cleaning a tank..?

[Bleurble]

Well I have a 10 gallon tank at home, somewhat old and used.. Is there anything I could clean this tank with so I could salvage this tank and use it again? I know you can't use soap to clean a tank, but is there any alternative ways to clean the tank?.. please any help would be great!

 

[Matt Nace]

I just bleached my 29 gallon and all its gravel, rocks, and decor.They looks so pretty and clean now!

I used about 1 part bleach(clorox) to 10 parts water. I might go a little less though for cleaning, like 15 or 20 to one.

My objective was to kill everything.I had blue/green algae, and wasn't going to spend the 14 bucks for medicine that my LFS wanted to charge me. Besides..I know it is dead now.

I rinsed it very well, then scrubbed a tad(bleach kinda makes everything come right off), then rinsed until it wasn't "slick" and didn't smell like bleach. Bleach will leave a slippery feeling on your fingers.
 I didn't , but you may want to use gloves. It even took the lime away from the top. I let it soak for about 20 minutes or so.

Just make sure you rinse well.

 

[Bleurble]

Thank you very much. I just may try that.. but what I'm concerned about is will bleach leave a residue like soap will. I know when you clean a tank with soap it leaves a residue, harmful for fish...will the bleach do the same?

 

[colesea]

Bleach won't leave as much a residue as soap does. Bleach can really linger in areas where water collects though, like in porous rock where it may be hard to get all the water out completely.

But if you are truely worried about bleach being left behind, soak everything in your dechlorinator as well. There really isn't a ratio to make a dechlorinated solution, I pretty much just use the dechlorinator very librally in a bucket of water and soak my bleached stuff in that for a day.
~~Colesea