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Hi:

I have recently been cleaning out the office tank as no one had done a water change or gravel vacuum in over a year. I will need to do a bunch of water changed over a series of weeks to truly clean out the system, but the larger problem is that one of the office fish has, what I believe to be, dropsy. To this point I have not used the equipment on my own tank.

To ensure I do not pass along any disease to my healthy tank at home, how should I clean my gravel vacuum and water change bucket. So far I have rinsed them out thoroughly. Is there anything else I can do?

ajm

Hi,
As far as the bucket is concerned, I'd fill it to the brim
with water, add some clorox so that it's about 1:8 ratio
and let it sit for about an hour. Then dump it and put it
under the faucet and run the water, overflowing, for
a while. When the bucket is empty and you can no longer
smell the chlorine then it is safe to use again.

As far as the gravel is concerned, generally speaking, the
best thing is to dump the stuff out in the trash or in your
garden and start over with new gravel. There is no economical
way to "clean" the gravel.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks for the advice on the gravel in the office tank. I will certainly consider it. Should I also treat the gravel vacuum the same as the bucket?

ajm

Hi,
Yes, you can stick the gravel vac into the bucket
of chlorinated water and let it run the water through
the vacuum and back into the bucket.

That should clean it all out.
Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Awesome. Will do so today.