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Best way to thoughly disinfect a tank?

Niqui27 Nov 20, 2004 04:36 PM

I have a 30gal long that I had previously had a bearded dragon in. He died a few months ago suddenly of unknown causes and I have been afraid to put any other animals in it. It's a large tank and I really want to transfer some of my leo's into it, but I'm worried that they will get ill too. How can I completely disinfect the tank so I can safely put my leo's in there? I've got this great big tank with lots of space, but can't do anything with it. I feel like I'm wasting perfectly good space. Any advice would be greatly appretiated. Thanks for your help!

Replies (4)

laws-yes Nov 20, 2004 05:13 PM

Fill it with water and bleach let soak for an hour dump out and rinse THOROUGHLY meaning in multiple times.

xelda Nov 20, 2004 06:27 PM

First, wash it with dishwasher detergent. This is a very important step! Make sure you get a good lather on every corner of the tank. Rinse very thoroughly with warm water. Then you can proceed to the next step of applying a disinfectant solution (bleach, ammonia, Nolvasan, Roccal-D, etc.). Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you may even want to consider applying more than one solution though not simultaneously. If I were you, I would at least fill up the bottom of the tank with the solution to cover all the corners that would have come in contact with the beardie's poop, then just spray the rest of the tank with the solution. Allow it to sit 15-20 minutes to disinfect or 30-45 minutes to sterilize.

It's good that you're thinking ahead rather than putting your leos in the tank. Bearded dragons maintain a variety of gut fauna that can be devastating when introduced to leopard geckos.
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chickabowwow

tim5580 Nov 20, 2004 07:07 PM

Don't mix bleach and ammonia. You said multiple but not simultaneously but I just wanted to point it out again. I am the Anti Bleach and Ammonia mixing spokesman.

>>First, wash it with dishwasher detergent. This is a very important step! Make sure you get a good lather on every corner of the tank. Rinse very thoroughly with warm water. Then you can proceed to the next step of applying a disinfectant solution (bleach, ammonia, Nolvasan, Roccal-D, etc.). Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you may even want to consider applying more than one solution though not simultaneously. If I were you, I would at least fill up the bottom of the tank with the solution to cover all the corners that would have come in contact with the beardie's poop, then just spray the rest of the tank with the solution. Allow it to sit 15-20 minutes to disinfect or 30-45 minutes to sterilize.
>>
>>It's good that you're thinking ahead rather than putting your leos in the tank. Bearded dragons maintain a variety of gut fauna that can be devastating when introduced to leopard geckos.
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>>chickabowwow
>>
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Why doesn't kingsnake have auto login?

gurnham4 Nov 23, 2004 10:58 PM

heh heh we know this

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