Cleaning A Old Tank And Equipment

[roguekiller23231]

i've just been given a huge fish tank, they have told me:

it's been in storage for quite a few years, has had gold fish in, and has had treatment for fish diseases like fish white spot/ich.

they have given various equipment and chemicals for treatments which have probably been up in there attic for a long time too, would they still be viable?

theres:

half used Interpet Anti white spot
Sealed Interpet Anti white spot
fresh water Anti Fungi
Tetra : Fungi Stop Full and sealed
Tetra : Fungi Stop half full
King British Safe Water
King British Safe Guard

Aquarium Silicone sealant

i'm guessing that these are all at least 4-5 years old, but have no expiration date on them.

the tank itself is very dirty, and the seals are green because of the white spot treatment (which i've been told by the previous owner), how could i go about cleaning the tank and the hood?

and and tips on how to reseal, as one of the corners needs a complete corner from bottom to top redone as it's in poor condition.

I have also been given a pump/filter, a load of gravel (that is dry), some bog wood, bowls, sponges (cleaning), nets and plastic plants. i'd really appreciate if someone could tell me the best way to clean these!?

the tank must be atlest 17 years old judgeing by some of the tubs that were in there's sell by date, should i redo all the seals or would the silicone still be good, it actually looks in pretty good condition except for the one part that i'm goign to redo.

 

[BigIan]

Well done on the freebee.
I would ditch all the meds that you have been given as they would certainly be below par and not worth risking.

To reseal one corner you would have to remove the entire side and reseal that side as to remove the silicone and clean the edges you would disturb the other silicone joints arround it.

there used to be a great thread on here about repairing tanks but i can`t seem to find it. so heres my attempt...

1) carefuly slide a blade down the joints to be removed.

2) cut away all the extra silicone from the edges

3) wipe down with white spirit to clean edges

4) thoroughly dry the edges,

5) apply a contiuous bead of aquarium silicone sealant to the edges of the existing tank.

6) firmly press the pane of glass into position, and apply constant pressure to it (i used a heavy book, but don`t use anything to heavy or the glass will break.)

7) wipe away excess silicone with a damp finger.

8) when its dry take it outside fill it up and cross your fingers.

9) if it leaks begin again

as for cleaning the tank, i use a 1:20 water/bleach soloution to clean and disinfect a tank. and scrub and rinse RINSE!

the same can be done for the equipment and decorations although it will lighten the colour of wood.


what kind of filter is it? pics would help.

 

[electropunk06]

Well done on the freebee.
I would ditch all the meds that you have been given as they would certainly be below par and not worth risking.

To reseal one corner you would have to remove the entire side and reseal that side as to remove the silicone and clean the edges you would disturb the other silicone joints arround it.

there used to be a great thread on here about repairing tanks but i can`t seem to find it. so heres my attempt...

1) carefuly slide a blade down the joints to be removed.

2) cut away all the extra silicone from the edges

3) wipe down with white spirit to clean edges

4) thoroughly dry the edges,

5) apply a contiuous bead of aquarium silicone sealant to the edges of the existing tank.

6) firmly press the pane of glass into position, and apply constant pressure to it (i used a heavy book, but don`t use anything to heavy or the glass will break.)

7) wipe away excess silicone with a damp finger.

8) when its dry take it outside fill it up and cross your fingers.

9) if it leaks begin again

as for cleaning the tank, i use a 1:20 water/bleach soloution to clean and disinfect a tank. and scrub and rinse RINSE!

the same can be done for the equipment and decorations although it will lighten the colour of wood.


what kind of filter is it? pics would help.

hi
is this the link you were looking for?
hope it helps
Lloyd

 

[roguekiller23231]

it came with a Fluval3 filter, which looks like a pretty old model. i'll probably be getting something better, the tank is about 109 litres / 23.9 gallon, so might chuck this old one and get a new one. i've got a 300w water heater, but it's probably way too powerful for the tank, googling the size of tank it reccomends 100-150w?

BigIan, thanks, you gave a good description, i'll probably be doing that in a couple of days time, dont think i have enough sealant to do it all proporly like that.

 

[BigIan]

if its 5 year old sealant sling it and get a new tube....

silicone goes off in the tube over time and looses its adhesive qualitys and its noit expencive.

as for the filter you may find that the rubber seals onthe filter have perrished and require replacing.

 

[waterdrop]

Totally agree with Ian, never use old stuff for any of these chemical things and a really good idea for him to think of, to check/replace your seals! WD