Using Vinegar as a Disinfectant

[merlyn2221]

Did anyone ever clean their tank or items from the tank with white vinegar, after a severe disease epidemic?

I want to reuse a 20 gallon tank I have, but after I dismantled it I only cleaned it with salt water and regular detergent.

I have also heard that I could use bleach, does anyone know if this is true?

Obviously, there are no fish in the tank!

Yes, I have actually heard of someone who put bleach in their tank...with fish still in it!!!! One of them actually survived, too!



Thanks to you guys who have answered my questions!! :D

[WorldNation]

detergent is a bad bad no no. no soap or cleaners. that leaves residue on the glass that is toxic to the fish.


Bleach....yes, you can, i do it in my tank, and the tankes and decorations at work. get a bucket and mix in 50% bleach and 50% water. use this to scrub youre tank, the rinse well afterwards and you'll be fine. for decorations, make the some 50/50 solution and soak you decore for 15-20min. rinse, and youre tank will be fine.

i dunno abot viniger, never tryed it.

[SGypsyMermaid]

detergent is a bad bad no no. no soap or cleaners. that leaves residue on the glass that is toxic to the fish.
worldnation is absolutely correct...never ever use any kind of soap or cleaners in a tank--you can never remove all of the residue---poison poison poison!

[jnorris]

Unscented chlorine bleach is your best bet. Kills everything.

[Mbuniac]

Vinegar being acidic makes a great cleaner, especially where alkaline mineral build up is the problem. I use it all the time, but it is not a disinfectant. Nothing better than a 50/50 mix of bleach and water.
Sam

[jnorris]

Wow back to intellegent conversation!

Like your coffee pot...or mine.... vinegar is good with getting rid of calcium deposits on your tank.

I would still use 20-30% bleach per water. and would be best for this task at hand.....

[SGypsyMermaid]

Wow back to intellegent conversation!

Like your coffee pot...or mine.... vinegar is good with getting rid of calcium deposits on your tank.

I would still use 20-30% bleach per water. and would be best for this task at hand.....

i must be misinterpreting something here...i'm sure that it's not your intention to cast aspersions on anyone's intelligence...right?

[jnorris]

Another post....

Not this one....

Long story

[Mbuniac]

Yeah Gypsy,
Another post and a "WHOLE" different kind of person and approach to aquaria. I thought about it this morning, and had to laugh. It was interesting for a while, almost couldn't believe what I was reading! Hopefully jnorris gave some good advice. Sort of like someone's ultimate goal is to have an attack trained Mako shark or something to that effect. For sure not aimed at you!
Sam

[SGypsyMermaid]

:twisted: i think i know what you're referring to.

[Neil N]

not a disinfectant, but another way to remove hard calcium deposits it to cut a lemon in half and rub away, works a treat and its completly non toxic!!!

[jnorris]

Its all good now....

[WorldNation]

hey, i cna do that with a lemon? how simple! why didn't i figure that out earlier *shakes head in shame* :lol:

[Mbuniac]

Good work J! Neil, thanks for the lemon advice, I'm gonna give it a try when I get back home the day after tomorrow.

[Mbuniac]

Neil,
I think your lemon idea is a winner! When I got home we didn't have any lemons, but we did have limes. I figured, "what the heck, it's worth a try"! It worked great!! Some of the thicker deposits had to be scraped off. Maybe lemon is even more acidic. The best part is that it doesn't leave any harmful residue. Thanks for posting the idea.
Sam

[WorldNation]

same here! i tried the lemon idea on my hood. works great! thnx bro:)

[Neil N]

no problem guys, happy to help :lol:

[Adam]

Unscented chlorine bleach is your best bet. Kills everything.

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of the smell test? You sniff the rocks and tank, and if you haven't rinsed enough, then it still smells like bleach. This way, uncscented, you have to guess, and then guess some more.

[SGypsyMermaid]

i think that jnorris means 'no perfume'...unscented bleach still smells of chlorine.