Fixing someone's mistake

[George50]

My mom has been watching my tanks with envy and keeps saying she wants one for herself. Since my love of fish comes from watching her tend some 10 gallon aqauriums when I was a young man, I've decided to set her up a 55 gal freshwater.

I have access to a free 55 gallon tank with stand. Here's the problem. The guy tells me the tanks was neglected and hard water deposits built up on the inside. So he used a product called CLR to clean it. This stuff specializes in removing Calcium, Lime and Rust deposits (Hence the name).

The thought of a free $200.00 tank and stand is appealing, but I don't want to set my mom up with a futile situation with chemicals in the water. Is there a way to make this aquarium safe again or is it destined to be a lizard/rodent habitat for someone?

 

[Somethingfishy]

If you use some HOT water and a little vinegar and give it a good cleaning you should be OK. One thing I would check though is the seals inside the tank, make sure they are OK before dumping 55G of water into the tank and having it run into the living room.

 

[Sam]

I would be careful about the hot water as the glass could potentially crack. It is not designed for hot water. I would definitely sanction filling it with warm water and letting it sit for a while. This should flush any trace of the CLR out of the tank. I am familiar with CLR and it is basically a mild acidic solution with oxidizing agents in it. Pay careful attention to the seals as these may have dried out if the tank was sitting around for a while with the potential for a leak. I would carefully inspect the tank before filling and slowly start filling the tank, keeping an eye open for any leaks along the way. If everything checks out, then the tank should be good to go. I too had a 55G tank that I will be getting rid of (FW) as I am transitioning to a bigger SW tank. Hope this helps

 

[mulron]

Use a 10 part water to 1 part bleach solution(a weak solution doesn't have to be perfect) and wash it out. Then just get the hose out and turn it on and let the tank overflow with water for a bit. Shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I would be careful about mixing bleach or anything else with what's already in there....you could end up with a real toxic mess!

If it were me, I'd stick with water....

 

[steve-s]

I would be careful about mixing bleach or anything else with what's already in there

If the bleach is used properly in the solution suggested (10:1) by mulron, it will be fine as long as it is rinsed well with vinegar solution after as well as possibley a water conditioner and allowed to sun dry for a few days. Bleach is one of the most effective and safest cleaners when used properly.

Cheers
Steve

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I was worried less about the bleach, than the possibility of an ammonia-based cleaner residue mixing with the bleach....