How to clean used tank?....

[EdgarMedina1010]

I just got this new tank and I have no idea what it was used for it has no leaks and now I was wondering what else can I do to clean it.....Only thing I know is that it was used for freshwater fish....

 

[coolchinchilla]

I'd recommend vinegar and/or bleach then rinse and rinse and rinse. Fill the tank and use 2-3 times the normal dechlorinator and leave full for a few days to check for leaks. Rinse and rinse again. I did that with a tank I found in the trash house and it seems to be doing fine.

HTH.

 

[Burks]

Vinegar worked ok for some of my dad's old tanks. Bleach really didn't do much at all.

 

[physicsdude]

I agree with the chinch- using any sort of undiluted chemicals on the tank could leave residual traces of them when you decide to fill it up and put fish inside. In fact, using ordinary dish detergent soap would be fine as well, just be sure to rinse the tank thoroughly, especially the crevices where the glue is along the sides.

 

[JRagg]

Distilled white vinegar is the general consensus around here. Doesn't require excessive rinsing (still requires a few rinses), and does the job.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

thanks

 

[shayfish]

vinegar and water is all i would use

 

[BillD]

I bleach everything before reuse, to sterilize it, and white vinegar to remove mineral deposits. The vinegar will also neutralize the bleach.

 

[Guest]

just cleaned one that had been outside on a porch for months.

used a clean scrubbie, an old toothbrush, a razor blade and some good old fashioned elbow grease. And very hot water.

I thought i was going to have to re-seal it because of the algae residue on the silicone, but it came right off.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I use dilluted bleach and/or vinegar. Both are easy to rinse away. I'd steer clear of using soap; it's tough to get rid of all of it and can be very harmful for fish.

 

[Satsumas]

I've got myself an old, disused tank and i am now in the process of cleaning and leak checking.

First of all i washed the tank all over with some washing up liquid, that was mainly as a light clean so that i could fill the tank with water to check for leaks.

After washing it i did then fill it and left it over night. From what i see there is no leaks but i am not convinced yet. I then emptied the tank and washed it all over with bleach. I then rinsed the tank off and emptied it out, now i have just filled the tank again as a second leak check and also to help remove any bleach residue left over.

Finally i plan on emtpying the tank again and rinsing it down, then i might fill it again and leave it until it's ready to go into the house. (Emptying first of course )

 

[coldmachineUK]

I actually got my hands on some sterilisation tablets which dissolve in water. They are specifically for use with baby equipment, so they're not like using 100% undiluted bleach. I use these now, and have no problems. I rinse thoroughly after treating though.
They're good to use with gravel siphons too I've found.

 

[Sicklid]

using any sort of undiluted chemicals on the tank could leave residual traces of them when you decide to fill it up and put fish inside. In fact, using ordinary dish detergent soap would be fine as well, just be sure to rinse the tank thoroughly, especially the crevices where the glue is along the sides.

I can't believe you recommend detergent, while saying that other chemicals like bleach leaves residual traces. In fact, that's backwards. SOAP is extremely hard to get off completely, and dish soap is LOADED with moisteurizers and artificial scents like lemon and other crap... Bleach kills just about ANYTHING nasty left over from the old tank, and is neutralized by the common de-chlorinators every aquarist has. Heck, sunlight, or even AIR can break bleach atoms down to a safe level in a matter of hours...

 

[joannde]

Sicklid - I agree. Bleach does break down - ask anyone who has a pool and uses chlorine - the sun breaks the stuff down fairly quickly. So thats what I did when I cleaned out the 10G tank. I used diluted bleach and then rinsed like mad then left it in the sun for a few hours, and then used a bunch of Prime during the final rinse just in case.

 

[kmgriff72]

Oh, I hope I didn't screw mine up, I used straight bleach (not diluted) to clean and then rinsed very well. My tank has been sitting with nothing in it (including water) since the beginning of summer. I hope by the time that I get ready to start back up (after Christmas) everything will be ok. I had just planned on getting a really soaked rag and wiping it down good but now I wonder if I should drag it outside (it is not easy--75 gallon) and rinse it once again real good before filling it up. Any suggestions?

 

[joannde]

kmgriff, I wouldn't worry about using straight bleach vs diluted. if the tank has been empty that long any chlorine is dissipated by now. The only thing I would worry about is if you used one of those scented bleaches.

 

[kmgriff72]

No, it was not scented bleach, just regular old bleach. Thanks for the advice.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree that vinegar works well. I have an old tank that had horrible calcium deposits and was just nasty. I got an aquarium safe sponge that wouldn't scratch the glass and used some vinegar and it worked very well. I had to use alot of elbow grease and vinegar, but the tank looks almost brand new. I'd definitely do a leak test to make sure you don't need to reseal it.