New Here- Pulling out my old tank...

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seriously_kate

Registered Member
Nov 1, 2004
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Hey all! I'm new to the forum. 3 years ago I had a pretty little 20 gallon tank and my 5 gallon as well... but then we moved and I went to boarding school and such so the tank got put away. Now I'm more settled and I want to start it up again. But my tank... is so dirty... it's just. wow. it's dirty. They both are, the 20 and the 5... theres alot more dust in the 5 though. So I'm here to ask what I should do to clean and sterilize my tanks... In amongst the gravel of both tanks I've noticed alot of dead snail shells... Should I just throw all the gravel out and buy new stuff? And theres alot of calcium deposits on the lid and filter and such, that just comes off with a sponge right?
Also, any suggestions on what I should put in the tanks would be much appreciated. I want to start off easy again and work my way up... I was thinking about a school of neons or some guppies in the 5 but I have no idea what to do for my 20. Luckily, I live in Peterborough and theres an awesome store here called Animalmania where they have the best variety of fish I could ever possibly want.
Anyways, here's a pic I just took of my 20 gallon...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/kateoh15/IM002237.jpg">
Help MUCH MUCH MUCH appreciated,
Kate
 
IM002237.jpg


There i reposted the photo for you so that it will show up to the others. A good cleaning with a wet rag will do alot..But if there are water lines than i use a razor blade on it if it is glass. Good luck getting the tank up and running it looks like it will be nice.
 
It really depends it doesnt look like you have that much in there. If fish died in that tank or whatever and it seems liek you want to change the gravel so go for it. I think it would look nice with some new gravel in it. Go for it!! HAVE FUN!
 
Also, OxyClean works great for cleaning and it's not a soap product. It's recommended on this site a lot, and I've used it myself. I had a filthy tank that I thought would never come clean, but OxyClean did a great job. Still have to rinse well.....
Another product you can use is vinegar.

I also had some old gravel that was full of everything imaginable. Dead bugs, dirt, dust, you name it. I rinsed it in a bucket of hot water with OxyClean, then rinsed it over and over. Just swish it in a bucket of water, pour off the top water, refill, swish, pour, until the water comes off clean. All the dead stuff should float to the top, too, so it's easy to pour off.
Buying new gravel is much easier! ;)
 
I used aquarium salt, melted it with hot water, then added some cold water to make it warm....i then took a sponge and cleaned the tank with this salt water...after giving it a good scrub down, i just rinsed it out well with water...a LFS (local fish store) suggested i do this...and it worked pretty good...even if you dont clean it out super duper clean...the little bit of salt in the water wont harm the fish...

oh...the salt water doesnt need to be too potent..just a used about 3 tblspoons in a big bucket...
 
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