do that...too many tanks !

I have a syphon for sick tanks....and a syphon for clean/not sick tanks. When I find a fish with an issue I isolate it and use the "sicktank" syphon to clean it...but I don't very often have an issue to deal with....it seems anytime I do it's because of a new fish. The last deal was the cammalanus nematode thing..still treating one of the rams for that. The other one seems fine now.

I think the most important thing to keeping illness out of your tanks is to make sure and use a quarenteen tank when you get a new fish....or washing off new plants very well. I introduced some ich to a tank once when I added new plants without treating them..what a pain ! :rolleyes: Maintaining your tanks and equiptment properly will also go a long way to keeping illnesses and issues away.

[Nuriel]

i use the same siphon and nets for all three tanks but if a tank ever came down with something i would definatly get a new hose for the sick tank (no need for a whole new vac unless you have to do a big tank). i dont use algea magnets (they really work?! ;) )

[Boohoo]

But in some cases by the time you would see the signs of disease isn't it possible to have already transmitted it to another tank?

[Nuriel]

Not necessarily, some types of things such as ick and other parasites need a few minutes time to find suitable hosts such as fish- other diseases I am not so sure about. If you suspect something I suggest rinsing out a few times in hot water the equipment that gets used.

[Blinky]

I've got two algae magnets - one for the small tanks, which I dip in a bleach solution and then rinse in hot water before changing tanks, and one for the big tank that's only used there (it stays in the tank, I'm lazy). I only have one net - I find I rarely need a net, and give it the same bleach/hot water treatment between tanks or after use so it's clean for next time. I frequently run bleach and hot water through my Python, but unless one of the tanks is sick, I usually just rinse it through with hot water between tanks on water change day.
As long as you have bleach in the house, it shouldn't be necessary to have separate maintenance equipment for each tank IMO.

[Boohoo]

So what kind of bleach solution do you use? I'm talking ratio of bleach to water or just straight bleach. Also if you use a bleach solution what about the chlorine isn't that harmful unless you rinse it real well with hot water? Please forgive my stupid questions but I only want to do whats best.

[Holly9937]

Hmmm... Good idea, but I don't have separate stuff either!! I don't net fish enough to worry about that, but I do have 2 different nets, so I figure the once or twice a year I might use them... The siphon I use the same for both tanks. I guess I'll pay for it when something happens!! :rolleyes: Hadn't thought much about that to be honest!

[Blinky]

I generally use one part bleach to 10 parts water (and wear gloves). 1:25 is probably strong enough to kill just about anything, but if you're dealing with nasty bacteria or fungus, I figure overkill isn't a bad thing. I rinse like crazy and then use dechlorinator afterwards - if it's a net, for example, I'll leave it in the bleach solution for a minute or so, then rinse, rinse, rinse, followed by a 5-minute stay in tap water treated with 5x dechlor. If I'm putting the net away and not re-using it that day, I skip the dechlor (any remaining traces of chlorine will evaporate within a day or two).

[RTR]

My QT tanks have separate siphons, algae scrapers, etc., which are never used elsewhere. My regular tanks all share the same Python, and multiple tanks can share the same algae scrapers, etc. I have not had a case of infectious disease in a regular tank in decades.

[Bmeasure]

As usual I have to agree with RTR. I use 1 python to do water changes in all my tanks, but you should always quaranteen new fish in a separate tank. For these small tanks you could easily use a normal syphon gravel vac. I have about 3 of these, but I doubt (with the infrequent use of them) they have any disease in them between times I use them. I eventually plan on getting a breeding setup and having 20 or so breeder tanks, but some of these will even be linked by syphons or overflows on a common system. In these situations, I'd not worry about using the same vac :rolleyes:

I haven't had a single disease case in years, so I'd think that if you have established tanks that you know all inhabitants are ok in, I wouldn't worry about sharing equipment. If I suddenly had a power outage and the water dropped 10 degrees overnight (never happens around here) then I'd use a regular vac on the tank until I determine it's ok before using a python on it again.

[JSchmidt]

I also use separate tools for Q-tanks or hospital tanks than I use for everything else. You can buy Net Soak from most online vendors; it's a disinfecting solution for nets that won't bleach them or degrade their fibers.

I think the best strategy is to keep disease out of your main tanks (by practicing good quarantining for 4-6 weeks minimum) and then you don't have worry about cross-contamination.

HTH,
Jim