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Hi all!

I have a 55G tank that was given to me from a friend. He housed a large cichlid in there (oscar) which unfortunately had hole in the head. He has since moved the oscar to a larger tank and the oscar is doing well.

I want to upgrade my African Cichlid tank to the 55G tank. My question is - how do I sterilize the 55G tank to ensure that the new occupants are ok. My current cichlid community is thriving and in fact have had two sets of babies. They are so important to me. However, I would love to move them into a 55G.

Any thoughts?


Thanks in advance everyone.

Wash the tank in a bleach solution. Make a 4-1 water to bleach solution, scrub the inside of the tank with it. Rinse thouroughly, then fill the tank up with water with a triple dose of prime or other dechlor. Empty it, rinse again and you should be good to go.

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Back in the saddle!

I would just rinse in warm water. Is it just the tank that you are getting? If you want to play it on the safe side you can fill the tank up and put some meds in it.

i agree with the bleach solution, should kill any bacteria, and with the addition of the declor. after rinsing with water you should be good to go

Just make sure after all the washing and cleaning with the bleach wash it out extremly well then repeat the rinsing out at least twice.

I would not use any of the old substrate as it would be very difficult to give it a good safe cleaning, it can be boiled if you want to but I dont think it would be worth it.

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Does the bleach hurt the tank sealant?

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If left soaking for extended periods the bleach may be absorbed into the silicone, later being released into the water column, for a short time it'll be okay. Be sure to rinse rinse rinse, let it sit in the sun for a day (UV from the sun breaks down chlorine which is why bleach is sold in opaque bottles) then rinse a bit more and use a concentrated dechlor solution.

As for the gravel. If you're on a tight budget and or really like the gravel it can be boiled on the stovetop. Check with anyone else living in the house (ie parents, resident martians, or housemates) before you do it and be sure to rinse the gravel off in tapwater first. Boiled gravel that has been used is rather smelly . If it's too much bother just use the gravel in some houseplants or add it to the garden, the bacteria will be good for the plants. And makes a decorative addition to houseplants .

^_^

Thanks for information everyone