contaminated siphon?

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djsaltynuts

djsaltynuts

Piranha
MFK Member
Sep 11, 2020
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so i just got another pea puffer who id been at the fishstore for the past 3-4 months because he was particularly big. i brought the puffer home last night and cleaned the bottom of the tank. im wondering if i can still use the siphon on other tanks? ik most people would recommend using bleach solution or something which i dont feel very comfortable with. the reason im concerned is simply because the puffer is wild caught he seems healthy though. im considering buying a new siphon before i do my waterchanges today. do you guys think itd be fine if i rinse the inside and outside of siphon like normal or should another step occur?
 
djsaltynuts said:
so i just got another pea puffer who id been at the fishstore for the past 3-4 months because he was particularly big. i brought the puffer home last night and cleaned the bottom of the tank. im wondering if i can still use the siphon on other tanks? ik most people would recommend using bleach solution or something which i dont feel very comfortable with. the reason im concerned is simply because the puffer is wild caught he seems healthy though. im considering buying a new siphon before i do my waterchanges today. do you guys think itd be fine if i rinse the inside and outside of siphon like normal or should another step occur?
Click to expand...
I use the same siphon in all my tanks, but it drys out for a few days between uses. There’s still a risk that way but I haven’t had any issues. Personally I think if I were concerned I would get another siphon for each tank before I used a chemical to clean it
 
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When I had a large fishroom, I usually have 4 or 5 tanks on a single sump (average total of @ 1000 to 1500 gallons+ of tanks in the room).
This on average meant, 3 or 4 sumps, going simultaneously in the fish room.
So i always kept 4 separate siphons, one per line of tanks per sump.
If a disease hit one line, this kept it from easily spreading to others. And after treatment was finished, I wouldn't hesitate to toss it and make a new one.
You can imagine the cost of meds for 1500 gallons.
But I usually made my siphons out of hardware store tubing, some hose clamps and old plastic isopropyl alcohol bottles (and still do) for a couple bucks.
375CFC87-D04E-411B-86C6-3FC40198A8A7_1_201_a.jpeg
Because it was a fishroom, I also had permanent fill lines, and drain lines for water changes. Siphons were only used for vacuuming detritus
1612715987383.png
Although drying is useful for some diseases, some (like columnaris) can survive dormant in a spat of dried on detritus.
So in the case of certain diseases, I would consider a soak in a bucket of bleach water an ounce of well deserved prevention if only one siphon is available. (then drying to get rid of the bleach)
 
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duanes said:
When I had a large fishroom, I usually have 4 or 5 tanks on a single sump (average total of @ 1000 to 1500 gallons+ of tanks in the room).
This on average meant, 3 or 4 sumps, going simultaneously in the fish room.
So i always kept 4 separate siphons, one per line of tanks per sump.
If a disease hit one line, this kept it from easily spreading to others. And after treatment was finished, I wouldn't hesitate to toss it and make a new one.
You can imagine the cost of meds for 1500 gallons.
But I usually made my siphons out of hardware store tubing, some hose clamps and old plastic isopropyl alcohol bottles (and still do) for a couple bucks.
View attachment 1450359
Because it was a fishroom, I also had permanent fill lines, and drain lines for water changes. Siphons were only used for vacuuming detritus
View attachment 1450361
Although drying is useful for some diseases, some (like columnaris) can survive dormant in a spat of dried on detritus.
So in the case of certain diseases, I would consider a soak in a bucket of bleach water an ounce of well deserved prevention if only one siphon is available. (then drying to get rid of the bleach)
Click to expand...

Love your DIY creativity.
 
I accidentally cross contaminated tanks with ich, even when I thought I dried out a siphon thoroughly for 1 week.
 
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and rinsing well with hot water would most likely do nothing besides make me feel more comfortable about it?
 
supposedly rinsing something well removes 98 percent of bacteria.
 
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