Cleaning Equipment

Hi all.
As some of you may have read, I have/had some of my fish contracting a fungus. I used my net, siphon tubes, etc in that tank while the fish were sick. Do I now need to clean or sterilize the equipment. If I do, what is the best way to do it?
TIA

 

We clean our equipment on a bi-weekly basis as part of our maintenance. We usually soak everything in a strong salt solution then rinse them off very well. Because I'm paranoid )) I'll also use my steam cleaner on things like the nets etc.

We actually have a 'sick' net and syphon etc which is used ONLY on the quarantine tank.

 

Very clever Vee with the sick net and syphon.

I think a steam cleaner would be your best bet at cleaning coz it means you dont have to rinse and rinse and rinse the stuff after.

 

Just remember that a steam cleaner gets VERY HOT and I find that you have to be very careful or else it'll start softening your syphon hose.

Wito it is always good practice to have separate equipment for your tanks, especially your quarantine tank - it just minimizes the risk of transferring any disease, especially if you don't know there is anything lurking in a tank .

 

I use Potassium permanganate solution to sterilize my equipment. You can buy it from the pharmacy.
A good soak for a few minutes will kill all the nasties. The only draw back it stains anything organic.

 

Vee, when you say strong salt solution, what sort of concentration would you recommend?
TIA

 

Darryn I use about 2 tablespoons in about a half filled 5L ice-cream container. You could probably use MUCH less, but I always err on the side of caution

 

Salt and potassium permanganate will not do the trick, by that it will not nearly kill all bacteria for example. Heat treatment via a steamer is good, Vee, but how long does your equipment last?

If you want to be quite sure that you are sterilizing your equipment you should put it into a solution of Jik, Sodium hypochloride, same stuff as swimming pool "chlorine". Soak you equipment in it and then hang it up as the chlorine will evaporate quickly, or actually flush it with normal tap water. Although not sterile, it will not contain fish pathogens so it would be safe to use.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

HouseBrand jik, cheap and "pure" no gellyness, no added smells etc?

 

@Dirk: Thanks for the info. What type of ratio of the ingredients would you recommend. How long would you soak the equipment?Then just rinse with tape water? Would you just use normal Jik and HTH?
TIA

 

Jik = sodium hypochloride = HTH. (well, sorta)

you don't need to use both, just one of them

 

Thanx for the info Dirk

 

I soaked all my equipment in the bath yesterday in Jik. About 100ml jik to about 40mm depth of water. I soaked for 12 hours, then let it soak overnight in clean tap water with Dechlor in.

I had a bit of an oopsie with the jik tho. I spilt some on my brand new Puma shirt I was wearing for the first time, splashed some on my wifes towel, and then proceded to spill some on a BRAND new pair of the wifes pants that she had put into the wash to wash before wearing. Shame, she hadn't even had a chance to wear them.

My wife proceded to tell me that a man with jik is like a kid with crayons and a licence to draw on the walls!

 

Hey Zoom - I haveto agree with the wife on this one

 

I have been forbidden to use Jik again until she has given me the "the bathroom is all clear" signal.

 

Why? who was on the loo? :sick:

 

THAT'S my man!!!! :bigsmile::bigsmile:

 

sheeze, thats a series of unfortunate events
:hmmmm:
golly, must be coincidence only, right count olaf?

 

if i were to sterilise my tank for flukes, can i do it with JIK aswell? then obvioiusly rinse afterwards, will this work to eliminate all fluke eggs?