Leigh

Hey everyone!!

My son's teacher gave us a tank they used for turtles. It's a 10 gallon fish tank and I need to clean it. What is the safest way to clean it? Can I use hot water and dishsoap and just make sure it's really well rinsed out? Any help is appreciated!

Shawnie...it's perfect to divide for 2 betta's!!! I can't wait to find my supplies!!

Leigh

Lucy

Hi Leigh, congrats on the 10g, 2 lucky bettas gettting homes.

You can sterilize the tank using 19 parts water to 1 part bleach. Rinse until you can't smell bleach. Fill it again and OD it with dechlorinator, let that sit for a while. Empty....then you're ready.

Good luck, hope to see some pics soon.

aquarist48

I suggest avoiding soap at all costs. Good luck with the new set up.

eepruls

Yeah, use the bleach solution Lucy mentioned. Don't use any sort of soap or other cleaner because it's really difficult to wash off. Bleach is your friend when sterilizing your tank because it will kill everything yet still be able to be washed away safely. In fact, it degrades fairly quickly to sodium chrloride and doesn't harm the environment. Because it's got chlorine in it (it's sodium hypochlorite), dechlorinator works to remove any extra chlorine that might still be present. That isn't true with other cleaners and soaps.

Leigh

Thanks everyone!!!

It's really coated with some dry icky stuff. Wasn't sure what I could safely use to scrub it with besides elbow grease.

harpua2002

Vinegar can also be good if you want to give it a good scrub.

Leigh

Thanks! It's all clean now and soaking with the dechlorinator.