starting an 85 gallon. :)

Ok! well what can I put in the tank? and should I give my molly to the LFS?

Yes, I would give the molly away.

As for what fish to keep - just about any fish originating in south America or Asia or African rivers. Not all of them by any means as some are too big for your tank and some don't play nicely with other fish.
The fish to avoid are those that originate in central America (that's where the common livebearers are from) and African Rift Lakes.

We finally got the tank upstairs!! We also learned that the owner's nephew put fried chicken in the tank when it was full.. Any ideas on cleaning it out? (FYI, got the tank for free). My mom is thinking 75% water, 25% bleach solution to soak and then rinsing with water might work. Also to clean the glass from fried chicken?

For the filter, i have this tank (photos below). How often to change the cartridges, there is filter media, activated charcoal ect. Also, should i change it due to the fried chicken, i rinsed it till it turned clean. Any help is appreciated!

I've never had to clean fried chicken off glass, I'm not sure how to go about that!

Since you've washed all the filter media - in tap water I presume? - I would be inclined to replace it all especially if there's a risk of fried chicken contamination. You don't need carbon/charcoal in the filter, all it's useful for is removing medication after treating sick fish. All you actually need are sponges and ceramic media.

ok! I sent my mom out to get replacements. I need more opinions on the fried chicken and algae ( I wonder if i add bleach if it would make a mustard gas...) im going to try to clean with water and if needed soap. I hope no soap is needed, but its grease so idk. It won't be cycling for atleast another week (my mom wants to make sure she likes the placement of the tank) so i hope someone will respond with what i need.

Agree with @Essjay . Never, under any circumstance, use used filter media from a tank that is not your own. Filter media absorbs/adsorbs substances, that is its job (partly) and these might leech out months from now. It is never worth the risk. Never.

Second, if there is the possibility that water containing the fried chicken ran through the filter, the filter hoses are an issue.

What do i do with the filter hoses? Do i swap them out or can I clean them. We got the tank for free so I have some spending leeway, but OBVIOUSLY prefer to just clean them out (nobody wants to spend money lol).

My mom is insisting to keep pink,blue and black gravel in the tank.... is there a way to get aquatic grass or moss to grow over it? I HATE non-naturalisitc tanks, but again it is in HER livingroom.

Also, I saw this online for getting grease off of glass pans.
Glass Baking Dish Cleaning Method: Cornstarch and Vinegar
The method: Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to equal parts vinegar and water. Scrub with a wet nylon or mesh scrubber.

do you think that would work? Would it leave residue bad for fish? I would clean it a few times with water after, and obviously not use a nylon or mesh scrubber, i would use a cloth.
Someone also recommended ammonia... umm, i'm not sure if i want to risk ammonia getting in my tank. Is that a bad idea?

Freshyfishy said:

What do i do with the filter hoses? Do i swap them out or can I clean them. We got the tank for free so I have some spending leeway, but OBVIOUSLY prefer to just clean them out (nobody wants to spend money lol).

My mom is insisting to keep pink,blue and black gravel in the tank.... is there a way to get aquatic grass or moss to grow over it? I HATE non-naturalisitc tanks, but again it is in the livingroom

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I do not comprehend the fried chicken issue, unbelievable. But if this were my situation, I would clean the tank as best I could and toss out everything else. You cannot use the gravel for the same reason you cannot use the filter media. Even without the fried chicken issue, never ever use substrate or filter media from tanks owned by someone else, you have no idea what pathogens and chemicals might be present.

Unless another member has a better cleaning idea for the tank, I woold use a strong bleach solution (bleach and water) on the glass, then a very good rinsing with tap water. Several rinses with tap water.

Now to filters. If you intend live plants, filtration becomes a matter of a filter that will move the water around moderately or minimally, and through some sponges for clarity. Many fish prefer less water current. And with the plants, there is no need for biological filtration in a filter. The nitrifying bacteria will colonize the new substrate and do what is needed, especially in the presence of plants. Floating plants are ideal, but some planted in the substrate do this too. This will work as good as it can get if the fish are relatively small. If you get huge fish, a different story entirely. I would work out the fish species and then consider filters. I had a 4-foot 70g tank run with just an Aqueon Quiet Flow internal filter in the back corner, a filter which is rated for a 30g tank, for years. I used this filter only to provide a bit of current for my 70 cories. The upper 100+ smallish fish were fine with it. I had previously had an Eheim Pro II canister on this tank, but the housing developed a crack that continually leaked water and could not be fixed so I got rid of it. The fish were just as robust and healthy with the much smaller filter. The photo below is not great due to my poor camera skills, but it gives an idea of this tank.

I don't understand how the fried chicken thing happened either, but I can't really do anything about it. We were thinking about the Bleach and water solution, so I will try that tonight. My mom just replaced the filter media with all fresh stuff. I will tell her about the gravel. I want the filter in the tank, so I will just keep it on a super low flow.

Freshyfishy said:

Ok! well what can I put in the tank? and should I give my molly to the LFS?

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You still have plenty of options with soft water. There are lots of corys, rasbora, tetras and danios that are pretty active.

The mind boggles on the fried chicken issue... really dont know what to suggest. Given it was free, it could end up costing you more if you get issues than just a new tank?

Like mentioned though with your soft water tons of options - in a big tank like that if you wanted some larger fish some South American Cichlids would work nicely, a Severum of some kind would be pretty high on my list.

Wills

One thing on the substrate, sand is your best option. Some fish, like cories, need soft sand. Even upper fish sometimes need this, but the point is that all fish will. If the decision is to go with a largish fish, this may be less important depending. But generally, sand is your best option. You are in the USA so Quikrete Play Sand is perfect, I've had this for years in all tanks. Lowe's and Hoe Depot carry this brand, which is superior to some others.

Wills said:

The mind boggles on the fried chicken issue... really don't know what to suggest. Given it was free, it could end up costing you more if you get issues than just a new tank?

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Like I said, i'm going to just try to clean it out over and over. the tank was made 2/23/21 sooo its pretty new!

I cleaned all the algae off the bottom and BOY was that hard work! it took me almost 2 hours!

Lots of advice here to never use filter media belonging to someone else.

I beg to differ as I have donated lots of mature filter media over the years to help with cycling a newbies tank.