Cleaning Equipment after a bout of Ich?

Beanie Seagus

Beanie Seagus

Members
So, I just dealt with a bout of Ich in my quarantine tank. I've got the issue resolved at this point, but what i'm worried about now is the potential for future contamination for future fish.

At this point I've broken the tank down, removed all substrate (it will now be a bare bottom tank) and washed the tank out with water and Bar Keeper's Friend.

My question is, how do you clean a sponge filter such that it isn't a risk for spreading Ich to new tank inhabitants?

Is there a particular cleaning agent i should use, or a treatment of some kind? Or do you just have to let the sponge filter go?

The same question applies to a small breeder mesh and plastic net i was using in the quarantine tank, as well as fish nets and a small siphon i was using to try and save the ich victims.

Thanks for your help!
 
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Becca

Becca

Members
Bleach will melt it (learned that the hard way).

Usually I fill the tank with hot water and salt (like water softener salt, stuff you can buy in a big bag for a reasonable price) and let the filter run for a few days like that. When I say salt, I mean, dump so much salt in it that the crystals don't all dissolve.

The combination of heat and salt should kill the ich.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
+1 on Becca's comments. I've been successful in treating ich in my tanks with a combination of heat and salt, so no reason why it wouldn't work on your filter.
 
Beanie Seagus

Beanie Seagus

Members
Would aquarium salt work in this way? and is it enough to fill the tank with hot water initially or would i need to keep it hot? I probably don't have the heater available to keep it hot so i'm hoping just the initial hot water will work.

Also what is a few days? 3 Days? a week?

And when i'm done, just rinse out the tank and sponge filter and then its good to go or will the filter need to re-cycle?

Thanks!
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
I'll use bleach, but it destroys sponge filters. For that, you're better using a saturated salt solution. What you want to do is heat the water up as hot as YOU can stand it, like scalding shower. Add a bunch of salt, keeping it pretty hot, and keep stirring it. You'll probably use your hand, which is why you don't want it hotter than you can stand (nothing stirs as well as the human hand). Keep adding salt until it becomes impossible to dissolve any more. That's the saturated point. For the record, if you want to do the calculation, it's about 0.35 g / mL. You can convert that to pounds per gallon on your own. :)

Then just run it with this super salty mix in it for about 5 days.

Even if you're not quite at 0.35 g / mL, it'll do. I imagine somewhere around half of that works just fine for killing ich and such.
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
I though ich needed a fish host? If that's true, couldn't you just keep the filter in a bucket for whatever the required period is?
 
Beanie Seagus

Beanie Seagus

Members
Is bleach totally required, or will bar keepers friend do the trick? Its got some good citric acid in it, and is an all natural cleaning product so i know its safe for fish
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
It's not required but will just about any pathogen (although maybe not snails :) ).

Bleach is also easy to neutralize (dechlor)

Matt
 
lkelly

lkelly

Members
To piggyback on Josh's post, I keep a bucket of saturated saltwater (I use a big bag of the salt you can buy for your driveway) on hand to dip nets in between uses. I have it next to my utility sink so it's easy to rinse them off afterwards.
 
CSnyder00

CSnyder00

Bearded Wonder
The lifecycle of ich is about 7 days, so hot water and thick salt for a full 7 days would do the trick. As others have stated, the warmer you have it and keep it the better, because that speeds the life cycle of the ich.
 
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