15-20 Year Old Aquarium Supplies

[Kraevan]

When I was young, my parents kept a 55 gallon FW tank. When we moved in 2000, most of it got packed up and never taken out of boxes again...until now.
My question is, can any of this stuff be safely reused in a fresh setup? If so, how do make this stuff safe for reuse?
I've still got the 55 gallon tank from the 90s and a 10 gallon tank as well. If my 6 gallon tank goes well, I'm thinking about putting some effort into finding a place for the 10 and 55 gallon tanks. So if I can reuse some of this stuff, then that saves me a decent chunk of change.
In addition to this stuff, we also found boxes of old mason jar canister filters, pumps, carbon and ammo remover, hob filter, power nozzles, water heaters, and substrate. This stuff was so old and crusty it didn't seem worth saving.

 

[Kraevan]

More Stuff...

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

All decorations and plastic plants should be fine, as well as the airstones.

I would definitely toss the heaters, the chance that they will fail is pretty high.

For the tanks, I'd do a leak test outside for at least a week.

Also all chemicals should be tossed as well, unless they are sealed.
Any other equipment?

 

[lksdrinker]

No point in tossing any of it without trying it first! I cant see much there that would be negatively affected by age; and its really not all that old. Some if it looks to be unopened. People keep some of these things in tanks that run for that long! Any chemicals that might need to be tossed likely have an expiration date listed on the package somwhere. The activated carbon should be fine. The sponge inserts should be fine. Some of the airstones that are not in a package might crumble away on you. the decorations certainly dont expire and if you like the way they look you could definitely use them.

 

[Cecibella123]

I would certainly sterilize the decorations before using, just in case. IMO, I wouldn't chance the heaters. Heaters are inexpensive, so I would buy new. Some chemicals, even in sealed packaging, can lose their effectiveness over time, but I don't think there would be any harm in using them. They just may not do what they're supposed to do; like taking 15 year old Tylenol -it won't hurt you, but it won't help your headache either.

 

[Kraevan]

Thanks for all your replies!

So a leak test is just filling the tanks with water and watching for leaks, right?

Definitely not keeping the heaters. Or pumps/filters/media, to be honest. I'm really only thinking about keeping what's in the pictures. The carbon is in an unsealed plastic 1gal jar and the ammo remover is in opened cartons. The pumps are super loud, and the canister/hob filters are old, crusty, and some of the plastic pieces are broken. I would also think there are much better filter designs almost two decades later, basic concepts aside.

Some of the plants in the pictures above are brittle and break easy, so those are out, but the rest of it seems to be in pretty good condition. I wouldn't add the shells/(used-to-be) live rock to a freshwater tank either.

How do I sterilize this stuff and then make sure it's safe for a new aquarium? A lot of this stuff has green residue from when it was in use and it's been sitting in boxes in our garage for the last 16 years accumulating all sorts of dust and spiderwebs. I'd rather like to make sure putting it in a new tank doesn't add anything negative to it.

 

[Cecibella123]

I would probably hose it off well in the yard, then douse it with near boiling water. That should kill anything still alive on it.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

Thanks for all your replies!

So a leak test is just filling the tanks with water and watching for leaks, right?

Definitely not keeping the heaters. Or pumps/filters/media, to be honest. I'm really only thinking about keeping what's in the pictures. The carbon is in an unsealed plastic 1gal jar and the ammo remover is in opened cartons. The pumps are super loud, and the canister/hob filters are old, crusty, and some of the plastic pieces are broken. I would also think there are much better filter designs almost two decades later, basic concepts aside.

Some of the plants in the pictures above are brittle and break easy, so those are out, but the rest of it seems to be in pretty good condition. I wouldn't add the shells/(used-to-be) live rock to a freshwater tank either.

How do I sterilize this stuff and then make sure it's safe for a new aquarium? A lot of this stuff has green residue from when it was in use and it's been sitting in boxes in our garage for the last 16 years accumulating all sorts of dust and spiderwebs. I'd rather like to make sure putting it in a new tank doesn't add anything negative to it.

Yes, fill the the tank up and check for leaks. If do at least 3-5 days.

I would not boil any of the stuff as it can melt, or disfigure. If at all bleach it with a 1:20 dilution of bleach(1) to water(20).

 

[Kraevan]

Thanks for the tips. Boiling some of the decorations sounds like a good idea (drift wood stuff) and bleach sounds like a good idea for the plastic stuff. I'll have to do some more research. I assume I'll have to soak the decorations in a Prime solution after the bleach...

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

Thanks for the tips. Boiling some of the decorations sounds like a good idea (drift wood stuff) and bleach sounds like a good idea for the plastic stuff. I'll have to do some more research. I assume I'll have to soak the decorations in a Prime solution after the bleach...

Completely forgot about the wood, that would definitely be better boiled!

I would rinse all of the bleached plants and then place in a bucket of 3x dose of prime, for a few hours (overnight...)

 

[Kraevan]

I'll make sure I do that! Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Mebbid]

Bleach breaks down super fast when it's exposed to sunlight and the atmosphere (That's why bleach is never sold in clear containers)

After bleaching rinse it off thoroughly and allow to dry out in the sun. For the bleach solution 1tbsp per gallon is sufficient to make a basic cleaner. There won't be anything living on any of the decor that would be particularly harmful to your fish so a stronger solution won't be necessary.

The carbon and ammonia remover (assuming it's not a liquid ammonia remover) will be perfectly fine to use.

Suggested filters:

http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-70-Power-Filter-Includes/dp/B000260FUW
Either the 70 or the 110. I use a 110 myself.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...O6lbRoLcR1BrJR_XCfPLcraHA0Atyzr3ExxoC03Pw_wcB
Great reviews, I haven't used them myself.

 

[Kraevan]

@Mebbid

I'll keep your suggestions in mind when I break out the 55g. Thanks!

Sent from my XT1254 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Mebbid]

One last thing, just to be safe since the tank has been in storage soo long i would go ahead and reseal it just to be safe. Its a pretty easy task, just requires some elbow grease.

 

[jessipanda]

One last thing, just to be safe since the tank has been in storage soo long i would go ahead and reseal it just to be safe. Its a pretty easy task, just requires some elbow grease.

+1

I had to do this with my old 55g. I tested it outside for a few days, appeared to be fine, then set it up. Ended up having a small leak. Had to break it all down and reseal it. It's not hard, just a bit time consuming. Plenty of how-to's on youtube. Once done and dried for at least 24 hrs, fill it back up outside and leave it for a couple days to make sure it's not leaking.
Good luck!