Is regular bleach ok? How critical is it to remove all the bleach?
Is a rinse with hot water sufficient?

On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 15:56:11 -0700, Dave Millman
wrote:



Dick wrote:

That makes sense. I still have problems with the sand. I don't have
a local source. Perhaps if I did use it for a sick ward I could sun
bleach it. There is only a 1/2 inch layer on the bottom.

No offense, but there's nothing which could convince me to keep sand from a tank
which had had a quarantine "failure" in it. Pitch everything, bleach the tank, sleep
well at night.


Can a tank maintain itself with no fish in it? I can easily take a
few gallons out of my 75 and keep a filter in one of my bio filters
for the Whisper. But once I remove the fish under observation what
keeps the tank's nutrient level up?

Just feed the tank with a bit of fish food once every other day. That will decay and
feed the bacteria colony. Keep the lights out so no algae develops. Vacuum all crud
and change 90% of the water TWICE before adding fish. Use Amquel/Prime dechlorinator.

Alternate: I used ammonia to do a "fishless cycle" on my very first, non-planted
tank. I bought a gallon, and had a gallon minus an ounce left when complete. Since my
planted tank is a miracle of ammonia conversion between all the plants and bacteria,
I use dilute ammonia in a spray bottle to clean the outside of the glass. That way,
if overspray gets in the tank, no worries like if I was using glass cleaner.(In
reality, I don't believe much overspray has ever gotten into the tank, but it is open
top) What I have done is use that spray bottle and spray one spritz into the empty
tank every day. I kept one biofilter going for four months without any fish that
way-just water and a sponge!