I recently got what looks like a 30 gallon tank from a person who was cleaning out unwanted things in his house. He said his stepson used it as a fishtank in the past. But I want to clean it out thoroughly before I transfer my fish into it. Its very dirty. What kind of materials are safe and clean well?

Thank you and Merry Christmas everyone!

I would first scrub it down with hot water and get any solids off. If it's greasy, you may need to use some soap but
be sure to rinse that super well to get rid of all of it.
Then, if it looks mostly clean, soak it in
water with about 2 cups of bleach. Let that sit for a day or even more. Get rid of the bleach water and replace it
with fresh water with added dechlorinator at twice the suggested dose. Let that sit for the same amount of time as the
bleach water sat. Dump it all out again, rinse well, and you've got a sterile tank to start with.

Good luck with your new tank!

Maryann,
Is it glass or acrylic? it makes a difference
I've only got experience with glass aquariums .... I believe the acrylics scratch easier.
I would stay clear of scouring powders or Softscrub-type cleaners as they tend to leave fine scratches, resulting in a cloudy or hazed view when filled with water.

A friend of mine gave me an old, dirty, yucky 26 gallon glass aquarium last year which had not been cleaned when it was last emptied. It was bad

I used dish soap and sponges. Some of the idustrial strength scour-pads are pretty agressive. avoid those
Most dish sink sponges that have a mild scour side should be OK.
You might not be able to get everything off of the glass. I think some stuff gets embedded permanantly
When done cleaning as best you can, then rinse it out a few times to get rid of any soap residue.

Wipe dry... then let it air dry overnight.

Even if .... oops, I see Robyn just posted ahead of me .... listen to her :)

Thanks for the advice- Its a nice glass tank, looks like good quality but very heavy which is a big problem because its hard to lift up and rinse thoroughly. Its not greasy, just dirty. Its just that the 6 fish I have in my current 10 gallon tank have been doing so good for awhile- everyone seems happy, no deaths. I don't want to ruin a good thing. However two of my fish are plecos and growing bigger (about 6 inches now) so my fishy family might be happier with more space.

Six fish in a 10 gallon tank ... they will really enjoy the added space.

My 26 gallon glass tank isn't fun to lug around either, and I'm not a small person. Maybe you could recruit some help for part of a day.

Hopefully the new tank came complete with filter system ... the 10 gallon filter won't be big enough.

PG

Yes I agree, I'm sure they will enjoy all that new space! Although right now they seem like a happy, tight little agreeable bunch who don't know what they're missing in their 10 gallon tank. However now I think my new tank is a 50 gallon tank, and its heavy- the friend who I got it from wasn't sure. You know what they say- "one man's garbage is another man's treasure". Its in perfect shape just a little dirty, and because its so heavy I feel I can't rinse it out thoroughly, so I get nervous using anything too strong, and I'll have to get a bigger filter too. I also have to find a stand strong enough to hold it. So between that and working alot at the job, I've been moving slowly. I have started rinsing it out with water and Simple Green biodegradable non-toxic cleaner. Hopefully I'll have good news soon and be able to graduate to the mature, 'big sized' section of Fishpond!

If it has hard water deposits use vinager to get them off. Just take a scuoring pad (the ones that have a sponge with the scouring pad on the other side) and lay the tank on it's side and pour some vinager on to the tank and spread it all on the deposits and let it sit for oh say 15 minuts and then scrub and rinse it off with a damp cloth to see if you got it all, if not repeat, if so turn the tank again and repeat. I would only do this on a glass tank though.

darn i posted someting in the worng spot.


sorry
C2

I wrote last Dec about inheriting a bigger fishtank, which I thought was a 30 gal but its a 50 gal. So my very amiable but crowded 5 fish (2 of them 7" Plecos) moved from a 10 gal to a 50 gal tank about 2 months ago. Everything seemed cool, fish seemed a little overwhelmed but happy and I added 2 sm black mollies. But lately the water has been looking cloudy, the only thing I'm doing different is about a week ago I started adding a chunk of cucumber every day for the Plecos. Then tonight I did a 1/3 water change and when I cleaned off some of the aquarium "toys" (driftwood, caves etc), I noticed alot of small clear jellyfish-looking things all over them. Anybody have any idea what this is and whats causing it? And what is ick?

The "jellyfish" things might be hydra if they look like little aliens stuck on surfaces with tiny waving tentacles. I wouldn't be surprised if you got some planaria (flatworms) too. Cucumbers will help feed infusuria which just means various microorganisms such as parameciums. Those in turn can feed hydra. Hydra can also eat newborn egg-laid fish fry. Anytime you have rotting food, vegetables, etc., that can cause a growth of infusuria and/or bacteria which will cloud the water. I replace the cucumber I feed my pleco every single morning. How long was the cucumber in your tank? How big a piece did you use?

I suggest doing a gravel vacuuming and water change and not using cucumber or other vegetables for a little while. A fine mesh mechanical filter can help remove the infusuria. Adding more good bacteria can help if the cloudiness if due to bacteria (either nitrifying bacteria or bad bacteria). The hydra, who pretty much only eat live animals, should then die off. I don't think they can eat say leftover fish food but I'm not sure. They are no harm to adult fish. If the things you saw were not hydra, can you describe them more? Could they be planaria, insect larvae, etc.?

Ick is a very tiny parasite. When a bunch of them grow on a fish, the fish gets a white spot about the size of the head of a pen. The spots normally appear all over. Each spot is a bunch of ick parasites. When the ick matures, it drops off the fish. You won't see ick when it's not on the fish unless you have a microscope.

I hope things improve! I'm sure the fish love the bigger tank. I just moved my turtle from a 40 to a 120 gallon tank today. I don't think he's very happy though as he's swimming in place bashing into the glass for hours on end! He hit the glass so hard that one of his scutes fell off!

Thanks Robyn- I didn't see waving tentacles on my "jellyfish" looking things. I checked one of the driftwood pieces this morning (which is two days after I vaccuumed and did a partial water chg, and I saw ONE "jellyfish" thing on it (whereas before it had about 12). I tested the water myself last night and everything was fine except the nitrite which was high, but when I brought it to a nearby fish store today, they tested it and said it was fine. But at their recomandation I bought some Cycle and some Clear (particulate water clarifier). I put that in about an hour ago but the water is still pretty cloudy. -Regarding the cucumber I was putting a peeled piece about a 2-3" long (attached with rubber band to a spoon, since I don't have a appropiate rock). The cucumber is always completely gone in a day. Maybe I shouldn't put any cucumber in until this clears up like you suggest, but I'm worried the Plecos won't have enough to eat. At least I have no deaths. I'm about to leave for work, so hopefully when I get home the water will be clearer, although I don't know what to think about the jellyfishish things. But I'm sure the fish love all this new swimming space!

Could the jellyfish-like things be snail eggs? Are they fixed or do they move?

I cut the cucumber in half, about a 3" piece. I leave the rind on the bottom side as that helps keep the cucumber intake. It falls apart readily without a rind/peel.

Regarding the clear glob things in my aquarium, I can't imagine snail eggs being that big (the globs are about 1/2 inch big)- I didn't know snail had eggs. But there are alot of snails. The Cycle and the Clear Water solution have been in the aquarium about 13 hours, and the water is just as cloudy (white cloudy), although the fish seem fine. But maybe the cucumber has something to do with it because the piece I put in I peel completely, so maybe its falling apart too easily into tiny pieces. I'll take it out now if they haven't eaten it all and see what happens.

Certain snail eggs can be that big. Do you know what species of snail that you have? Can you take and post photos of your snails and/or the globs?

Water takes a while to clear up.

Unfortunately I'm still slightly in the untechy ages and don't have the right camera nor do I know how to post pictures. However the water is still cloudy after 2 days, and fish still seem fine. After changing the water and washing off all clear globby things on the fixtures in the aquarium 3 days ago, I just picked up one piece of driftwood and it had 9 new clear globby things on. I have alot of snails, they seem like the common snail and are black/brown/greyish in color (the biggest ones are about 1/4 in.). I rarely kill any of them because I thought they kept the water in good health, however they will soon be taking over. :huh:

It sounds like the globs are snail eggs. The snails are planning their takeover!

Oh dear, then you would never hear the end of me. Well on a good note today (on advice from another fish salesman) I bought a new carbon (even though the one I was using was new) and did a 25% water change. The water looks much clearer after 6 hours (at least I can see the fish) although it still has a ways to go. And as far as the potential snail takeover and the small globs- it's war!