Free Tank! Now what?

[pixelperson]

Talk about luck. My wife and a friend found what appears to be a slightly used 29 Gal. Tank + all heater, pump, filter, etc. sitting along side the road with a big "Take it -- Free" sign attached.

I have always wanted an aquarium, but never wanted to invest in all of the $$$ that is needed. Now we have this very cool tank + a nice stand, what is our next step.

Obviously cleaning it up a bit. (The interior of tank seems to have a batch of dust + the lamp housing is very moldy.)

So I think my first question is: "What should I use to clean?" I'm a bit leary of using bleach as I am not certain if it can be completely rinsed out during the cleaning process.

Other suggestions welcome... and thanks

[Menagerie]

[center:41f234bfc2] Welcome to AA, pixelperson!! [/center:41f234bfc2]

Wow--great find! If warm water won't do the job, many like a vinegar/water solution to clean tanks or, a saturated salt solution will work. Rinse well of course

If you can, can you give the brands of the "heater, pump, filter, etc"? We can let you know if any of it should be replaced.

After the tank is cleaned and you find out if the equipment works, it's time to cycle the tank. There is an article about the nitrogen cycle in the Articles section and here is an article about cycling without fish (you can also cycle using straight ammonia).

[pixelperson]

I appreciate the fast response. This week end I am in the process of rearranging our home to accomodate the new tank and stand.

So far so good.

We have located a new space not to close to a large window, yet near to a grounded electrical outlet. (Power for light, filter, pump etc.)

Today I plan on cleaning the nice wooden stand & giving it a good coat of wood finish & wax. Then I will use your method to clean the tank. (Water & vinigar)

I will also examine pump, filter etc. and pass along name, model and other info.

Still undecided about salt or freshwater. Leaning toward saltwater (I live in Florida...what can I tell you.)

Thanks

[Menagerie]

I don't keep [acronym:c0647303b0="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:c0647303b0] tanks, but I know that the larger the tank, the easier it is to care for (actually, the same applies to [acronym:c0647303b0="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:c0647303b0]). If you have [acronym:c0647303b0="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:c0647303b0] Qs, post them in the [acronym:c0647303b0="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:c0647303b0] forums to get prepared for your fish. The more info you have, the better off you and your fish will be!

[pixelperson]

Greetings,

I think that I have decided to purchase a new filter system and also to go the freshwater route.

I went on eBay and spotted a number of new filters. One brand caught my eye. The Penguin Bio Wheel seems to be interesting. I visited their main web site and noticed that they carry a model 125, which seems to be targeted toward the 30 [acronym:3f6b5bf0e7="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:3f6b5bf0e7]. tank (which I have). Vendors on eBay are listing these at (beginning bid) of $25.00. Filters for this unit seem to be about $8.00.

Do you have other suggestions?

Thanks

[ferret]

A 125 should be pretty good for a 30 gallon, but I would consider it almost "light" filtration. If you go slowly and don't overstock the tank, it'll do great, but if you want to use that 30 gallon "to the max" as it were, you may consider bumping up to a Penguin 330. Its basicly two 125's side by side, roughly. Its a much more powerful filter and will handle just about anything you can fit in that 30 gallon.

Depending on where you buy, a 330 should be under $40, if not under $30.

[Menagerie]

Penguins are great, as are AquaClears. Ebay is a great place to buy aquarium equipment. Most of it is new and much cheaper than you will find in the [acronym:00b8ad92ed="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:00b8ad92ed] or even on-line aquarium stores.

[pkremer]

Personally, I would not recommend a Penguin 125 for a 30 gallon. It may be 'designed' for a 30 gallon, but you can't really overfilter a tank. This doesn't mean that I would put a Penguin 330 on a 5 gallon tank, but I would tend to aim around 6-10 times your tanks capacity as far as filtration.

I would ignore the Penguin 125. That filter is what I would use on a 10 or 15 gallon tank. I think you could get away with a Penguin 170, but if you want to stock right up to the maximum or a even a little more, I would agree with ferret on the Penguin 330. I got my 330 for $35 and the Penguin 170 is $30. Better to have a little more filtration than you need than a little less.

Paul

[bunebop]

I would definatly buy your stuff online (esp the filter) I got mine off bigals.com for under half the price that they were in local stores

[Menagerie]

If you plan things out ahead of time, buying on line is great. Check out ebay, too.