LoginRegister



Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
08-30-2012, 11:52 PM,
#1
ACSAPA Offline
Member

***


Posts: 114
Threads: 17
Joined: 07-11-2012
Reputation: 0
What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
Hi guys,
I just noticed this morning that my goldfish which I had for 5 years got stuck in the filter last night and died. I'm actually sad because when you have a living thing in your house for 5 years, you get attached to it, even if it is a goldfish. Bawling Anyway , I'm not going to buy another fish for a while and I'm going to put the tank away. Do you guys know what I could clean and disinfect the tank with before I pack it up and put it away? I don't want it to become a haven for bacteria while it's being stored in my closet.
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
08-31-2012, 05:29 AM, (This post was last modified: 08-31-2012, 05:46 AM by Ram.)
#2
Ram Offline
VIP Member

*******


Posts: 1,117
Threads: 247
Joined: 02-20-2012
Reputation: 2
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
You do not need to disinfect the tank unless the fish was died of some kind of contagious disease or parasites. It unlikely the cause unless you have brought in a source for disease or parasites lately.

The fish itself was also dead for only a short amount of time. There wouldn't be any bacteria. You can just clean it with tap water before you put it away.

If your reason for not getting a fish any time soon is all because the concern for harmful bacteria, you might as well get a new fish right away before nitrogen cycle crush. In that case, you shouldn't even wash the tank with untreated tap water because chlorine will kill the good bacteria in the filter which keeps the nitrogen cycle going. If you have changed your mind on getting new fish, might as well just do two to three partial water change in a row before head out to get a new fish.
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
08-31-2012, 03:18 PM,
#3
ACSAPA Offline
Member

***


Posts: 114
Threads: 17
Joined: 07-11-2012
Reputation: 0
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
Thank you for all the information. You definitely know a lot about fish. My reason for not getting a fish any time soon is that my kid is extremely upset about the fish dying. We got that fish when she was 9 years old, and 5 years is a significant amount of time in a kid's life.
Even I'm upset because it feels weird to see the empty tank without our little guy swimming around. I'm too bummed out to buy another fish. We were already having a run of bad luck as a family, and this is just one more thing that went wrong. Thank you, though. I appreciate the advice. I guess I'll just use plain tap water to clean the tank.
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
09-01-2012, 09:26 AM,
#4
Ram Offline
VIP Member

*******


Posts: 1,117
Threads: 247
Joined: 02-20-2012
Reputation: 2
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
The best way to cease the pain of losing a pet fish is to get another pet fish. Soon your kid will get attached to the new fish if you get one same specie with similar appearance to the old one.

How big was the tank by the way?
While 5 years might be ok for some fish, goldfish are known to have natural life span of decades. Find out the cause of the fish's death might help to get the next fish last longer. Smile
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
09-01-2012, 09:47 AM,
#5
Jessi Offline
Junior Member

**


Posts: 34
Threads: 3
Joined: 08-28-2012
Reputation: 0
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
I agree with both of the above to a certain extent. Whatever you do, don't clean it with bleach or anything. As said, there was no disease, so it'll be fine to just clean it out with plain water.

And as for being attached, I completely know the feeling. Been there, had fish for a really long time and then when they're gone.... it's a terrible loss. At the same time, getting fish again is okay, too. Instead of taking the tank down completely, maybe you should give it a little time and then explore a pet shop for some new fish. Instead of a gold fish, get something different so it's not like you're trying to replace the fish. Treat it like moving someone into a new home. It's part of life, ya know? And while you don't need to do it immediately, it would probably be nice to have some new companions for some time.
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
09-01-2012, 05:11 PM,
#6
Victor Leigh Offline
Member

***


Posts: 239
Threads: 19
Joined: 06-09-2012
Reputation: 0
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
I was told by a friends that it's not a good idea to store an aquarium dry. Is that true? My friend said that if the aquarium was left dry for too long, the silicon seal would become dry too and crack which would make the aquarium leak.

I think it's a good idea to get another fish as soon as possible. That's the best way to get over the grief of the lost one. If you don't want another goldfish, how about an oscar? I had some before and they were very interesting.

[Image: Red%2BTiger%2BOscar.jpg]
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
09-01-2012, 06:50 PM,
#7
ACSAPA Offline
Member

***


Posts: 114
Threads: 17
Joined: 07-11-2012
Reputation: 0
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
(09-01-2012, 09:26 AM)Ram Wrote: The best way to cease the pain of losing a pet fish is to get another pet fish. Soon your kid will get attached to the new fish if you get one same specie with similar appearance to the old one.

How big was the tank by the way?
While 5 years might be ok for some fish, goldfish are known to have natural life span of decades. Find out the cause of the fish's death might help to get the next fish last longer. Smile

We had a 20 gallon tank and the reason we had one goldfish in there is that I compulsively Google everything and I read that one goldfish needs a big tank because they get stunted if the tank is too small. In 5 years, our guy grew pretty big. Now I'm going to be wondering what I did wrong. We are having a brutally hot summer in Florida so I wonder if the temperature in his tank was too high. I never did anything special to control the water temperature, I always just left it up to the weather.
Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply
09-02-2012, 07:21 AM,
#8
Ram Offline
VIP Member

*******


Posts: 1,117
Threads: 247
Joined: 02-20-2012
Reputation: 2
RE: What To Clean A Vacated Fish Tank With?
Hot summer alone isn't enough to kill the fish unless the tank was placed near a window where it can receive direct sunlight. On the other hand, the fish might die to sudden change of temperature if the water temperature was changed too sudden. Since fish are cold blood animals, they can't regulate their body temperature. Sudden change of temperature can shock them. One of the most common causes of fish deaths is when the fish owner change the water in the tank with too cold or too hot temperature. From my own observation on tropical fish, if the new water has a 6F or great difference compare to the tank water, the fish can get into shock. Goldfish might have a higher tolerance than tropical fish, but it can't be too different.

If the summer is hot there, then the tank water might be quite warm too. The tap water might not be as warm since the pipes often run underground where it is much cooler in the summer.

Have you done anything recently before the fish was dead?
Such as a change of water, or cleaning of the tank, or cleaning of the filter?
Visit this user's website Find all posts by this user
Quote this message in a reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Angelfish breeding in community tank GreenAmy 4 3,237 11-16-2021, 01:40 AM
Last Post: Thor
  10 gallon fish tank fishless cycling Rmctighe 13 6,783 09-12-2020, 04:45 PM
Last Post: MalYoung1
  The ultimate fish tank ? ? Happyflowerlady 2 3,488 08-26-2020, 06:05 AM
Last Post: UnaTurner
  fishless cycling my 10-gallon tank Cooperdrew 1 1,286 04-19-2020, 02:05 PM
Last Post: Thor
  2 filters for a 40 gallon tank? Mei Roe 3 4,545 04-13-2020, 06:42 PM
Last Post: larryalehman13
  New fish died rather quickly Klyn80 7 2,389 03-17-2020, 08:28 AM
Last Post: Klyn80
Star Aquaponics Use Of Tank Water For Plants 4sweed 12 9,608 08-01-2018, 04:15 PM
Last Post: dalep7324
  New Fish Dies in established tank. sri1082 4 6,749 03-15-2018, 09:46 AM
Last Post: Ram
  120L Tropical Tank fishless cycle rabbit211 2 2,319 03-15-2018, 09:39 AM
Last Post: Ram
  New fish died in a few hours Fishtastic 2 11,614 03-15-2018, 09:35 AM
Last Post: Ram
  CO2 for Planted Tank GreenAmy 10 5,533 01-09-2018, 04:02 PM
Last Post: Thor
  Needing Advice on Dying fish jbmysinger 3 3,326 12-28-2016, 09:30 AM
Last Post: Thor
Thumbs Down Tropical fish are dying! CaitlinD 1 2,894 12-13-2016, 04:47 PM
Last Post: Thor
  Playing with fish lily_lover 3 4,869 10-11-2016, 08:12 PM
Last Post: Novelangel
  Whаt's а gооd frеshwаtеr fish fоr а bеginnеr tо hаvе а high dеnsity аquаrium? Tom1 0 2,359 08-26-2016, 11:22 PM
Last Post: Tom1

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)


Contact Us | Pets Keepers Guide | Return to Top | | Lite (Archive) Mode | RSS Syndication| Rules & Privacy | Advertise Here