Bought A Used Tank...

[constantine03]

Hi. I bought a used tank this last week and have been wondering what the best way is to clean it. It looks like a good scrub with a Brillo pad and some water should do the trick, but should I be disinfecting it somehow too, just to make sure nothing's passed on? If so, what should I use?

Thanks!

 

[Tolak]

Warm water & a plain scrubber for general dirt & grime. Vinegar will usually remove hard water spots & stains. A solution of 1 part bleach to 20 parts water will disinfect aquatics equipment. Rinse thoroughly after the vinegar or bleach solution.

For more difficult hard water stains work at them with a single edged razor blade, along with the vinegar. Please be careful with the blade, as we do not have a first aid section to this forum.

 

[constantine03]

Hah...thank you. I work for an ambulance company down in Champaign, and am a combat medic in my guard unit. I'm good for first aid! Thank you for the advice.

How would you go about disenfecting a 56 gallon tall tank when you don't have a water hose, and have a VERY narrow bathroom?

 

[Juice]

Hah...thank you. I work for an ambulance company down in Champaign, and am a combat medic in my guard unit. I'm good for first aid! Thank you for the advice.

How would you go about disenfecting a 56 gallon tall tank when you don't have a water hose, and have a VERY narrow bathroom?

No water hose?

Any friends/family/neighbors have one?

Get the tank outside to a hose, dump in a bottle of bleach, fill with water, scrub off any algae with the brillo pad. Let it soak for a while. Then you have to get the water out some how, best idea is to syphur it out with a tube or a thin garden hose, just stick one end in the tank and the other end out. You may need to suck the tube on one end to get the water flowing (omg that sounded really wrong ) thats basically the only way to empty the water since you can't tip the tank to pour it out! Then lay the tank on its side and rinse it make sure there is no more bleach.

 

[Tolak]

The problem with water outside right now is that it is in the solid state, it's around 0F or something. I've done 55's in place, mix up a couple gallons of the bleach/water mix, and pour it in the tank. I use paper towels, as I always have them handy, to slosh the mix up the sides of the tank, wiping as I go. Don't forget under the rim, I like to do the outside of the top rim as well.

Siphon as much as the mix out as you can, if you get any of this in your mouth your teeth get so clean that they squeak. You can tip the remaining half gallon or so into a tub or shower, you can then put the tank on end in the tub or shower, and rinse.

If it is a tank that has to remain in place, sop the rest of the bleach mix out with old towels, fill the tank up with water, using about 5 times the dechlorinator you usually would. Let this run with an air stone, or filter with the media removed, for 24 hours. Drain after 24 hours, and treat is as you would any new tank.

 

[constantine03]

Thanks for the tips, all.

Oh- and here's the tank:

Not too bad for $75, I think. I'm going to paint it black.

 

[constantine03]

Okay, so I finished it and just wanted to show the results. I'm cleaning it right now...but it's painted!

 

[andrew84uk]

Well done! What a nice simple change you have done. I can see my face in that tank now its that shiney! Now to buy some of the internals!

 

[SJ2K]

Looking good keep up the hard work and updates!

 

[constantine03]

Okay guys, so I cleaned the tank with a bleach and vinegar mix (I read on another forum that vinegar helps the bleach with the disenfecting process) using half a bottle of vinegar, 1 /12 gal bleach, and 54 G water, then I siphoned all the water out. Then I took another 4-5 gallons and poured it over the inner walls to rinse it, and siphoned it out again. Then I filled it with water, put more than normal amounts of dechlorinator in, and turned a couple filters on.

Is this good enough that the bleach I used won't hurt any fish (or bacteria) now will it?

 

[Tolak]

If it is aerated for at least 24 hours the bleach will air out, the same as chlorine. This is why letting a tank or other equipment air dry after cleaning with bleach neutralizes it.

I add 3-4 drops of bleach to my brine shrimp hatchery every night, it has about 1 1/2 liters of chlorinated water, no dechlor added. The bleach airs out, helps to soften the shells, and keeps any bacterial problems at bay. This gets fed to angel fry from day one, doesn't affect them a bit.

What you did sounds almost the same as how I do larger tanks that are tough to move. I fill about 1/4 of the way, pour in bleach, and scrub it down. Drain, and rinse with tap water, again about 1/4 full. Fill it up, using about 4 times the amount of dechlorinator, and let it run for a day.

 

[ridewake210]

She just bought another used tank this evening from me. haha

 

[constantine03]

Quit telling my stories for me, man!

 

[ridewake210]

haha

oh im sorry!


i didnt tell the complete story. about your muscles and all.


so you still have some telling to do if youd like.


edit-

OH I DID FORGET TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING!!!

Pm me!

 

[waterdrop]

you guys should rename this the Chicago thread