Used lots of cleaners on inside of tank.. am I hosed?

[DaveHoffman]

I had a couple 29-gal tanks in storage for years and years, and I recently got a bug to at least get one of them up again.

The one was really dirty, it had a filmy band of scum or something stretching down a few inches from the top, and another band down around where the gravel line was. Hot water and a new scouring pad didn't make a dent.

So I busted out the 409, Windex, and any other bathroom cleaner I could find to tackle soap scum, mildew, and the like. After hours of scrubbing, I got 98% of that stuff off, and it all looks clear and clean again.

I bought me some new gravel, a few new fake plants, a new power filter, and loaded it up with water a few days ago. That's where it sits.

So I started reading around the net for ideas on fish and decorating, and I ran across a mention of never using any type of cleaner in a tank, not even soap! With the thousands of warnings I've since tripped over, it would seem like common sense, and I feel a little stupid. More stupid, since I'm not new at this.

I suppose my passing thought while cleaning it was that anything harmful would dispel or get filtered out over a few days.

Advice? Should I empty everything out of it and rinse everything down.. gravel, plants, interior, everything? Or will letting the filter work for a week or two clean out any toxins?

 

[NigelK8485]

Can you just use one of the other tanks or buy a new one just as a precautionary?

I'd think it'd be okay as long as you filled it up and kept doing water changes and wait awhile to add fish. Maybe give it a scrub or let it soak with distiller white vinegar and water just as an added measure and use some carbon in your filter while you wait.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[t57spikes]

As long as you rinsed it out really well you will be fine. If i wash a tank with any cleaners i rinse really well and then fill it up and add 3X the dosage of Prime to treat the tank and let it sit over nigth, rerinse and i have never had a single issue.

 

[DaveHoffman]

Thanks for the replies.

I hosed it out initially to get all the dust and everything out, but I'm fairly certain I threw it on the stand after scrubbing it with the cleaners. I was multi-tasking that day, so memory is hazzy what order I did things looking back. So probably no spraying it out with the hose afterward, unfortunately.

My filter has a big charcoal packet in there, so at least that doesn't hurt. Maybe I'll do some big water changes and finish it off extra Prime.

 

[Mebbid]

People are nuts about that tbh. Glass and silicone don't absorb stuff so it's perfectly fine. Just clean well and call it a day.

Theres salt water people that say you should never use a tank as a display that has been used in a copper treatment....

 

[aqua_holic]

People are nuts about that tbh. Glass and silicone don't absorb stuff so it's perfectly fine. Just clean well and call it a day.

Theres salt water people that say you should never use a tank as a display that has been used in a copper treatment....

Hahaha agreed!

Perhaps SW inverts are way more sensitive than FW inverts?

 

[Mebbid]

Hahaha agreed!

Perhaps SW inverts are way more sensitive than FW inverts?

Sw keepers are way more sensitive than fw keepers they really get nuts about these things.

I copper treated my whole tank. Rocks and substrate included. That was 6 months ago and not a single problem has happened because of it.

 

[aqua_holic]

Sw keepers are way more sensitive than fw keepers they really get nuts about these things.

I copper treated my whole tank. Rocks and substrate included. That was 6 months ago and not a single problem has happened because of it.

Yeah with the cost of SW stuff that's not a surprise. That's a pretty common theme in the hobby though

 

[BillD]

In this situation, I would start over from scratch with a good rinse of everything. I have found that bleach will get rid of most organic materials and vinegar will get rid of mineral deposits. Don't mix the two. No need for detergents. However, if doing a reseal, I usually clean the glass inside the tank and out with an a glass cleaner.

 

[DaveHoffman]

When I had my tanks up years ago, I never did anything to the water. I dumped tap water right in, never added chemicals or anything. I never did any water changes (outside of filling back up after cleaning the gravel once in a long while). I never had any issues with the fish either.

Of course, there really wasn't an internet 20 years ago, so I didn't know any better. I've been out of the game for a while, so just making sure I wouldn't be dropping these little guys into a nuclear wasteland... or if I was just being way too paranoid to what I've been reading.

 

[ppo8820]

It should be fine. If you want to know for sure, then you can re-rinse it out, but thats a lot of work. I am guessing if you rinsed it well, and do a few partial water changes now, you are good to go. Also, suds forming on the surface will be a tell tale sign you got cleaner in there.

 

[Pamiam]

I agree with the others, just rinse out well...and also if you notice any cleaner smell besides bubbles, keep rinsing

 

[trennamw]

It's hard to say how stubbornly chemicals will stick. Might be fine, might not, depending on what you used. Lots of stuff is so volatile it disperses easily, some has real staying power.

It'd take a year to research every ingredient of everything you used. I'd empty the tank and let it dry completely, then scrub it with baking soda, then rub it down with prime on a rag, soak the decor in a strong prime solution, then let it run with charcoal and discard the charcoal.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[Tolak]

I've used everything up to & including Sno-Bowl toilet bowl cleaner on tanks. Rinse it really well, as mentioned run carbon.