Need advise cleaning a sick tank - can’t find filter media

Hi more experienced fish people!
A couple questions. I had a couple of fish I moved into a small sick tank. They may have had ick, but the meds I gave didn’t work and they both died.

My problem now is cleaning the tank. I tossed the gravel. What I did keep is a betta cave, a plastic plant, my heater, and the sponges and little plastic balls (they came with the tank - I have no idea what they do). One of my problems is that I have a tank that has prefit sponges that go into a filter attached to the tank (4+ gallons - really for a betta, but in a pinch it was cycled so I used it for a sick tank). I can’t find these sponges to replace, but I don’t feel comfortable using bleach. I’m afraid I won’t get all the bleach out especially if I used it on the filter (it’s very small - came with the tank). The sponges and these mystery balls are really the only filter media and the filter is basically a little motor.

The thing is, that after the fish died I rinsed everything I kept with hot water and left to dry. It’s been about 3 months. Do I still need to bleach everything? Would the bacteria still be alive or reactivated if I cycled the tank again? Again, I’m afraid I won’t use the bleach properly and I’m having a hard time finding the sponges to replace them. If you can recommend something other than bleach, that may be helpful too. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Peroxide should do the trick. It wont be harmful if some reside remains. Any aquarium type sponge should work, you can just cut it to size if it is too big.

 

Ich have a life cycle of about 30 days. If the tomites cannot find a new fish host within that period of time, they will die. Thus, if the tank has been empty for 3 months, you do not have to worry about ich.

One of the best cleaners for an aquarium is Kosher salt. It is coarse enough to scrub algae from the sides of the tank and the brine solution will kill most things that live in fresh water. Another good cleaner is white vinegar. You can even mix Kosher salt and white vinegar to form a potent cleaning solution. Clean you heater, decorations, and other parts in this solution.

After cleaning the tank, be sure to rinse thoroughly in tap water to remove traces of salt and venegar before reusing them.

 

Peroxide should do the trick. It wont be harmful if some reside remains. Any aquarium type sponge should work, you can just cut it to size if it is too big.

Thank you - the sponges have circled cut outs that I didn’t think I could properly replicate, but I could try

Ich have a life cycle of about 30 days. If the tomites cannot find a new fish host within that period of time, they will die. Thus, if the tank has been empty for 3 months, you do not have to worry about ich.

One of the best cleaners for an aquarium is Kosher salt. It is coarse enough to scrub algae from the sides of the tank and the brine solution will kill most things that live in fresh water. Another good cleaner is white vinegar. You can even mix Kosher salt and white vinegar to form a potent cleaning solution. Clean you heater, decorations, and other parts in this solution.

After cleaning the tank, be sure to rinse thoroughly in tap water to remove traces of salt and venegar before reusing them.

That is good to know. I’m still not sure if it was indeed ick, because the medication didn’t seem to work at all. It was “something”, I’m thinking if ick has a life span, I’m sure what ever this was has one too. I have vinegar so I will try. The kosher salt or peroxide are easy to obtain, so I may give them a try and in the future. Thank you for your advise

 

If your tank has been dry for that long, you should be safe no matter what was wrong.

Bleach is very safe when used properly because it evaporates in 48 hours. You can go to the bleach website for guidance. Or- create a one part bleach to 10 part water solution, do not soak anything for more than 15 minutes. Rinse heavily in hot water, and let items dry for 48 hours or more if your paranoid.
But You do not need to bleach your tank or items, sooo.

The mystery balls are bio balls and they provide a surface where healthy nitrifying bacteria can live in the filter.

I dont like using vinigar inside my tank, it is much harder to remove then bleach.

 

If your tank has been dry for that long, you should be safe no matter what was wrong.

Bleach is very safe when used properly because it evaporates in 48 hours. You can go to the bleach website for guidance. Or- create a one part bleach to 10 part water solution, do not soak anything for more than 15 minutes. Rinse heavily in hot water, and let items dry for 48 hours or more if your paranoid.
But You do not need to bleach your tank or items, sooo.

The mystery balls are bio balls and they provide a surface where healthy nitrifying bacteria can live in the filter.

I dont like using vinigar inside my tank, it is much harder to remove then bleach.

Why should you not soak anything longer than 15 minutes? I soaked a tank overnight recently and now I am concerned…

 

Things can start to disolve, especially the sylicone that holds the tank together. There are different bleach formulas, you may want to look up the one that you used.
Sorrry I should have realized that not all bleach is the same before recommending bleach, the website can tell you more. it is clorox.com, I dont know why I remembered it as bleach .com. The Mandela effect?

 

If your tank has been dry for that long, you should be safe no matter what was wrong.

Bleach is very safe when used properly because it evaporates in 48 hours. You can go to the bleach website for guidance. Or- create a one part bleach to 10 part water solution, do not soak anything for more than 15 minutes. Rinse heavily in hot water, and let items dry for 48 hours or more if your paranoid.
But You do not need to bleach your tank or items, sooo.

The mystery balls are bio balls and they provide a surface where healthy nitrifying bacteria can live in the filter.

I dont like using vinigar inside my tank, it is much harder to remove then bleach.

Thanks for all the information. I’m starting to feel less fearful of using bleach and thanks for explaining the “mystery balls” To make sure I’m understanding you on a couple things … your thinking whatever was in my tank and contents should be dead by now and recycling the tank (and contents - I would use new gravel) would not reactivate it? Also, I won’t soak for more than 15, but can you soak the sponges? Will they hold up to the beach and does the bleach wash completely out of them? Thanks.

 

Another option is flock. Called different things in differnt countries.iIt is the stuff sewers put into quilts. Generally choose the bigger thicker stuff. Last two lots I got off ebay. Alternatively buy from sewing shops. Just cut it and stuff it in. You can buy filter wool from some pet shops. Flock is basically the same thing but woven into a mat that is easier to handle

 

I dont like using vinigar inside my tank, it is much harder to remove then bleach.

Vinegar is completely soluble in water. Thus, it is not difficult to remove. If you are worried about residual acid, you can always toss in a little baking soda to neutralize the acid.

Although you can use bleach, you do not need to use it full strength. All it takes is about 1 Teaspoon (5 ml) per gallon (app 4 liters) of water. Nearly all pathogens are killed with only 3 ppm chlorine, so very little is needed. If you are purifying water for drinking purposes only 2 drops 8 drops per gallon are needed. That is a pretty low dose.

Bleach reacts with anything organic (including your skin) and it tends to absorb into many plastics, so it might not evaporate as quickly as you believe. That is why I do not use bleach. Vinegar and salt are much safer. If you do use bleach, be sure to treat the tank with an excess of sodium thiosulfate based water conditioner to neutralize any bleach left over.