New tank and I need your advice

[Midwife@heart]

I was given through Freecycle a 24 gallon tank. All the owner said is that it was custom made in Argentina and that he used it for freshwater fish.
I have attached pics so you can see it and give me your opinion.
It measures: length 59.5 cm, width 29.5 cm, and height 49.5 cm.

My questions are:

-Do you think it is okay?
-How can I clean it? Some of the glass is a bit dirty and I know I shouldn't use detergent.
-Where can I find a top for it? The top for it was custom made and it is broken.
-Do you think the filter is okay? He said it was used for only a year and he gave it to me with a new cartridge. Should I buy another wheel thing lol or is that one fine?
-I was thinking of going to Goodwill or thrift stores like that and find it a sturdy real wood nightstand or small table to use it as the stand for it. Do you think that's safe?
-How should I go about cycling it and then transferring my fish from the 10g to this one? I plan on using the 10g for preg. females and fry.

Sorry for the bad photos. They were taken in the bathroom and on the kitchen counter.

This is the inside of the bottom. The tank goes inside this.

This is the bottom of the bottom lol. This is the part that goes on top of the stand. I am assuming he put this tape on the bottom so it wouldn't slip around?

This is the tank from above

This is the tank from the front

The filter

He also gave me the items below. Should I keep the or toss them?

-CaribSea AmmoBuster Extreme: Detoxifies Ammonia, Chlorine, and Chloramines.
-TetraAqua WaterClarifier
-EHEIM Automatic feeding unit.

TIA

 

[Kiara1125]

-Don't really know what you mean, but it looks nice. Great job on snagging it!!
-I use hot tap water, fill it up, and then dechlorinate the water. For the water spots on the outside (in my case) I use clorox wipes.
-If it's custom made, then idk.
-Idk if I;m correct, but the wheels shouldn't be replaced. If he's had the tank down for a while, you can clean it with hot DECHLORINATED water and use it again.
-I keep one 10g on a nightstand, it works great. My other two 10g are on a custom stand that me and my dad made. It's about 40" long and 1 inch thick. It's attached to my wall with 3 triangle brackets. It's been holding 200+ pounds for 4 months and it's doing great.
-Good idea. You can cycle the 29g filter in your current tank for a month and then transfer it over to the 29g along with all of the fish. Then, the tank is considered instantly cycled. While you run the filter in the 10g (while keeping the 10g filter running at the same time) you can go out and buy decor, etc. for the new tank.

They might have a use by date on them, but idk. Check. I think that you can still use the water conditioner.

BTW, you got another male Betta?? Congrats!! I love Bettas.

Here's my stand. It only cost me $10 to make.

 

[Fuzz16]

dont use hot water on anything, fill it with lukewarm, not cold or hot. room temp is best, with or without fish.

-Do you think it is okay?
fill it up outside and let it sit for a couple days, see if any leaks start. dont use it outside if its nasty or freezing out though, another option is putting it in a rubbermaid tub

-How can I clean it? Some of the glass is a bit dirty and I know I shouldn't use detergent.
i use vinegar and water as i try to avoid bleach but some people do a 50.50 bleach water solution, then wash out with water. blach should kill anything bad in the tank, since you dont know the history of it

-Where can I find a top for it? The top for it was custom made and it is broken.
you may have to find a way to make one from acrylic, or someone whose more handy may chip in

-Do you think the filter is okay? He said it was used for only a year and he gave it to me with a new cartridge. Should I buy another wheel thing lol or is that one fine?
you can replace the filter, and as you have no fish now it would be ok to do it now, but if you want to in the future make sure tank is pretty old so you have establish bacteria. the filters wheel is designed to harbor a lot of bacteria so you will loose a lot getting a new one, but with the tank established you should have enough on the decor and tank to be ok. and like kiara said, when washin it, do make sure to wash it in water you remove from the tank or use declohinator in it so not to kill bacteria



-I was thinking of going to Goodwill or thrift stores like that and find it a sturdy real wood nightstand or small table to use it as the stand for it. Do you think that's safe?
sturdy is good, nightstand would be fine, as long as tanmk is all on it with no edges hanging off and it is level. level is important, because too much pressure on one side could make it leak.

-How should I go about cycling it and then transferring my fish from the 10g to this one? I plan on using the 10g for preg. females and fry.
take some rocks from the 10g, put them in some panty hose and throw them in the new tank, with flter going. then add in some fish fish daily to feed the bacteria, and turn up the heat to mid-80s to encourage it to grow faster. takes about 4 weeks minimum. can also do small water changes to help.


is the bottom a cookie sheet? very interesting tank!

 

[Thyra]

I think it might be Big Al's that sells a hinge type thing that you can get and then have acrylic or glass panels cut to fit. the hinge if made out of some type of vinyl/plastic material.

 

[skjl47]

-
Here's my stand. It only cost me $10 to make.

Hello Kiara; Two things. One is that I have not used hot water to clean a tank so I cannot speak from experience, but it does seem a bit risky, maybe?? I guess that I never thought of it as I most often use a hose. If it works , then it works.
The other is about your stand. From the picture it appears to be on a shelf bracket attached to the wall. I guess the bracket must be screwed into the wall studs to be strong enough to hold the weight.
Two concepts new to me in one post. I believe that you are more adventurious than I.

 

[Midwife@heart]

Woohoo, I got the tank started. I washed it, I put the Banana plant from my 10g tank in it. I only have one rock in the 10g and I felt bad taking it away from the fish lol
I took pics. I will post them when I get back home.

 

[Kiara1125]

Hello Kiara; Two things. One is that I have not used hot water to clean a tank so I cannot speak from experience, but it does seem a bit risky, maybe?? I guess that I never thought of it as I most often use a hose. If it works , then it works.
The other is about your stand. From the picture it appears to be on a shelf bracket attached to the wall. I guess the bracket must be screwed into the wall studs to be strong enough to hold the weight.
Two concepts new to me in one post. I believe that you are more adventurious than I.

Haha, I wouldn't say that, skjl. But yes, I have 3 triangular brackets attached to the wall. They are very heavy duty, and the board has remained level.

I clean out all of my tanks (when getting a new one and setting it up) with hot tap water. I stick it in my bathtub (what?? it's small enough. ) and rinse it out with my showerhead. It works fine for me and I never thought twice about it. The tought of cleaning it that way just came naturally. All my fish are doing fine!! What's so bad about this method anyway that makes it so "risky"??

 

[Thyra]

My first thought would be on an used tank, hot water could weaken any seam seals and my second thought would be to be sure not to be moving the tank to empty it with the water you are washing it with in it - and not accidentally banging it on the sides of the tub. I really can't believe you bought 6 shelf brackets and two 2 boards for $10 - my luck hasn't been that good finding shelf brackets. lol

 

[skjl47]

Hello; After thinking about for a while without taking a nap I cannot come up with any good reasons why washing a tank with hot water is risky. I guess the temperature difference is not great enough to cause a thermal crack. You have already been doing it, so If hot water has not weakened seals so far as Thyra mentioned, then I guess I do not have a reason. It just was something never thought of and took me by suprise. By the time you are my age you will know ton's more about the hobby than I ever will. I spent so many years floundering around and learning the hard way.

 

[KcMopar]

I would buy all new filters. The round rotating filter never needs to be replaced unless is suffers a mechanical failure. This holds the beneficial bacteria that a tank needs. I have been using the same rotating filter for almost a decade.
When looking for a stand/table it needs to be able to support 200 plus pounds.

 

[Midwife@heart]

Here it is. This was yesterday. Now I have added a drift wood and a heater. Next will come plants.