What to use for cleaning a tank..

Marn

Marn

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Oct 11, 2005
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we might be getting a 55g tank and it had turttles in it .. what would be the best thing to use to clean it right out .. i know turttles are nasty and dont want any residue to harm fish .. and how bad are the turttles once they have been in the tank for a long time..??

Marn
 
Bleach and water solution. Then take out the solution and put some water in and use water conditioner. The bleach should be easily removed with lots of water conditioner because bleach is made of chlorine.

I could be wrong but i think bleach basically destroys anything organic. If you are worried about chemicals, if the chemicals are all water soluble then many good rinses should take it all out.
 
thanks for the reply . i thought bleach was not a good thing to use .. but im sure with many rinses it should come out ..
oh and i also forgot to ask about the middle brace at the top of the tank .. it is missing it and what is good to use to repair that ..??.. im sure any hard plastic would work ..but what to use to hold the plastic in there ???.. cause i know those braces are there to help with holding the tank together as well as for holding the lights up .. ??
thanks all for any help with this ..

Marn
 
For a standard 55 gal the center brace across the top is mostly light support. If you're worried about "center spread" for your tank you can construct a clamp brace out of 1x4 wood, but I would'nt be too concerned.
 
thanks ya guys .. .. any more ideas on how to clean the tank .. wouldnt mind some more suggetions .. im just a lil worried about it just because it had turttles.. i had cleaned a 10g tank that had rats in it and it was fine and alls i used was hot water .. and i know it had been a while since these turttles had been in there .. but not sure if they kinda cleaned it out after they moved them..
thanks again for all the help ..

Marn
 
1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Just try to scrub the inside glass as much as you feel necessary and use hot water. Let air dry for a few days, I'd say 3. Don't use any soaps or detergents.
 
thanks Sub.. i guess the bleach is ok.. ive heard some people useing it on plastic plants... and i know not to use soap or detergents..
well i guess we will give it a try with the tank .. it is a 55g long so we really want to get it ..as the biggest regualr tank we have a 30g extra high .. along with the 65g hex .. hubby wants to turn it into a schooling tank .. wich would look cool ..
thanks for all the help

Marn
 
I wouldn't have any special concern about turtles. There is nothing on a turtle that would hurt fish that you put in the aquarium later.

If the tank is clean but you just want to sterilize it, a dilute solution of bleach, like maybe 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, is the best thing to use. Then rinse, rinse, rinse. Bleach rinses off pretty easily. If you're still worried, rinse with dechlorinator.

Bleach is a cheap and common way to sterilize all kinds of things in veterinary medicine.

My 2 cents.
Edit: Someone beat me to it; apologies for repetition.
 
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