Need Tank Cleaning Advice from the Pros!!!

Rue

Brought home my 'new' 55g. The seller mentioned he hadn't cleaned it...I just figured it was dusty...lol...

...silly me...he REALLY didn't clean it ! It was a SW tank and it's salt and algae encrusted...

...what's the easiest and fastest way to get it sparkling clean for goldfish?

herefishy

API makes two great tank cleaning products. Completely non toxic. One is called Tank Wipes, I believe. The other is a pump-type spray, which I can't recall the name, sorry.

Rue

Thanks! I'll have to run into town tomorrow morning and get some cleaning stuff...

I hope they sell it by the gallon!

Nick

No problemo! My 55 gallon was an old salt water also. I just took er' out in the drive way and got the house hose, sprayed her down really good, got a scrubber ( w/ no soap ) and scrubbed everything the best I could. And the algea that was encrusted on there just get a razor blade, there small, and just scrape the glass away. dont scrape straight into the glass or you will scratch it. But that should get everything off, a little bit left wont hurt anything

Nick

Mr.Todd

It can be done!

Yea man, razors work great but don't scratch it... Also HOT water does wonders (but make sure to slowly heat up the whole tank so the sudden temperature change does not crack the glass)

bettababy

Also, did the filter come with it? If so, it would be a good idea to run some bleach water in it for a few days and then rinsing it all down really good again before using it for goldfish. The bleach water is safe provided you rinse it completely and let the tank air dry for a few days before using it for new fish. If the filter is used, I would replace all media, and do the bleach treatment before adding new media to it. You can run a filter without the media using the bleach water in the tank to thoroughly sterilize it safely.
In a 55 gallon, I would use 2 cups of bleach added directly to the water in the tank. This will decrease the chances of any type of illness issues from any type of contamination or previous illness issues in the tank.
There is also a product called Rydit (comes in 1 and 2) that will remove any hard water buildup that doesn't come off with the razor blade. One of them is simply more concentrated than the other, so because you are not dealing with an existing setup, I would use the more concentrated solution. You wipe it on, and mostly just wipe it off... then rinse well. Very seldom do I need a scrubbie to get rid of anything with that stuff, and it goes a long way, which makes it pretty inexpensive.

Rue

Thanks everyone (or is that 'tanks' everyone??? )...

Yes...I got 2 Emperor 280s with it...a UV sterilizer (might try it on my tropical tank to manage the stupid algae)...enough clean media to start it all up, except for the biowheels themselves...those need replacing...

...all I'm missing are the lights...dunno why they didn't come with it...I'll see what I can scavenge...