I purchased my 60g tall tank in March 2019 new from local fish store. I had it up and running nicely until April of 2021 when I fell very ill with cancer and no one was around who could care/maintain my tank. All the fish and the live plants sadly perished and the water evaporated out of the tank leaving dried on plant matter and dirty gravel as the only tank inhabitants. It has sat in this condition in my living room since. I have finally finished cancer treatments and am finding the energy to get my house chores caught up and I have now taken all the old plant matter, gravel, decor out of the tank. I have a steam cleaner I plan to use to clean the tank but it's too tall for me to reach into the tank to the bottom without putting my considerable weight on the top rim of the glass since I'm only 5' 2" tall and the tank is 25" deep and is on a 39" tank stand. I'm hoping you all can give me some advice on how to get my tank back to it's original beauty. my biggest questions are 1. can I lay the tank on it's side so as to use the steam cleaner to clean the glass without causing damage? 2. Would it be better to lay a moving blanket on the tailgate of the truck outside to use the garden hose to spray out the heavier debris first so the water can be dumped on the ground? 3. Can a mixture of Lemon juice and Vinegar be used as a fish safe cleaning agent? I have seen mixed reviews on this one as some say that both lemon juice and vinegar can be added to a tank for PH issues and some say DO NOT ADD these to a tank implying that it's not safe. Can someone please clarify keeping in mind that my tank will be cleaned, then left to dry completely and then I plan to use CaribSea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate in the new setup and I plan to plant live plant seeds in the gravel and allow them to germinate before I fill the tank with water and then I will need to recycle the tank before any new fish are added. My original cycle on this tank also took 2 1/2 months to complete its initial cycle because of its size and that was with Biospira bacteria added and gravel from an old tank to help it cycle
HELP: trying to save my $1000 60g tank
- Thread starter Ann1874
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Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
First off, Glad to read you are better. 
That must have been some experience for you.
For a glass tank, I'm not so sure about using a steam cleaner on the tank. Personally, if the tank is empty and you have removed the gravel, I would fill it up, add straight chlorine bleach to the tank. let it sit for a couple hours then scrub the sides with a No-scratch pad ( that you use for Teflon coated pans) before siphoning out the water. If you can't reach the bottom, get yourself or make yourself a sponge on a stick. so that you can. The bleach will soften any matter on the glass as well as sterilize anything that may have been growing in the tank. You will know that it's working when you see whatever debris left on the glass is turning white. Do a couple of flushes of the tank to get as much of the chlorine out as you can. If you are letting the tank sit to dry out, any remaining chlorine will dissipate but if you are unsure, you can neutralize any remaining bleach by using a dechlorinator at 2 - 3 times the recommended dose.
If this is a plexiglass tank, I would contact the manufacturer and ask them for a recommendation on how best to clean it.
There is an inherent danger when moving a large tank that has been set up before. If it is not placed back exactly where it was on the stand, the seams could split or the glass could break. It's always best to not move larger tanks.
As for using lemon juice or vinegar, neither will harm fish if used at the proper dosage but you can kill the fish with them if you make the Ph too low ( which is what they will do) or too fast. They are not a product I would use directly into a tank. They would be applied to water before adding to a tank so that the parameters could be measured so as not to overdose.
Hope this helps.
That must have been some experience for you.For a glass tank, I'm not so sure about using a steam cleaner on the tank. Personally, if the tank is empty and you have removed the gravel, I would fill it up, add straight chlorine bleach to the tank. let it sit for a couple hours then scrub the sides with a No-scratch pad ( that you use for Teflon coated pans) before siphoning out the water. If you can't reach the bottom, get yourself or make yourself a sponge on a stick. so that you can. The bleach will soften any matter on the glass as well as sterilize anything that may have been growing in the tank. You will know that it's working when you see whatever debris left on the glass is turning white. Do a couple of flushes of the tank to get as much of the chlorine out as you can. If you are letting the tank sit to dry out, any remaining chlorine will dissipate but if you are unsure, you can neutralize any remaining bleach by using a dechlorinator at 2 - 3 times the recommended dose.
If this is a plexiglass tank, I would contact the manufacturer and ask them for a recommendation on how best to clean it.
There is an inherent danger when moving a large tank that has been set up before. If it is not placed back exactly where it was on the stand, the seams could split or the glass could break. It's always best to not move larger tanks.
As for using lemon juice or vinegar, neither will harm fish if used at the proper dosage but you can kill the fish with them if you make the Ph too low ( which is what they will do) or too fast. They are not a product I would use directly into a tank. They would be applied to water before adding to a tank so that the parameters could be measured so as not to overdose.
Hope this helps.
thanks
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I'm feeling much better but I still have a ways to go as I'm still awaiting my 1 year follow up appointment to make sure all cancer is gone but I'm hoping to get my tank cleaned and at least cycled within the next couple of months. Don't plan to add fish until I get the all clear on my health condition. That being said, I often use lemon juice and vinegar as a cleaning agent around the house instead of chemicals such as bleach because both are good natural degreasers/cleaners who clean better than most chemicals anyways. I don't plan to leave those in the tank. Just spray on and wipe off. I appreciate the warning about moving the tank. I had not thought about what moving the tank would do to it.
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I'm feeling much better but I still have a ways to go as I'm still awaiting my 1 year follow up appointment to make sure all cancer is gone but I'm hoping to get my tank cleaned and at least cycled within the next couple of months. Don't plan to add fish until I get the all clear on my health condition. That being said, I often use lemon juice and vinegar as a cleaning agent around the house instead of chemicals such as bleach because both are good natural degreasers/cleaners who clean better than most chemicals anyways. I don't plan to leave those in the tank. Just spray on and wipe off. I appreciate the warning about moving the tank. I had not thought about what moving the tank would do to it.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
I just find bleach ( unscented, no additives) much easier and quicker to use. I've used it on tanks, my coral decorations in my marine tanks, plastic plants that got covered in algae, post disease hospital tanks..... It's just so sanitizing.
I know you said you used materials from another tank to cycle this one but I'll add that I have used Fritzyme #7 for my hatchery tanks to start them ( then used the established sponges in new tanks) and found it to be very effective. Really shortened the cycling process.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi and welcome to the forum
Good to hear your recovering and getting better
You can use vinegar or lemon juice (or both) in an aquarium to clean it. You have to leave it in contact for longer than bleach but it's less harmful than bleach. Bleach can damage silicon (the glue used to hold the glass together). Vinegar and lemon juice will not damage silicon. The silicon tolerates acids much better than alkaline substances so vinegar won't affect the silicon but bleach can.
You don't want to use a steam cleaner on glass. You can crack the glass and need a new tank. Aquarium glass and heat is not a good combination. You can get heat resistant glass but they don't use it for aquariums. If glass aquariums get hot (from boiling water, fire or sunlight), they can crack.
You don't have to do anything major to clean the tank. I would just wash it out with tap water. If the gravel is gross, replace it. Then set it back up with dechlorinated tap water and cycle it.
Quite often you can fill the tank and let it soak with water for 24 hours, then wipe it out and drain it. Once the dried algae gets wet, it comes off pretty easily.
Good to hear your recovering and getting better
You can use vinegar or lemon juice (or both) in an aquarium to clean it. You have to leave it in contact for longer than bleach but it's less harmful than bleach. Bleach can damage silicon (the glue used to hold the glass together). Vinegar and lemon juice will not damage silicon. The silicon tolerates acids much better than alkaline substances so vinegar won't affect the silicon but bleach can.
You don't want to use a steam cleaner on glass. You can crack the glass and need a new tank. Aquarium glass and heat is not a good combination. You can get heat resistant glass but they don't use it for aquariums. If glass aquariums get hot (from boiling water, fire or sunlight), they can crack.
You don't have to do anything major to clean the tank. I would just wash it out with tap water. If the gravel is gross, replace it. Then set it back up with dechlorinated tap water and cycle it.
Quite often you can fill the tank and let it soak with water for 24 hours, then wipe it out and drain it. Once the dried algae gets wet, it comes off pretty easily.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Never had that happen and I've cleaned thousands of tanks with chlorine bleach.
It CAN effect the silicone if its left in the water over a prolonged period of time but for just cleaning, not an issue. Here's one of many articles about how to use it correctly in an aquarium. https://www.thesprucepets.com/is-bleach-safe-for-aquarium-use-1381085
