Tank Breakdown

[icefish]

Hi,

I'm returning from vacation tomorrow, and while I've been away I have gotten the unfortunate news from my house sitters that my tank is dead (power outage last week is the likely culprit).

To compound matters, despite regularly removing the casualties, there is now an odor detectabale as soon as you walk into the house.

The sitters have been instructed on the use of my Python, so the water will soon be gone, and they will be going heavy on the Lysol.

What can I use to really scrub down the inside of the tank? I assume I can use just about anything, so long as everything gets rinsed and all the waste water gets removed before new fishies enter. Is there anything I should be concerned about in terms of damaging the silicone seals?

Thanks.

 

[Cearbhaill]

Salt water or a weak bleach solution?
That's about as industrial as I'd go.
Don't know where you're planning on using the Lysol but I'm hoping it's not in the tank.

 

[icefish]

The Lysol is for the funk emanating from the tank that has spread throughout the house.

 

[ScottoMacD]

I STRONGLY do not recommend using lysol anywhere near the tank. You are risking rendering it useless to fish. Lysol is very very hard to remove. Chances are that it will get into and around the sealant as well which will only end up slowly leeching out after you fill the tank again killing what ever is in it.

The best way to clean the tank safely is to use the 2 methods that Cearbhaill mentioned.

I would (and have ) use the saltwater method. It does a great job. 1/2 a cup of aquarium salt per 10 gallons of warm (almost hot) water and scrub the tank down with an algae pad or simliar.

Rinse a couple of times with warm water and you are done.

 

[delmore]

Originally posted by ScottoMacD
I would (and have ) use the saltwater method. It does a great job. 1/2 a cup of aquarium salt per 10 gallons...

Regular table salt will work fine. Sorry to hear about it and good luck!

 

[icefish]

The Lysol is for the air, not the tank.

Thanks for all the suggestions, the tank is scrubbed down.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

I know the tank is already scrubbed down, but I'd like to add this:
I recommend using hydrogen pyroxide to clean tanks as it leaves behind no residue when rinsed with water. An entire bottle cost less than a dollar and it cleans/disinfects as good as bleach. I would dilute 1 bottle of peroxide in a gallon of water and use that to disinfect everything. You could even put some of the solution in a spray bottle to spray entire surfaces down.