• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Reusing a Tank

Dragonfly

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Feb 4, 2023
Messages
3
Hi! I am new to having an account but I have been into octopuses for a while now. (I have never owned an octopus). I am looking into fostering small pets right now like small lizards, mice, etc. If I get a large 100 gallon or so tank and house other animals in it can I put an octopus in it in the future or would that not work due to contamination of some sort. Obviously I would clean it well between animals.
Thank you!
 

pkilian

Vampyroteuthis
Staff member
Moderator (Staff)
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
282
I would never recommend someone to re-use a tank for an octopus that has housed non-aquatic animals. But if you are planning to do so, first make sure the tank is rated for aquaria. Most tanks designed for reptiles use thinner glass and may not be sealed properly to prevent leaks. Secondly, the best way to clean the tank would be to use bleach and then neutralize with sodium thiosulfate. That should sterlize the glass, but you still have to worry about the silicone sealant. Silicone can absorb and hang on to nasty chemicals for long periods of time, so if you are set on reusing the tank, I would recommend removing the silicone and re-sealing the tank yourself before you put an octopus in it.

Again, I wouldn't recommend doing this and would never do it for my own animals. The safest bet would be to have separate tanks for aquatic and non-aquatic animals. If you are going to reuse the tank anyway, bleaching and thio-ing the tank, and then replacing the silicone would be, in my opinion, the safest way to do it.
 
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