Disinfection of aquarium fish after purchase. Proper care of the aquarium - disinfection. Hydrogen peroxide in an aquarium in emergency situations

0.1% solution of potassium permanganate (1 gKMn04 per 1 liter of water);
5% solution of hydrochloric or sulfuric acid;
3% chloramine solution;
a clarified solution of bleach containing at least 5% active chlorine;
2-4% formaldehyde solution.

How to prepare a formaldehyde solution

The industry produces either a 40% aqueous solution of formaldehyde (formalin) or powdered formaldehyde containing 95% formaldehyde.

To prepare a 4% solution, take 10 parts of an aqueous solution of formalin and dilute it in 90 parts of water.

From powdered formaldehyde, 4 parts of the powder are diluted in 96 parts of water (in this case, the water must be heated to 60-70 ° C).

To avoid precipitation, formaldehyde is stored in well-sealed containers in a dark place, at a temperature not lower than 9°C. If sediment or flakes are still found in formaldehyde, it must be heated to 80-90°C before use.

How to disinfect an aquarium

The aquarium, filled to the brim with one of the disinfecting solutions, is left for 12 hours, after which it is washed several times. In case of mycobacteriosis of fish, acid solutions are not suitable for disinfecting aquariums and fish farming equipment, because the pathogen is resistant to them. In this case, you can use detergents, for example, washing powders - “Lotus”, “Crystal”, etc. The concentration of the solution should be quite high - one pack of powder per 30-50 liters of water. The aquarium with this solution is kept for a day. When disinfection is complete, it is washed repeatedly with warm water.
Nylon nets, thermometers, heaters that fail due to boiling are placed in an aquarium with a disinfectant solution so that they are completely immersed in it.
The surest way to clean and sterilize can be called washing the aquarium with the so-called brine - a saturated solution of table salt with the addition of a small (1:20) amount of baking soda. An empty aquarium is rubbed from the inside and along the edges with this solution using a nylon cloth (for example, a stocking) and left for 6-12 hours. Then the dried salt is washed off with water at room temperature. The use of cold or hot (over 50°C) water is not recommended.

How to disinfect equipment

The best method for disinfecting fish farming equipment (nets, sprayers, feeders, scrapers, rubber hoses, etc.) is to boil it for 10-15 minutes.

How to disinfect soil

The soil is disinfected by boiling or calcination (30-40 minutes). Decorative roots are boiled for 20-30 minutes.

During the period of keeping purchased fish in a quarantine aquarium or sick ones in an isolation ward, it is best to constantly keep the nets assigned to them in a disinfectant (3%) chloramine solution. It is necessary to ensure that the mesh is completely immersed in the solution. Before use, the net is washed with tap water each time. Twice a week the chloramine solution is replaced with a fresh one.

Inadequate disinfection of aquariums and fish farming equipment further leads to diseases and death of fish.

In the practice of keeping ornamental fish, at least once there came a time when it was necessary to restart the aquarium. Almost every aquarist can confirm this. There are various reasons, and the operation itself of stopping and restarting a home aquatic system requires knowledge and a fairly significant investment of time.

How is it different from a restart? Yes, practically nothing, only when the aqua system is restarted, it first undergoes full maintenance - cleaning and disinfection (if necessary) of both the can itself and its internal contents.

First of all, it should be noted that there is no set frequency for restarting aquariums.

There is an opinion that this operation must be performed periodically, regardless of the state of the functioning aquarium. Some owners of ornamental fish believe that their homes need to be thoroughly cleaned from time to time, removing dirt and debris.

Opponents of this point of view believe that the aquarium, if you follow all the necessary rules for keeping fish and plants, should function without stopping and restarting, and its restart should be done only in exceptional, urgent cases.

What could be the reasons for restarting an aquarium with fish?

Firstly, it is carried out if the water is strong, the walls are overgrown with algae, and filtration and volume changes do not have a positive effect on the situation.

Secondly, in case of severe acidification of the soil, if its cleaning or replacement is impossible under continuous operation conditions.

Third, if ornamental fish or aquatic plants become ill with infectious diseases, as well as in the event of mass death of living creatures.

Fourthly, if you are tired of the existing internal design and want to completely replace it.

Fifthly, when or other technical reasons appeared. In this case, you need to restart quickly.

Quick restart

It is carried out not only because of leaks, but also for other reasons when stopping the functioning of the aquarium is urgent.

What to do with fish

First of all, the fish move out. If the old aquarium water is suitable, then it is poured into a container (a large jar, a spare aquarium) and the fish are allowed in there, constantly observing their behavior.

When the old water is not suitable, then ordinary water that has been standing for at least 2 hours (at least) is poured into the sedimentation tank. The water medium is heated to the required temperature.

Some aquarists also recommend adding a commercial water conditioner - AquaSafe from Tetra. Fresh water is poured into pre-prepared containers for further startup, which urgently must settle for at least 8 hours.

Aquarium flora, soil and decorations

Then the soil is carefully removed. It must then be washed in hot water or (if necessary) calcined in the oven.

Decorative elements can be washed in salt water.

the washing up

Next, they begin cleaning the working jar. In the bathroom, the aquarium is washed several times with hot water. If the container was unfavorable due to diseases or unfavorable algae had grown in it, then table salt or soda can be used as detergents.

Dry the glass surfaces with a soft cloth and then begin to repair the breakage or malfunction.

After this, ordinary water is poured into the container to check the tightness. Two hours is enough for this, and then it drains.

Direct restart

The system is prepared for launch: first, the washed soil is carefully laid, settled water (or old water, if suitable) is poured to a level 10-15 cm above the soil. It must be poured in such a way that the flow does not wash away the layer of soil; it is better to place a shallow plate and apply water in a gentle stream.

Aquarium plants are washed with warm water and planted in the ground, decorative elements are laid.

Then the aquarium equipment is installed. If a bottom filter is used, it is installed before laying out the soil. Do I need to wash the filter itself?

The general opinion: if it worked normally, then it does not need to be cleaned, since the biofilter elements contain colonies of beneficial bacteria.

With the help of a net, the fish are moved to their home, and in two or three steps the water level is brought to normal. If the living creatures felt normal in the fish tank, then the water from it can be used to fill the working aquarium.

Heating, aeration and filtration equipment can then be turned on. For the first 2-3 days, you need to carefully monitor the behavior of the inhabitants and the condition of the vegetation. During this period, it is advisable to change water daily up to 10% of the total volume.

Treatment is carried out in approximately the same way if the walls and bottom are overgrown with algae.

Restarting an aquarium after fish illness

So, due to some circumstances, signs of fish disease appeared. First of all, you need to catch all the sick fish and transplant them into another aquarium (quarantine), filling it with settled water. After ensuring the appropriate temperature conditions, treatment of the living creatures begins.

You should not interfere with natural processes again; you need to give the aquarium a break for 10-15 days, changing the water by 30-80% of the normal volume and cleaning the filter. In an aquatic environment, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of at least +25 degrees at all times, and turn on the aquafilter.

After treatment in quarantine, you can restart the system by moving the treated animals.

Restarting the aquarium, disinfection

This process is the most time-consuming. It must be produced if the causative agents of infectious diseases dangerous to fish and plants have settled in the soil, on plants and parts of interior decor.

As in other cases, the fish are moved to a quarantine vessel, where they are treated. All other parts of the aqua system are subject to mandatory disinfection (the container itself, equipment, plants, soil, filter, thermometer, aerator, design items).

You can pour water with washing powder into the jar in the proportion of 400 g of powder per 30 liters of water. All surfaces are thoroughly washed, and then the aquarium is rinsed several times with warm water. After this, new clean water is poured in, which sits for a day, then drained.

What to do with vegetation?

If aquarium plants are not destroyed as a result of the disease (this outcome is also possible), then they should be disinfected and treated with a penicillin solution. It is prepared in the proportion of 50 mg of the drug per 10 liters of water. This operation must be carried out in a separate container with a water temperature of +25 degrees for 6-7 days.

Changing the water and adding penicillin solution is carried out daily.

Many aquarists, forced to carry out disinfection, get rid of the old soil and fill it with new one. But if there is a desire to preserve used soil, then it must first be washed several times in warm water, separating mechanical debris, and then calcined in the oven for half an hour.

To summarize, we can say that a complete restart of the aquatic system is not done often, depending on the circumstances. But it is better not to take the situation to the extreme, strictly following all the recommendations for keeping fish and plants, and performing the necessary maintenance activities for the home aquarium on time and with high quality.

Useful video about restarting an aquarium:

Do not forget that an aquarium is a real home for fish. It, like a human home, needs cleaning. If a person can provide himself with frequent cleaning, then such a luxury is not available for fish, so it is the owner who must disinfect the aquarium and monitor the condition of his pets. Many people know about this, but not everyone knows how to disinfect an aquarium correctly.

Primary activities

The first disinfection of the aquarium occurs immediately after you purchase the tank. The future house for fish must undergo careful processing before the first inhabitants of flora and fauna appear there.

How to properly carry out primary disinfection:

Fill the aquarium with plain water.
Dilute the potassium permanganate solution to a dark color and pour it into an aquarium filled with tap water.
After this, leave it for a day. During this time, all pathogenic bacteria will die.
Drain off all the water and wipe the walls dry with a dry cloth.
Rinse it several times with clean running water.

The next step will be preparing the water to start a new aquarium. In order for free chlorine to leave the water, it is necessary to leave 100% of the water for at least 3 days. Then pour it in and wait a couple of days again. Only after this will the aqua be ready to accept its first inhabitants.

In order not to waste time, prepare the rest of the equipment and decor for your exclusive pond. Don’t forget, they also need to be thoroughly disinfected before they end up in the same water as fish. Particular attention is paid to the soil. It is most often used sea sand and pebbles collected in natural conditions. Of course, the substrate contains a huge variety of pathogenic bacteria that will poison the entire environment in the water. To overcome the negative consequences, you need to calcine the soil in the oven or in a large frying pan. It is necessary to expose the entire soil to maximum temperature for at least 20 minutes. For convenience, divide it into portions. Do not pour hot sand into the aquarium! Cool and rinse it thoroughly. One wash is not enough, it is better to repeat the procedure 3-4 times, only after that you can place it in the aquarium. You should not ignore this stage of the initial start-up of the aquarium.

Accessories are considered among the mandatory elements of the normal functioning of an artificial reservoir. Collect all decorative elements, excluding plastic options, and boil them thoroughly. Since heat treatment can cause plastic parts to melt, it is better to treat them with a dark solution of potassium permanganate.

On-line disinfection measures

If the aquarium is already functioning, but something bad happened and various bacteria and algae began to appear in it, then disinfection cannot be avoided. It is urgent to save plants and fish from there.

All fauna that was in the infected aquarium must be treated with an antibacterial solution. The most popular is a mixture of 10 mg penatsillin per 2 liters of water. Keep the plants in it for about 3 days. Don’t be afraid, nothing bad will happen to the plants during this time. The aquarium itself can be disinfected with a special bactericidal lamp every day for 20 minutes. Disinfection of the aquarium is necessary even if there are no visible problems. Preventative measures are the best way to maintain the health of fish and other inhabitants. The next disinfection begins with disinfecting treatment of all surfaces. The simplest means at hand are potassium permanganate and peroxide. Remove all the fish and decor from there, then fill it to the edge with 3% peroxide or a dark solution of potassium permanganate. Leave everything for 5-6 hours. After this, thoroughly rinse all surfaces and corners.

If you have neither the time nor the desire to wait that long, then you can use the express method. Buy a special solution at the pet store that is designed to disinfect all surfaces. Don't forget to wear gloves before working. If you have the opportunity to treat everything with formaldehyde, chloramine, hydrochloric acid, then use this option.

To disinfect plants, it is necessary to prepare a penicillin solution in a ratio of 10:2. Leave all the plants there for about three days.

The most common means:

Isopropane 70%;
Ethanol 70%;
Sidex;
N-propanol 60%.

You can wipe the plants with these products just once; this will be enough to kill the pathogenic sphere. These products are sold in pet pharmacies. The rest of the equipment should be boiled. To be sure, keep them in boiling water for at least 20 minutes. The more time they spend in boiling water, the less chance the bacteria have to survive. Please note that rubber, plastic and thermometers should never be boiled.

Choose the most convenient method for yourself and enjoy the view of a beautiful, healthy aquarium with happy fish.

Disinfection of the aquarium is necessary when the fish are diagnosed with infectious or invasive diseases. Disinfection of an aquarium refers to the disinfection of the aquarium itself, equipment, decorations, fish farming equipment, water, soil and aquarium plants. Inadequate disinfection will cause a new outbreak of diseases in fish with weakened immune systems.
Only temperatures of about 80-100°C kill parasites. The exception is cases when the pathogens are ciliated ciliates, ichthyophthirius, trichodins, costia, oodiniums and monogenetic flukes - dactylogyrus, gyrodactylus. To get rid of the parasites mentioned above, it is enough to leave the aquarium for 7 days without fish at a water temperature of 28-29°C. Protozoa and monogeneans, not finding a host on which they parasitize, die.
In case of plistophorosis, gluteatosis, nodular disease, disinfection of the aquarium does not give positive results. For mycobacteriosis, it is useless to use acid preparations, since the bacteria are resistant to weak acids.
We begin disinfecting the aquarium. We free, clean and only then disinfect each part. Aquarium plants are rarely sent for quarantine; it is better to destroy them, since fish pathogens can be in the form of spores protected by a shell, so disinfection of vegetation will not give a positive result. Disinfectants are mostly toxic materials that can harm fish and plants. Therefore, after disinfection, the aquarium, decorations, and equipment should be rinsed with clean water.
Commercially available household disinfectants based on alcohols, phenol, aldehydes and detergents are not intended for aquarists - their residues will lead to poisoning. After using such disinfectants, the aquarium should be rinsed with plenty of fresh water several times to completely remove any remaining harmful substances.
To disinfect the aquarium, use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for several hours. Sometimes they wash with a concentrated solution. Hydrogen peroxide is a safe product that completely decomposes into non-toxic decomposition products. Wear safety glasses and gloves when handling this drug.
Minor traces of 3% chloramine solution or clarified 5% bleach solution left in an unwashed aquarium will damage the skin and gill tissue of the fish. Bleach is a caustic substance that damages nylon nets and metal parts of equipment and is fatal to plants.
Clean with a 4% formaldehyde solution, a 5% aqueous solution of hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, and a 1-2% formaldehyde solution.
To disinfect the aquarium, detergents and washing powders are used at the rate of a pack of powder per 30-50 liters of water. The aquarium with this solution is kept for a day. After disinfection is completed, rinse with warm water several times.
Iodine-based disinfectants are less dangerous than bleach. Pet stores sell ready-made solutions of iodophors. Equipment is disinfected by immersing it in a solution or wiping the surface. It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions regarding solution dilution and exposure time;
Ethyl alcohol is volatile, just wipe the items with alcohol and it will be gone. There is no danger to fish or plants.
Disinfect with a saturated solution of table salt and baking soda 1:20. An empty aquarium is rubbed with this solution using a nylon stocking and left for 6-12 hours. Then the dried salt is washed off with warm water.
A good way to disinfect equipment, but not an aquarium!!!, is to treat it with boiling water or boil it for 10-15 minutes. The filter material from the filter, sprayers, nets are boiled for 15 minutes, the soil is boiled for 30-40 minutes.
Nets and thermometers are kept in a 3% chloramine solution or with a 4% formaldehyde solution in a glass jar.
Use Virkon-S (Virkon-S) - a strong disinfectant for disinfecting aquariums and aquarium equipment as follows:
The drained aquarium is wiped with a sponge (rag) heavily soaked in a 2% solution of Virkon-S. Twice, with an interval of 15 minutes. After the second treatment, the aquarium is left for three hours, then it can be considered completely disinfected. To put the aquarium into operation, simply wipe it with a damp sponge. Additional rinsing, as after using household disinfectants, is not required.
Aquarium equipment is soaked in a solution with a concentration of 200 mg of Virkon-S in 1 liter for at least 5 hours. It can be used again after a light rinse.
During

H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide).
KMnO4 (Potassium permanganate or potassium permanganate).

Dosage: Apply a 3% solution for several hours or rinse with a concentrated solution. Toxicity: Hydrogen peroxide is an ideal disinfectant: it is completely decomposed and the breakdown products are non-toxic. Hydrogen peroxide is corrosive to skin, so wear safety glasses and gloves.

In addition, they are used to disinfect the aquarium and its equipment.

3% chloramine solution.
4% formaldehyde solution.
5% solution of hydrochloric or sulfuric acid.
5% bleach solution.

Alcohols

C2H5OH (Ethanol).
C3H7OH (n-Propanol).
C3H7OH (Isopropane).

Dosage: It is enough to wipe objects with ethanol (70%), n-Propanol (50-60%) or isopropanol (69-70%). Toxicity: Since alcohols are highly volatile and evaporate quickly, there is no danger to fish and plants. Features: Alcohols act very quickly. Even microbacteria die within a minute. Bacterial spores, on the other hand, are not affected.

Commercially available disinfectants most often contain a mixture of alcohols, phenol, aldehydes and detergents. Basically, such disinfectants are not intended for aquarists because... their remains can lead to poisoning. After using such disinfectants, the aquarium should be rinsed with plenty of fresh water to completely remove any remaining harmful substances.