Cleaning with soap

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
kamikaziechameleon

kamikaziechameleon

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 23, 2010
2,339
4
68
western hemisphere
Hello all, I have a question. Can you use soap to clean things for aquarium use.

In my instance I have 10 Large (some 40 and 100 gallon) old (15 years or more) very dirty filthy stinky tanks. I wanted to use dish soap (non anti-bacterial) to get the layers of BS off the glass.

I've used things like pots and pans to carry water for leveling off tanks previously that had been cleaned with such a soap and no ill effects had ever appeared.

I've also lost a whole tank to a anti bacterial sponge getting used on it.

The tanks would be setup and cycled for a month or more prior to fish being slowly introduced. Do you think such a agent as that(one that is designed to leave no residue) Would be a Horrible Idea.
 
A pressure washer might help? would get the big stuff cleared off...if you have 10 tanks your going to want to pick a method that'll take alot of the work off you...or else you'll going insane trying to do it
 
using soap that is not anti-bacterial that won't make my tanks death traps for the next year will it? I'm afraid the power washer will pulverise the silicone.


Story being the guy who had these tanks was a breeder then got really sick was in the hospital for a year then died over the course of a year or two most of the stock died of neglect all they got was food, no water changes or anything apparently, hence the nasty, prior to getting ill he had reapplied the secondary layer of silicone so its new enough I don't want to have to redo it.
 
NO dont use any chemicals or soap, ive learned the hard way back in my newb days! i dont even let any chemicals that could harm my tank or fish sit next to my tank..
 
if i had soap on my hands ( like i do know ) i wont even go near my tank with my hands for a good 3 to 4 hours or even longer depending on if i can still smell the soap on my hands.
 
There's really no danger in pre cleaning 'new' setups with soap
you'll get recommendations to use vinegar also
If you rinse the items well you can even use bleach
 
I was thinking that it should be fine, I've always bleached my shells I pick up on the beach when I visit florida(gets rid of funky smells) Then years later dropped some of them into shelldweller tanks with no side effects.

Once the tanks are up and running I hesitate to even clean the front of the tank or spray any kind of cleaner in the room I have a tank. I just want to get the gunk off. prior to the setup though.

Thanks guys.
 
i believe the worry with soap is just the oil in it, if it coats the surface then oxygen cant enter the water, and deadly gasses cant escape
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom