So, I got the tank, now what???

[batkitty]

So I got my tank. My aunt gave me her old 55 gallon. Actually it belonged to my uncle who died young of cancer. She's ready to move on, so I'm happily carrying on his legacy (well I'll try). It came with 3 fish, two Guormis and one minnow. They are in a 12 gallon for now until I decide exactly what
I want to do with this one. First of all, it has algae on it, in it. I have cleaned some of it with just water, but is there something else I can use to clean it well? Figuring 409 is not the best bet.

The hood has a lot of buildup on it that doesn't seem to want to come off, any advice there or a new hood?

What I would love is a planted tank with cardinal and some neon tetras and ??? But I don't know that I'm ready for fully planted.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Homedog98]

Use hot water, an algae scraper, and bleach for the tank. I'm not sure how much though.

 

[daileene]

try buying seachem excel and mixed it with water and put it in the spray bottle and spray it to the algae...

 

[DA fisherman]

I would fill it up .....Add 2 gallon of white vinegar ,2 tsp of bleach....for at least 24hrs let it run. then scrape or pass a rag either way that should kill the spores of the algae....then just make sure you clean off all the bleach and vinegar..... Fill it up and keep testing you water G.L.

 

[Crepe]

If there's no fish in there take out all the porous stuff like wood and sponges or airstones and soak in a 1:19 bleach water solution. Or if you are willing to give everything a good rinsing/not use the gravel again etc. a 1:5.

IMO the real value of the set up will be the equipment, not the substrate or whatever. A bag of gravel or PFS is like 10 bucks. Might as well start fresh and avoid the possible problems.

 

[batkitty]

There is nothing in there at the moment, not even water. I just moved it to my house. I'm not using the old gravel. I thought bleach but was worried it wouldn't rinse out enough. I think I will try that.

So what do you think about sand instead of gravel? Is that something not for beginners? I've had aquariums, but they were small and it has been a long time! I just like the look of sand.

 

[Crepe]

I like sand more than gravel. It's easier to keep clean and looks nicer. Pool filter sand gets my vote. At 50Lbs per 10-15 dollars at wal mart or pool supply stories. I know leslie's has it. You can fill your 55gallon easily with one bag. Cleaning it just involves waving your siphon around the surface of the sand to kick up the mulm and sucking it out. Making it look pretty is just raking it over a bit with a stick.

 

[spoonman]

If you use bleach, just rinse with water and dechlor. Bleach is Chlorine, that is what dechlor is for.