How to sanitize equipment between tanks?

[Fish Fan]

Fish Medic team, I'm curious, what do you guys use as a sanitizer for gear like nets and siphon hoses if you need to use them across multiple tanks, and you are trying to maintain a high level of biosecurity?

Thank you all for your help in advance!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Fish Medic team, I'm curious, what do you guys use as a sanitizer for gear like nets and siphon hoses if you need to use them across multiple tanks, and you are trying to maintain a high level of biosecurity?

Thank you all for your help in advance!

I have nets in freshwater with a little methylene blue

 

[jonelder68]

I wipe or soak everything in vinegar and then tap water. Then it’s left outside for few days to dry out in the sun. Weather dependent

 

[mcarroll]

Fish Medic team, I'm curious, what do you guys use as a sanitizer for gear like nets and siphon hoses if you need to use them across multiple tanks, and you are trying to maintain a high level of biosecurity?

Thank you all for your help in advance!

Depends on your circumstance....it doesn't have to be hared or exotic, or even chemical.

If you just rinse clean your nets after use and allow them to dry for a day, that'll do it.

Keep multiple clean nets around so you don't have to re-use a net between tanks.

Even if you have to re-use them, keeping them in freshwater can be enough.

If you know you're dealing with some kind of pathogen, then not mixing nets between systems is the most important thing. Cleaning and thoroughly drying out (eg for a day) should take care of any hangers on.

(Using something like bleach or peroxide or worse shouldn't be necessary in most cases.)

 

[Decamicron Labs Verified Sponsor]

We wash off all biofilms and then do a 400-800ppm bleach bath covering all surfaces for at least 10-20 minutes before drying for a few days. Water change hoses and nets are usually thrown away for new shipments. Probably overkill for the usual aquarist, but we bring in many shipments from around the world that could carry all sorts of stuff, so we go the extra mile.

There are some studies out of a Japanese aquaculture lab that show that in their conducted assays, cysts of Cryptocaryon, dinospores of Amyloodinium, and the eggs of many monogenean flukes become inviable after 24 hours of desiccation under lab conditions. So drying for a few days to ensure all nooks and crannies are dry should probably be sufficient.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I wipe or soak everything in vinegar and then tap water. Then it’s left outside for few days to dry out in the sun. Weather dependent

I would do something similar to this except I would just let it dry in a sink I wasn't using, haha

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Fish Medic team, I'm curious, what do you guys use as a sanitizer for gear like nets and siphon hoses if you need to use them across multiple tanks, and you are trying to maintain a high level of biosecurity?

Thank you all for your help in advance!

I use dedicated equipment for each tank/system.

In cases where I can’t, I use a 1:10 bleach solution and rinsing well and air drying. That takes a lot of work though, so I try to avoid it.

Lesser levels of bleach, vinegar, etc. cannot kill Neobenedenia eggs. These have sticky tendrils on them, and easily go tank to tank. A single egg can start a new infection.

Drying also works, but seawater is hydroscopic, so must be fully rinsed off first. Then, commercial applications like public aquariums have high humidity - drying shouldn’t be relied upon in this cases.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

I have 2 tanks, I never share any nets, pumps, or hoses between them, my tweezers and frag tools are stainless, I rinse and then dry in the oven at 170 for about 15 min. I do this to prevent rust, but should kill anything on them. I don't have any issues, but If i do I don't to contaminate

 

[Fish Fan]

I use dedicated equipment for each tank/system.

In cases where I can’t, I use a 1:10 bleach solution and rinsing well and air drying. That takes a lot of work though, so I try to avoid it.

Lesser levels of bleach, vinegar, etc. cannot kill Neobenedenia eggs. These have sticky tendrils on them, and easily go tank to tank. A single egg can start a new infection.

Drying also works, but seawater is hydroscopic, so must be fully rinsed off first. Then, commercial applications like public aquariums have high humidity - drying shouldn’t be relied upon in this cases.

Thanks, Jay!

When I do a QT for fish, I have seperate everything for that system; QT tank, filter, nets, siphon, etc. all dedicated to the QT system only.

I have never been one who thinks that vinegar is an effective sanitizer. I like my bleach, but it can be difficult to neutralize. I rinse the bleach water off as best as I can, and let things dry in the sun in the summer months, then rinse again. I've also used a large shot of dechlorinator to help with any residual bleach. I should just order some sodium thiosulfate.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and suggestions, I appreciate it!