Thoughts on this method for sterilizing aquarium equipment??

[cichliduser]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If I did not test my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

If I do not change my water...

...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Roughly a month ago I had some new fish in quarantine that unfortunately succumbed to some nasty diseases. In this tank I had some red lava rock I’d like to use in a new tank so of course I need to disinfect.

In the past I’ve soaked in bleach, rinsed with water and then dechlorinator to remove any remaining bleach.

As you all know red lava rock is extremely porous so I’m leery of using bleach in case any gets trapped in a pocket in the rocks, so I went on the Google hunt for a new method and stumbled across this article: https://aquaticlifefarm.com/web_pages/alf_article_salt.html

Basically you create a Super saline solution (minimum of 27% weight of salt to water) and use this to disinfect.

This single article is the only one I could find that discusses using this method so I wanted to get a sanity check from you guys on whether or not you believe this will be effective.

I’m debating soaking them in the salt solution and then doing a hydrogen peroxide soak after just to be extra safe, as it breaks down into water and oxygen over time, thoughts on that?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Disturbed.)]

Definitely don't use bleach. I can't say for the effectiveness of high salinity. But my go to for sterilizing equipment and media is PP, potassium permanganate. It's super cheap, super effective and super easy to remove.

 

[cichliduser]

Definitely don't use bleach. I can't say for the effectiveness of high salinity. But my go to for sterilizing equipment and media is PP, potassium permanganate. It's super cheap, super effective and super easy to remove.

I actually already have some PP leftover from when I kept planted tanks and did dips to new incoming plants. I will definitely consider this, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[duanes]

Do you have an idea of what the disease was/
When certain bacteria go into a dormant state, they form impermeable shells that possibly resist adverse conditions, like heat, freezing, salinity, and drying.
Columnaris is one such disease.
For such a disease, I would use an oxidizer like bleach, and Hydrogen peroxide, (although H2O2) is weaker, not as effective as bleach).
After a few days in bleach, I would soak in a dechlorinator for at least another few more days, dry it out, and then soak in straight water before using it with fish.

 

[cichliduser]

Do you have an idea of what the disease was/
When certain bacteria go into a dormant state, they form impermeable shells that possibly resist adverse conditions, like heat, freezing, salinity, and drying.
Columnaris is one such disease.
For such a disease, I would use an oxidizer like bleach, and Hydrogen peroxide, (although H2O2) is weaker, not as effective as bleach).
After a few days in bleach, I would soak in a dechlorinator for at least another few more days, dry it out, and then soak in straight water before using it with fish.

This is very good information to know, I had no idea that was possible.

As far as identifying the disease I was unable to and neither was my LFS or this forum, but there were symptoms of parasites, fungal, and bacterial infections. Truly the worst shipment of fish I have ever receieve and I tried everything to treat.

I think given that new knowledge you have brought up I will go with bleach and dechlorinator and water soak. Then I will put one fish in with the rocks in a QT tank to test and ensure no bleach leftover.

Thank you so much for the suggestion

 

[cichliduser]

Do you have an idea of what the disease was/
When certain bacteria go into a dormant state, they form impermeable shells that possibly resist adverse conditions, like heat, freezing, salinity, and drying.
Columnaris is one such disease.
For such a disease, I would use an oxidizer like bleach, and Hydrogen peroxide, (although H2O2) is weaker, not as effective as bleach).
After a few days in bleach, I would soak in a dechlorinator for at least another few more days, dry it out, and then soak in straight water before using it with fish.

Here are some photos though of the symptoms I was dealing with

Not pictured was also one had a white growth (1-2mm) develop on its head where what was an open wound.

 

[duanes]

Using a sacrificial fish is a reasonable move.
There are also colormetric test strips made for swimming pools that can let you know if chlorine has been totally neutralized, or not.

The one above also gives a ball-park look at other parameters, and reads as low as 0.5 ppm chlorine.
Hard to tell about the disease, could be a combination of factors, brought on by shipping, and ????????

 

[dogofwar]

My go to for really disinfecting is bleach. A couple of capfulls of bleach will disinfect everything. I then drain, rinse and dechlor. Done and done.

 

[cichliduser]

31.6 lbs including container entered 33lbs to the calc including packing material. Shipping through my businesses discounted rate from Michigan to Los Angeles (farthest shipping case scenario) $46.04.

 

[cichliduser]

There is another large rock included that is not pictured in the photo in the tank but is in the photo of the container full of rocks FYI