Rebuilding an old abandoned 29g

That was amazing! ❤

What a truly educated and knowledgeable lot we are

LOL. Not so much educated, but more "willing to do whatever it takes to avoid dealing with my tank" Hmmm... Does this mean my tank now must have a Shakespeare theme

I let the full track sit overnight. Happy to report there are no leaks at all. I'm about to add bleach and empty it, but took some pictures of what awaits me at the bottom


I noticed a couple of "interesting" things: First is the large amount of built up algae sitting on top of the sand. It's like a carpet, in some places it's over an inch thick! There is also a lot of stuff (probably algae) underneath the sand. I'm shocked that a couple of plants seem to have survived. They look pitiful, but somehow are still alive and green. I can't recall what they were, but they are sure hardy! Worst are those white patches on top of the carpet of algae. The picture isn't clear (water is too murky) but those are not patches of sand. They are some weird white growth, probably fungus?

Here is another attempt to photograph those white patches:


Again, sorry for the terrible picture, but I think they are easier to see here. If anyone knows what that is, it would be interesting to know!

I'm about to pour some bleach in there and then proceed to empty the water. Will post pictures of the waterless tank once I do.

Looks like ....mould?

Ok. I scraped the glass as much as I could while the tank was still full, while the gunk was as wet as possible and so that most of that stuff would be siphoned out along with the water. I managed to get a lot of gunk off the walls and out with the water. I still have a bit of water left that I wasn't able to siphon out, but now I can get to the sand. Here is what I have left:


And now that I can see the DW, it's definitely getting tossed:

I guess the next step is to scoop out all the sand, algae, etc into a trash bag, and toss it along with the DW.

wgoldfarb said:

Ok. I scraped the glass as much as I could while the tank was still full, while the gunk was as wet as possible and so that most of that stuff would be siphoned out along with the water. I managed to get a lot of gunk off the walls and out with the water. I still have a bit of water left that I wasn't able to siphon out, but now I can get to the sand. Here is what I have left:

View attachment 147837
And now that I can see the DW, it's definitely getting tossed:
View attachment 147838
I guess the next step is to scoop out all the sand, algae, etc into a trash bag, and toss it along with the DW.

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just burn it with fire dude

wgoldfarb said:

Ok. I scraped the glass as much as I could while the tank was still full, while the gunk was as wet as possible and so that most of that stuff would be siphoned out along with the water. I managed to get a lot of gunk off the walls and out with the water. I still have a bit of water left that I wasn't able to siphon out, but now I can get to the sand. Here is what I have left:

View attachment 147837
And now that I can see the DW, it's definitely getting tossed:
View attachment 147838
I guess the next step is to scoop out all the sand, algae, etc into a trash bag, and toss it along with the DW.

Click to expand...

You are so brave…along with whatever is in the tank I’d have the contents of my stomach…just the thought of what that might smell like and the gloopy texture and I could gag…

CaptainBarnicles said:

just burn it with fire dude

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Yes, that's not a bad idea lol.

NannaLou said:

You are so brave…along with whatever is in the tank I’d have the contents of my stomach…just the thought of what that might smell like and the gloopy texture and I could gag…

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There is No smell other than the mild "normal" aquarium smell (which I will describe as more or less "sweet"?), and the whiff of sulfur from yesterday when I filled the tank. The texture is another thing altogether. I'm donning gloves and full PPE .

My real concern are the silicone seals. I let the tank sit overnight and there were no leaks at all, but if I look closely I think there is algae growing under some of the silicone. Once the tank is clean and dry I'll take a picture. If I have to reseal the tank, tbh I will probably wait for a sale and get a new one. I don't trust my caulking skills all that much and would live in fear of a disaster.

Fertig! Please, where is the Shakespeare-Fish Fish-Shakespeare translator in the web? I need it. Some of you authors have taken me out of order. With my rather nut-sized brain like at some very nice dinosaurs it'll be going to take me years to understand that Shakespeare-stuff clearly (but I stay on the ball). It sounds ENORMOUSLY beautifull!

For some more precise identifications of that weird proliferations in your tank I would contact Erich von Däniken to be sure, you still have the photos as an evidence (I want to believe).

I think this "bleach" as it is sold in Germany would contain some other substances as perfume and so on, and not only purely chlorine, it could be a problem (I thougth this stuff you was going to use was pure lye, that wouln't be problematic).

You have made your work great I must say, unbelievable, it's a pity to throw the tank away after this odyssey, I think a little bit of silicone could save your tank yet, perhaps it appears parsimonious if most of you in the USA are going to be owner of a swimming pool (do you too?), but I'm quite sure with a little silicon your tank will hold.

Plaese don't forget to tell me where I do find the translator, you know, the torture never stops as Frank Zappa used to say, hasta la vista.

Wow, what an ordeal. I hope you plan on fishing out those plants and saving them! They deserve to live.

Thank you, LaGrenouille, for the encouragement!

MonsieurLaGrenuoille said:

Please, where is the Shakespeare-Fish Fish-Shakespeare translator in the web?

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To end the literature detour: there is a phenomenal documentary by Al Pacino, filmed in 1996, called "looking for Richard". It explains in detail the Richard III play, including the historical context, some of the more obscure language, and even explains Shakespeare's iambic pentameter format. As a non-native speaker, it was the first time I was able to understand and appreciate a Shakespeare play in full. He plays out key scenes in the play (his acting is fantastic) as he explains the play in detail. If you ever wanted to truly understand Shakespeare, I strongly recommend this! It should be shown in every high school English course. The coolest part, he did most of it on a cheap handheld VHS camera (this was well before smartphones)

WhistlingBadger said:

Wow, what an ordeal. I hope you plan on fishing out those plants and saving them! They deserve to live.

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I was thinking of just tossing them with the sand, but you are right, they deserve to live! There is also a crypt in fairly good shape!

I probably won't be setting the tank up anytime soon. What would be a good way to keep these plants? We are talking about 3 very small plants, less than 3" tall each.

wgoldfarb said:

I was thinking of just tossing them with the sand, but you are right, they deserve to live! There is also a crypt in fairly good shape!

I probably won't be setting the tank up anytime soon. What would be a good way to keep these plants? We are talking about 3 very small plants, less than 3" tall each.

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Put them in a bucket with a couple inches of organic potting soil in the bottom, enough water to cover them, and a desk light on top for 12 hours a day. That ought to pep them up a bit.

I haven't read Shakespeare for years. Used to be really into his stuff, especially A Comedy of Errors (which I always think of as an extended "Who's on first" routine) and MacBeth. I was amused a few years back when builders found Richard III's tomb under a parking lot. Some good memes were had: