Cleaning An Old Tank

[kdizzle]

I just bought a tank today off of craigslist.
The tank had been sitting around for a couple of months with the gravel in it. Besides that it has water spots and has collected some dust.
What wpu;d b the best way to clean all of this stuff/

 

[aquariumart22]

I just got one from my grandparents that has been in their garage attic for years. I didnt think it would clean up with just water and a clean wash cloth, and a soft scrubby but it did clean up very nicely.

Needless to say It didn't hold water and I had to buy a new one!

 

[rolltide101x]

As he said it should come clean just fine with water and good scrubbing if it does not I would assume it would be ok to use chemicals if you washed it down with water multiple times and let it sit for a week or 2 then wash it with water again multiple times. I used a light bleach mix in one of my aquariums before and did this and they were fine when I used them later (granted it was months later, I was cleaning it for storage) But I would not recommend you do this unless water could not clean it. (In short, probably not a great idea for an aquarium to be used in the near future)

 

[Mauigirl]

Depends, Glass or acrylic will decide any scrubbing medium, the rest is similar.
If its just dust and water spots ( not hard water spots then yes, use plain old tap water and a sponge)
Hard water spots may require lemon juice or vinegar.

If you are brave a low dilution of bleach can be done.. like a cap full per gallon but you will have to rinse extremely well, and then rinse again .. and then let a dechlorinated fill set, empty, rinse again..
Not recommended unless your paranoid of where its been.

 

[creeker]

I've used the lemon juice trick before. Works good on stubborn calcium deposits.

 

[elmo666]

A weak bleach solution will do no harm as long as you rinse it well. As for the gravel, use a seive and clean a little at a time, shaking it under a running tap.

 

[brian1]

Try salt it is an abrasive, it cleans very well and just wash it out..........

 

[Mauigirl]

Try salt it is an abrasive, it cleans very well and just wash it out..........

Do not use salt on an acrylic tank, if glass have at it

 

[kdizzle]

I would feel better using lemon juice or vinegar for sure. If that does not work I will use bleach. Thanks for all the help.

 

[fluttermoth]

If you do use bleach, use on of the cheap, thin ones rather than the thick gel ones. The cheap ones are chlorine based, and can be neutralised with a double dose of dechlorinator

 

[FishFanatic04]

If you do use bleach, use on of the cheap, thin ones rather than the thick gel ones. The cheap ones are chlorine based, and can be neutralised with a double dose of dechlorinator

+1 Very important to buy the plain old bleach and not gel.

Just rinse well and let it dry. Then double dose dechlorinator on the first fill and you should be fine.

 

[waterdrop]

Sometimes for tough mineral deposits you can take it one interior glass surface at a time. Turn the aquarium so that one of the stained surfaces in down and pour a puddle of plain clear grocery store vinegar on it and leave it overnight. In the morning take something that is not going to be an abrasive to the glass and is not going to be something that could have soap in it (some soft scrubs have soap but do not advertise it) (or for good measure you could use the interior skin of a lemon or lime) and just gently begin rubbing out the mineral deposit. Taking more time is better than being too rough usually. Hopefully you won't find anything that needs this sort of more time-consuming attention though! Good luck and let the members know how it goes!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Llegmore]

Another vote for lemon juice and vinegar here. The more naturally you can clean it, the better.

 

[kdizzle]

Thanks so much for the help! I can't wait to get home and clean it out!!

 

[drobbyb]

Bleach to sterilize. It kills the nasties. Triple rinse and once completely dry, all the chlorine evaporates. Vinegar or lemon juice to remove the hard water spots + elbow grease (read: work) Take it easy on the silicone, vinegar will soften them.