Cleaning a used tank

[ginny]

What is the best way to clean a used tank that has lots of deposits all over the glass and it has the gravel still in it? It is a 20 g tank and it looks like it hasn't been used in quite some time, got it from a friend of a friend who said it sat awhile. Thanks

 

[angelmom]

Except for the 125 we took everything out of the other tanks and washed them (do NOT use soap) in the bath tub with really hot water. I used a razor to scrap the stuff off the 125 but it is way to big to go in the tub so we just scrubbed it with a scrubby pad made for aquariums and used the hose. They came out fine.

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

if its acrylic dont use a razor because it will scratch. you also might try white vinegar.

 

[angelmom]

if its acrylic dont use a razor because it will scratch. you also might try white vinegar.

Good point Yahoo. All my tanks are glass so I didn't even think about that.

 

[Timbo]

If it's acrylic you might have to use soap or even bleach... But if you do..

Make very sure that it is rinsed clean after.

with bleach you may need to leave it for a few days for the bleach to de-nature.

 

[srangel]

re : how to clean tank

IMHO, bring the tank outside, hose it and scrub it w/ an aquarium scrubbie. Do not use soap or bleach! If you leave any residue, it will harm your fish. Fill w/ hot water and leave over night to soften the build up, then the next day hose it and scrub and hose it again. I hope this is helpful to you.

 

[ginny]

thank you so much for all the good advice, now to the dirty work yuck

 

[VirgoWolf]

My traditional means of operation are to fill the aquarium up with hot water with a little bleach (I am paranoid about spreading things to new tanks) scrub down, let soak, drain, scrub again, fill with luke warm water, scrub, drain, DRY COMPLETELY, sometimes rinse again, most times just fill and dechlorinate the HECK out of it. Then wash the outside with Windex very carefully. I have never had a problem this wqay and this way I know everthing is DEAD and CLEAN.