Advice On Cleaning A Old Tank!??!

aznknight

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Jul 30, 2003
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lucky me im getting a 40 gallon tank from my uncle.........in a few days.........its probaly been outta commission for like 10+ years just sitting in the basement..........whats some good advice..........to clean it out good???.......some say small amount of bleech some say its not good.........some advise vinegar......etc
 
Bleach is fine, but soap is not...I'd bleach the tank, rinse it thoroughly, add water and a dechlorinator (to get rid of the leftover chlorine from bleach residue), let it sit, and then drain it once more...maybe someone else will have a less-stringent, just-as-effective solution, though...?
 
I've heard oxy-clean suggested, I'm not sure if thats good on 10 year old "set in stains" though :p
 
I was in your position with my 30 gallon tank, my brother had it lying idle for years :)

I just scrubbed out the tank with salt on a wet paper towel and left it to dry before rinsing thoroughly.

I would be worried that the silicone seals would adsorb the bleach and let it out later :eek:
 
Vinegar seems to do well in dissolving any particulate matter that has adhered to a surface and caked on...so that would be adviseable, but I would still go with the bleach as well to disinfect the tank (in case something happened to it in storage...squirrels have peed on one of my tanks in our garage in the past!)
 
bleech about how much would u suggest??
for a 40 gallon tank???
im worrie the stuff will leech into the sealant and later come out and hurt the fish
 
reinforcing the silcone??.............well i put it outside and fill it with water a few times.........and it doesnt seem to leak..........but just in case.......is the procedure hard to reinforce the silcone??
 
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