Hey guys was just going to get your thoughts on this, a couple of days ago I saw a lionhead that I really wanted and was going to see if I could get my old tank setup for him before he was gone. This is my old ten gallon and I will have to be concerned about parasites with it cause I am pretty sure the goldfish I have now did have parasites, however I did get rid of them and my other goldfish are doing great now in my new tank. But the old ten gallon tank has been sitting in the garage for some time. I just wanted to know the best way about going to disinfect the 10 gallon tank. It is just the tank itself, I will have to get new rocks and filter and all that. Should I use the PP on it or should I go with the bleach method? Just wanted to see what you guys think I should do. I did read the disinfect post but still didn't know what exactly to do since I just have to do the tank itself.

If you are just doing the tank itself, I think I would just use bleach - it is really cheap and easy to use.

I fill the tank to the very brim. A ten gallon tank holds about 9 gallons of liquid. So you want that liquid to be at least 1:10 bleach:water. So give it 1 gallon of bleach and fill the rest up with hot water and let it sit.

After at least 10 minutes - I usually am lazy and let mine go much longer, I drain it out. Rinse it down really well and then fill it again with all water. I then add a good dose of dechlorinator and let that sit for a while. This is then emptied. The tank should be disinfected.

There are a few things that may be able to withstand this treatment, but they are not the standard. If you have a tank that has sealant in the corners that is in particularly bad shape, you may want to pour extra bleach down this -let it be wet for at least 10 minutes. A good alternative is the natural UV of the sun. Since we do not see the sun much for months here, I cannot use it in the winter - but if you have it - use it! Lay the tank out in the brightest sun you have for as long as possible - a day's worth of UV is GREAT!

Then off you go - fill 'er up and cycle the thing. Get your fishy you dream about - for that is the BEST kind of fish to have!

Thank you so much! You are always so great to answer so many of our questions. And you have actually made me think more about the fish I was going to get. The lionheads that I saw were very good looking, but I think your comment at the end reminded me that there is a fish that I should wait for and that is the Ranchu. I will just get the tank set up and wait till I have an extra $100 to order a Ranchu.