I have a fish tank that was bleached. How do I clean it now?

Question

Our tank at work recently lost its fish. Without consulting anyone, someone washed it with soap and bleached it. What is the best way to clean it out now to prepare it for new fish?

Answer 1

oof... well, for the bleach, fill the tank with water and dump a full bottle of dechlorinator in there and let it sit for a couple days, then rinse it a couple times. If it still smells like bleach, repeat the process until it no longer does.

As for the soap, well, soap leaves a residue. Rinse the tank as much as possible until it doesn't smell and until the water doesn't bubble (like soap bubbles).

Once the tank is re-set up and cycled, add fish slowly. One at a time. To make sure the tank is safe.

Answer 2

It's O.K. Just make sure you rinse the tank out really, really well. Also let it sit for a few days in the sunlight. The bleach will dissipate completely. If your starting your tank up again from scratch, don't start it with feeders or any type of goldfish. They produce way too much nitrogen. Get your filter started, get your temperature right and add dechlorinator. Then figure out what kind of fish you want. You can start with just one fish, like a tetra or something small like that. Then see how he does. After a week to ten days, add another fish and observe how it goes. Stock your tank slowly, adding a fish at a time. This is the trick to "cycling" your tank. You need to give the biofilter a chance to build up good nitrogen eating bacteria without overwhelming it, which causes your fish to die of poisoning. Remember, it's important to obey the rule of an inch of fish per gallon. However, not all fish are the same. An inch of Oscar is way bigger than an inch of neon tetra, so use your judgement. Most people fail because they overstock their tanks. Don't overfeed your fish, and do water changes often by replacing one quarter of the water with fresh water every week. Trust me, if you follow these rules you will be successful and enjoy your aquarium for many years to come. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Bleach is fine. It's basically just chlorine. I would flush the tank with water a few times then fill it and let it sit four at least 2 days. Use a good water treatment and let it run for a day or two again.

A good method of "priming" a tank is to buy feeder goldfish. 1 per gallon of water. Put them in there to get your biological filter started. Beware though. feeders are notorious for disease, so only get them if the sellers tank is clear and the fish look good.

Feeders provide a cheap option and will start the biological bed faster than spending good money on fish one or two at a time the may or may not survive in a new tank.

Answer 4

clean it out real well with white vinegar and water, and dry. then once it is realy clean and has no more bleach residue, you can fill it back up. make sure that all the fixtures have also been wiped down real well with vinegar and water before putting them backinto the tank. onceyou have it filled and everything set back up then you can buy some treatment solution for the water that will make it ready for fish. and you can get that at any pet store that also sells fish.

Answer 5

you could as long as there are actually not any fish on your tank additionally take stay longer than flora. that's completely risk-free, for a 20G I purely positioned like a cup or so in fill with Water and enable it soak then empty your Water and fill it up with airplane Water and enable it sit down out for a bout 2-3 days to evaporate any leftover bleach out of your Water you additionally can positioned what-er conditioner in yet upload slightly extra suitable than what it reported on then bottle i know that's risk-free because of the fact I actual have dune it and once I positioned my fish lower back in they the place completely superb and regarded happier and fit to.

Answer 6

The easiest and least expensive way to remove bleach is with sodium triphosphate.Get it at a paint or wallpaper store.(I think it's called "sizing") To follow up and remove any traces of the soap use a laundry product called Oxyclean. Use the rest for laundry. Read up on fish-less cycling, you don't have to torture fish with ammonia and nitrites to cycle a tank.-------PeeTee

Answer 7

if it's moveable, rinse it with water and then let it sit out side in the sunlight 1-2 days, then rinse again and let dry. the sunlight will render the bleach harmless.

Answer 8

dechlorinate and rinse very many times.