cleaning lizard tank for cichlids?

[Oblivion]

im looking at buying this tank tomorrow so im hoping to get some speedy advice,
4ft Aquarium with extras - Pets, pet supplies / pet products - Gumtree Adelaide Region

i'd like to divide it into 2 tanks, one for a holding female and the other for fry.

its had snakes/lizards in it, is this going to be a problem for fish and do i need to somehow sterilise it or can i just use clean water and a wipe out?

any advice greatly appreciated before i make the purchase.

 

[ocean]

Give it a good cleaning with 1 part pure ammonia/10 parts water.....

 

[Sonomakid]

IMO vinegar would work better.

 

[mfdrookie516]

That looks like a nice tank, the rimless design is something that just looks really nice. I'm not so sure your plan to divide the tank will work out. Since you said holding females, I can only assume you're going to be stocking africans. 4' is the minimum tank size for the majority of malawi cichlids, with many requiring a 6' tank. Blocking off part of the tank to serve as a refuge for the holding females would limit your stocking dramatically.

I'm not a big fan of using a tank that's had reptiles or other animals in it. Sometimes they chew on the silicone, but who knows what kind of diseases might be in there. IMO, it would be best to bleach it just to be on the safe side.

 

[Oblivion]

i was planning to make a temporary divider out of mesh which can be fitted/removed easily.

the plan is when i get a holding female i was putting her in the existing 2ft for some peace and to spit naturally, then after a few days recovery putting it back in the main tank.

so the 8 fry are ~2mths old and doing well in the 2ft, but i have another holding female.

i decided i could get a 4ft tank, setup a temporary divider so the existing fry are on 1/3rd, and give mum the remaining 2/3rd to brood + spit naturally.
put the new fry in a breeder net for the first few weeks, mum back to the main tank, and remove the divider to give the fry the full 4ft until the next brooding female comes along.

i dont plan to house mature fish, but rather use it for brooding females refuge, and fry grow out

 

[Oblivion]

2 of 8 fry, and their existing home

 

[mfdrookie516]

Ohh, ok. That sounds like a plan then.

 

[Bl80]

I dont think I'd use the stones, driftwood etc... But as long as you clean tank with diluted bleach a time or two and rinse well ( never hurts to add extra de clorination to tank when filling) should be ok. I use vinegar to clean the build up and stuff... But u need to kill bacteria.

 

[Oblivion]

ok, i left the previous owner with the driftwood, gravel etc, and got the aquarium cheaper ($80)

it was apparently washed out with soapy water, and i have purchased "cloudy ammonia" and also "cleaning vinegar" to clean the tank with.

not sure which would be best, i was going to use the cleaning vinegar directly applied to a cloth and wipe the tank out
then follow up with a diluted ammonia in a bucket hand wash, maybe fill it with strong salty water and let it soak for an hour or two
then finish with a bloody good hose down ?

(opinions appreciated)

i have 2 golden comet's which will be the "canary in the coal mine" for the next week to check everythings safe.. i figure if they live a week it should be fine for my brooding cichlid and my 8 fry


i need to find somewhere inside thats sturdy enough for the weight of it. the kitchen counter is good but gets a lot of sunlight through the windows, and the coffee table i wanted to put it on in the lounge is 30cm too short and not sure if it can take the weight
(it currently supports a 2ft tank with no problem whatsoever)

its home built with recycled floor boards and solid timber (no chipboard) so its very strong and holds my weight easily, but i have my doubts about 250kg of water, rocks, etc with 15cm over hanging each end.

might just have to deal with a bit of algae from the kitchen light until i can source a longer table.

 

[HUKIT]

I would use a mild solution of bleach and warm water to clean it throughly, I've never owned reptiles but hear about all the nasty things they can carry like salmonella. Now how that would effect fish I have no idea but bleach will kill just about everything harmful.

 

[Oblivion]

ok, i put about 5 cups of "regular bleach" into a bucket with about 10L of fairly warm water (a little bit steamy) and poured it into the tank

used some thick towelling and scrubbed it down for about 10mins, especially the corners.

flipped the tank upside down (always kept it on 2 layers of cardboard), and used the hose on high pressure setting to blast the inside of the tank from top down so all the water runs straight out the tank.
done that for 5-10mins constant.

flip it right way up. 10% fiill straight from the garden hose.
another thick towelling scrub down.

inverted tank again, gave it a 2nd good hose out so all the water runs straight out the tank.

then i just dried it off and its currently 95% filled with tap water and sitting on a 10mm foam sheet on my concrete outdoor table.

no leaks, looks sturdy, and the tank looks amazingly clear now too.

about to drain and transfer to the kitchen counter where it'll stay for a month until a proper tank stand is built by my fantastic parents who love doing woodwork.

 

[HUKIT]

Sounds great, good luck on the fry. Don't forget to thank your parents for the all the work they do, I wish my son was interested about this hobby.

 

[Oblivion]

well the canaries have entered the coal mine.

its pretty empty, but i gave em a couple of cheezy ornaments, a bit of drift wood, and two potted plants that im trying to recover from a cichlid mauling

im expecting the two golden comet goldfish to live, they seem very happy in such a big tank.
i want them to join all the other fish in my outdoor pond when theyve done their tour of duty

 

[Bl80]

Are you using substrate or filter media from another tank to help cycle???

 

[Oblivion]

ill leave the goldies in for 48hrs.

then ill add both CC sand and the filter which have been in the 2ft tank, it should help the cycle along considerably.

eventually ill get/make a tray along the top with a wet dry filter setup in it, kinda like my main tank has.

 

[Oblivion]

the tank's still nice and clear

golden comet's have been eating like pigs, and happily swimming back and forth in the tank
so today i put them into the 1400L (400gal?) lily pond to meet 28 new comet/fantail/black moore/shubunkin/golden comet friends + 2 tandanus catfish that call it home.

i raised the tanks temp to 25c with hot water (and some prime) and fitted a heater aswell, i already added cc sand this morning after removing the goldies.

so i added 2 of the zebra obliquedens fry in there until tomorrow when i transfer all the gear out of the 2ft and into the 4ft aswell.

now my electric blue is looking fabulous again and doing his jiggy dance to his 2nd wife, i guess it'll be good timing as i can raise 2 batches of elec blue fry together. you go boy!