# Old tank syndrome and cleaning a tank



## Buttons (Jan 22, 2014)

So, my husband found this person who wanted to get rid of a 55 gallon fish tank. So, he jumps all over it without really asking many questions. Cheap is quite likely the worst animal term ever LOL! We get there tonight to pick it up and it is still mostly full. 3-4 inches of evap gone. It is such a mess I don't even know where to start. We drained all but about 2 inches of water. The gravel hasn't been vacuumed in I have no idea how long. 

It was massively overstocked. 2 full grown angels, a single tiger barb, a single catfish...syndontis type I think. A breeding pair of apistos. A 12 inch common pleco and some sort of albino sucker fish about 6-8" long (not a bristle nose as far as I can tell...said it was supposed to eat algae from the floor of the tank??). All of that was filtered with 2 really clogged Tetra Whisper 30 gallon internal filters. Omg. I'm overwhelmed. I've found new, much more appropriate, homes for the fish. I hope they can overcome what is surely old tank syndrome. I haven't had the guts to test nitrates yet. The fish are hanging out in towel covered 5 gallon buckets with airstones/heaters until they can be picked up by their new people. I'll do a couple of very very small water changes to help start acclimating them to decent water. I dosed with Prime to keep ammonia from killing them. I'm really glad that we ended up with them instead of someone who knows zero about fish keeping. I'm sure every last one of them would end up dead from being dumped into fresh clean water with no thought to acclimating them. 

Now, how do I clean this tank? Outside with the hose is not an option as it is currently 20* with 6" of snow on the ground. If I use vinegar, how many water changes will it take to get it out of the tank and be safe for fish? Am I better off using a razor blade and keeping it away from the silicone? Will the calcium deposits hurt anything if I miss suctioning some of them out? Oy! Thank goodness it was only $50 for all of it. If nothing else, I am glad to have those fish heading to much better homes.


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## Botiadancer (Dec 30, 2013)

Bathtub.

Put a very fine strainer in the drain - or fill it with a sponge.

Stand the tank on its end, put on your swimtrunks.... or go au naturalle, (it is YOUR bathroom after all) and start cleaning. If the gravel is that bad, get it in a bucket and do the swish and swirl and pour the dirty water down the toilet. I would scrape as much calcium off with a razor blade and vinegar the rest. Vinegar rinses out easy and is not toxic at the few parts per million (or less) that might still be in your tank after a good rinse. Calcium deposits are ugly, not toxic.

If you don't have a flexible hose showerhead, attach your waterchange hose to a faucet and use that... or use a garden hose. By the way, you will have to clean your drain strainer constantly at first. And of course, you might want to bleach the tub when you are done.

And most important, except for us fishaholics, don't tell anyone you were cleaning your aquarium naked in the bathtub in the middle of winter... they might not understand. Trust me, I know.

Hope this helps.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you don't plan to put anything in it right away, just dump it and start over with some fresh substrate. Nothing really to worry about with vinegar. Rinses out very easy. Good luck on the spots.


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## Buttons (Jan 22, 2014)

Yeah. It is a total tear down. I may start a tank journal for it. New substrate, decor, lights, fish, filters...the works.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Botiadancer said:


> And most important, except for us fishaholics, don't tell anyone you were cleaning your aquarium naked in the bathtub in the middle of winter... they might not understand. Trust me, I know.
> 
> Hope this helps.


In a strange way(can't say I'm unfamiliar) some of the best advice offered!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I got myself in a very similar situation with one of 55s it was my first decent size tank and I was all excited to get it, and ya. It needed some love. Got it cheap though  but that's what I ended up doing scrub rinse repeat. I didn't know of this wonderful forum yet, I just went off on my own. But the razor and vinegar is definitely the way to go. And I won't think your weird if you don't want to wear a bathing suit in winter.


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## Buttons (Jan 22, 2014)

I'm not getting my nekkie bits-n-pieces anywhere near that tank! 

We are having luck with vinegar, water and paper towels. The glass looks clear when wet but clouds as it dries. The hood glass is a disaster. Thankfully this tank isn't going to be planted so as long as we can get enough light to see the fish we are good. Likely will replace the stock hoods with a versa too and a new light strip at some point though. I just like the look better.


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## oldoldman (Aug 13, 2013)

*old dude *old dude *old dude buttons..........limeaway works good on hoods........BUT ONLY ON HOODS............or CLR.........John...........


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## catfisherpro (Apr 5, 2013)

I use bleach yes I know it sounds harsh but I have never had any probs. My method is I soak what's getting cleaned in a 1 cup bleach to 1 gallon water- soak for couple hrs then scub with sos pad- rinse well - let dry for 1-2 days- rinse an use. Do not use bleach water on something that has not dryed completely. I know alot of you guys\girls don't like this idea but has worked for me for over 9yrs it eats away algae an buildups. Don't use sos on acrylic tanks either


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Nothing wrong with using bleach as long as it is rinsed well.


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## joecrouse (Feb 3, 2014)

Some thoughts. 

Lemon juice might be ok... (its acidic as Hades, natural, and a bit stronger than vinegar but still shouldn't hurt silicone) 

Baking soda paste or one of those hippie granola cruncher brand toothpastes without the scent/flavors/ other stuff Wegmans/Trader Joes/Whole Foods aught have something like that Bonus points if you can find real hippies. 

I would think something like Denture Cleaner would probably be ok too (sodium bicarbonate) I'd look on the box for that. 

There is always (if you are bloody careful about it) Live steam... I have a portable steam cleaner that I use to clean sterilize, disinfect some NASTY stuff. That should be okay even on acrylic. Careful around the seams as it could rip the silicone off. Please use caution if you use live steam...with the right pressure you can cut yourself on the water stream and cook part of your own hand. (I have done both do not test this). 



For what its worth, It took my many many applications of vinegar to get the crusting off my Thrift store tank find as well.


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