vivarium cleaning

[rwg]

Hello,

I'm wondering how people with large-ish vivariums go about cleaning and disinfecting their setups. Mine is not so large that I cant get it to my bathtub, but it is large enough (40 gallon) that it is inconvenient to do so, so I was wondering if there's an easy way.

[steen]

I've found that the easiest way to clean a large enclosure is with a wet/dry shop vac. You can use it to suck all of the substrate and waste out of the tank. After you've done that, use a solution of bleach water on a washcloth to thoroughly clean the tank. Go back through with a clean damp cloth to rinse it out and then a dry one to (you guessed it!) dry it. VERY IMPORTANT: Be sure that the tank doesn't still smell like bleach! Hope this helps!

Kristine

[drewlowe]

i take mine outside to clean. i wash with anti bacterial soap then bleach then antibacterial soap again with 2 rinses inbetween each cleaning. I know all of this isn't necissary but i do it just in case.
That wet/dry shopvac sounds like a good idea. I may have to invest in one of those. Beats carring 3 75 gal. tanks outside.

[Invictus]

I posted this in another thread, but for those of you who use bleach to clean your vivs: rinse with SALT water first, then regular water. The salt will dissolve the chlorine.