have a question about my tank

[g0nz0]

Hello everyone!
I am still in the very early stages of my salt water project (still acquiring supplies). Before i fill my 75 gallon tank up, i was a bit worried about my stand. Being on a budget and all i bought my 75 gallon tank with stand off craigslist for $120 (pretty awesome considering the price of a new tank). my worry is that the stand is made out of particle board and that the top of the stand (the part the tank sits on) doesn't have a table top. its just hallow and the tank rests on the sides of the stand. The previous owner said he had close to 200lbs of rock + the weight of water in it previously and he never had an issue, but i thought i would check with you guys first (especially after reading Ziggy953'stank setup post and seeing how his tank broke....75 gallons of water is a lot of water). At a minimum i was thinking of putting a thick sheet of plywood/some kind of tabletop on it. Deep down inside i know i should buy a real wood stand, but again its a money thing. What do you think?

eh just thought of something else - There is a bunch of black stuff along the caulking/seal at the corners of my tank. not sure if its mold, dirt or what. i tried lightly washing it with water, but i don't want to rub to hard and damage the seal.
Pics of everything below (sry for the bad quality, only have the cell camera at this time)

 

[roka64]

Stands are made that way. My 125's stand has no top. You should be good. Make sure your floor/stand is level.
That black stuff is probably mold....White vinegar and water do wonderful things!

 

[g0nz0]

white vinegar huh? never thought of that. Is white vinegar and water a good solution to pre-clean the entire tank with?

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Roka. That stand was built specifically for that tank. Make very certain that it is level. The tank is designed to carry the load on the plastic trim.

I also agree about the "black" stuff. White vinegar as roka said will take care of it or you can use a bleach solution to clean the tank just make sure to rinse the tank out really well and let it air dry for a day before adding your SW.

 

[roka64]

I would also suggest you asking the seller if they used any copper type meds in that tank.

 

[g0nz0]

I forgot to ask the previous owner this question. wouldn't cleaning the tank out with bleech and or vinegar clean out any copper based meds that might of been used in the past?

 

[roka64]

Nope, it will be absorbed in the silicone and then possibly leech into your system.
You can run something like this:
Pond Water Quality: Poly Filters Pond Filter Media

 

[g0nz0]

Hello everyone!
well i was finally able to get some white vinegar. i made up a 1/2 vinegar 1/2 water mix and cleaned out my tank. turns out that the mold is somehow in between the silicone and the glass . should i take a razor blade and gently scrape away all the silicone with mold under it and lay a new layer of silicone down or what?
just from lightly rubbing the silicone, i have noticed little chunks pealing away (probably not a good thing huh)

thanks to everyone for their help so far. i'm sure there will be many more questions down the road.