Disposing of chemicals

[fishfever]

What do you do when you are done giving your fish a bath in either Methylene Blue, Potassium Permanganate or for that matter any other used aquarium chemicals/solutions that are no longer needed? I have been tossing mine in the backyard in one spot for lack of a better place to dispose of them but I'm wondering if they break down in the soil. Flushing them would still put them in the backyard but probably spread out more through the septic system.

For the water changes, I usually take the bucket and water various plants/trees in our yard. Hopefully the salt content is low enough to not cause problems. And hopefully I won't be spreading any kind of killer mutant algae like in the Mediterranean or Southern Cal! I don't know if anyone else saw that show (History channel?) but it was absolutely insane and apparently caused by some zoo dumping aquarium water that made it into the sea.

[Carl]

I have always used mine and my clients freshwater from water changes to water the garden (my vegetables/flowers thrive on this nutrient rich water)

As for chemicals, Methylene Blue is quite inert and breaks down rapidly (it is used as a Redox Indicator and has been used for Malaria in humans where the body quickly expels the MB via "green" urine)

Potassium Permanganate is an oxidizer as is bleach. It degrades rapidly, but if you want to speed this along, adding any quality chlorine removing water conditioner will immediately render PP inert;
see this article (near the beginning of the article): Aquarium Answers; Water Conditioners

With the above in mind I have had not problem flushing these down into a septic system (or sewer)

I should note that I have compost pile that I throw my aquarium plant trimmmings and other wastes.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

Sorry to get off topic but I have a similar question. What is the proper way to dispose dead fish that may be diseased? I put mine in the trash since I wouldn't want to flush them or put them outside and spread pathogens. I hope I am doing it the right way. A fish book once told me to put them in the trash with bleach or chemicals so any disease on them is killed but I don't really trust that book, especially since it says the use of UV sterilizers has not been proven or not to be effective which is DEFINITELY not true.

Thanks.

[Carl]

Sept 4, 2009 11:47:25 GMT -5 goldenpuon said:

Sorry to get off topic but I have a similar question. What is the proper way to dispose dead fish that may be diseased? I put mine in the trash since I wouldn't want to flush them or put them outside and spread pathogens. I hope I am doing it the right way. A fish book once told me to put them in the trash with bleach or chemicals so any disease on them is killed but I don't really trust that book, especially since it says the use of UV sterilizers has not been proven or not to be effective which is DEFINITELY not true.

Thanks.

Although I agree that the book is dead wrong about UV Sterilization, their suggestion add bleach will certainly work.

HOWEVER, I really do not think this is necessary as bacteria in the soil (whether disposed via trash into a landfill or buried in your yard) will decompose the fish and all disease will disappear with the fish.
As well it is noteworthy that most disease pathogens need a living host, so the need for such measures is mute IMO.
I honestly think that book has its priorities backward based on making the reader worry about dead fish and ignoring the best care for the living fish.

Carl

[fishfever]

OK, I won't feel guilty about dumping them in the ground; was kind of thinking they would break down but wasn't completely sure about this. Also I did notice once that the PP did not turn the pinkish-purplish color one time for a bath but I had just added some Prime to the water (I had added it to the tank but had already scooped out the water for the bath so I added a few drops of Prime to the bath) prior to adding the PP. So I think this means the deepness of the PP color may be somewhat correlated to the strength of the PP (or maybe another way of saying it is the lack of pinkness may indicate how spent the PP is), at least that seems to be what I've observed.

I haven't had many of my fish die yet (thankfully) but I've generally done a shallow burial in a flower bed using my bare hands to move the dirt around.

[goldenpuon]

Thanks for answering my question Carl. I won't worry about that then and I'll also think twice before I take statements from that book as fact. It seems it is full of misinformation like a lot of places that give fish information.

[Carl]

Potassium Permanganate will turn brown as it oxidizes, then a milky clear color when it has become inert.

The test I describe in Aquarium Answer; Water Conditoners will show this process in speeded up sort of way by using a water conditioner to break down the PP (which you can see visually, unlike other oxidizers such as chlorine)

Carl