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I have been thinking about setting up a hospital/quarantine tank. I have a 20 gallon long out in my shed, but it housed our snake when she was small. After the snake moved out, it housed our baby tortoise. If I bleach the tank out, scrub, rinse well and let it sit in the sun for few days will it be okay for fish? The silicone is still in good shape so it should hold water fine.

Thanks in advance!

- Meow -

I was told not to use aquariums that was used for reptiles for fish. But i did have a old hermit crab aquariumthat i used for my Betta and he did fine. But not 100% sure for reptiles.

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

I really don't know why you wouldn't be able to use it. Do like you stated, clean it out well with a strong bleach solution and make sure you rinse it several times really well. I'm sure I'm restating the obvious, but make sure you test it for any leaking since it's been in storage for a while.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Most terrariums are built using thinner glass than aquariums, and therefore they cannot hold water on a long term basis.

If, however, it was originally an aquarium that you used to house your snake, as long as you clean it out well it will be fine.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Yes, it is an aquarium we just used for the snake. It would just be a hospital tank so I would only be keeping a couple danios or something in there to keep the tank cycled. Are there signs that I should watch for that would indicate a problem? My husband warned not to use a tank that housed reptiles for fish. However, I am a firm believer that bleaching and a day in the sun will kill most any nasties on most anything that can be bleached safely. I think that I will give it a shot.

Thanks for the advice!

- Meow -

Ive been doing it for years, if you use bleach you'll have no bacterial issues. The only issues I did get were because crickets and mealworms had nibbled the silicone seals.The other technical issue is that sometimes heaters and spotlights used in reptile vivs can make the glass weaker over time, and that perhaps can lessen the tanks ability to hold water safetly. I guess salmonella could be an issue for fish, but if youre cleaning things sensibly , I cant see a problem, and lets face it, quite a few fishtanks get salmonella without reptles present and a lot of fish will be completely unaffected by it. To be honest i've used mopani wood from fishtank to reptile cage and vice versa , and as long as its sterilised or seriously oven baked or sundried there are no issues.

There can be issues keeping reptiles and fish together, but thats more to do with water quality and humidity issues, or even predation. Its actually more of a problem keeping reptiles and tortoises with birds since they are vulnerable to pinworm , and the ticks that rabbits get give tortoises blood diseases.