Disinfecting an Aquarium

I bought a second hand fish tank, how can I sanitize it safely? I do not want to have any disease but I don't want to poison the fish either.

You can use sodium metabisulphate and rinse well. This is available in many supermarkets in the brewing section. This disinfectant will not harm the fish you will keep in the future.

You can also use dilute bleach and rinse very thoroughly a number of times until no odor lingers.

Likewise you can use chlorine and rinse out the residue. A little chlorine neutraliser can be added to the final rinse.

There are also specific aquarium disinfectant products available for this purpose. Follow the manufacturer's directions for best results.

If cleaning with one of these products is impractical try using the tap water itself. You can fill a second hand aquarium with chlorinated water and let it sit for 2 days before adding any chlorine neutraliser. This will not be as thorough but will be better than no aquarium disease precautions at all.

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