BonJecker
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Just purchased a used tank today off of Craigslist. Previous owner stated their batfish developed "ick" and they could not remedy the problem and gave up on their saltwater tank. They only had it running about six months after purchasing everything new.
Anyway, tank is mostly clean, but still contains some algae on the walls that I have been scrubbing off with just plain water on a paper towel.
1. What is the best way I can clean the algae residue from the acrylic tank?
2. I received buckets of crushed coral with my purchase. I'm thinking to be on the safe side, I should toss it all and purchase some new sand/substrate from a local pet store?
3. What is the best way for me to clean the filter and the hoses, etc... or should I just buy new hoses and toss the old ones?
4. Is there anything else I should toss? I received a bunch of imitation coral decorations to put inside the tank that were likely "contaminated" also.
I want to be sure I do not contaminate my new set up by using harmful cleaners on the acrylic/parts. Also, the previous owner said they added copper to the tank and that I may not be able to use the crushed coral they provided if I wanted to have invertabrates (which I was intending to do eventually). So tossing the substrate and purchasing new sand is already on my list, but do I need to be concerned about the copper remaining on any of the other equipment at this point?
Anyway, tank is mostly clean, but still contains some algae on the walls that I have been scrubbing off with just plain water on a paper towel.
1. What is the best way I can clean the algae residue from the acrylic tank?
2. I received buckets of crushed coral with my purchase. I'm thinking to be on the safe side, I should toss it all and purchase some new sand/substrate from a local pet store?
3. What is the best way for me to clean the filter and the hoses, etc... or should I just buy new hoses and toss the old ones?
4. Is there anything else I should toss? I received a bunch of imitation coral decorations to put inside the tank that were likely "contaminated" also.
I want to be sure I do not contaminate my new set up by using harmful cleaners on the acrylic/parts. Also, the previous owner said they added copper to the tank and that I may not be able to use the crushed coral they provided if I wanted to have invertabrates (which I was intending to do eventually). So tossing the substrate and purchasing new sand is already on my list, but do I need to be concerned about the copper remaining on any of the other equipment at this point?