# How do you properly clean a used tank?



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Just curious on this and what precautions people would use to make sure the tank clean before starting thier tank in one?

I'm going to be buying some used tanks and also am thinking of the future as well to have this thread as a reference to check back on or help others with. Now I'm sure most tanks you buy are clean but I've heard about people talking about chem residues from med dosings and such. I'm thinking first is to fill the tank to make sure I verify it's water tight then after that umm... I was thinking 1 teaspoon or tablespoon of bleach per 1L of water and letting the tank soak a bit then drain, rinse, fill, soak, drain, wash and soak in vinegar (not sure what ratio to use for that), and then drain a final time ready for use.

My bleach formula I'm not sure if that is the correct way to do this cleaning/prep. I come from a mountain biking background and we all use water bladders (Camelbaks) and I remember that 1 teaspoon or tablespoon per 1L as a way to disinfect water bladders (some people have left gatorade filled bladders empty with moisture for weeks before using it again.  thus why I like keeping mine with h20 only. Less problems and hella easy to clean) so I was thinking that may work for this tho I'm not sure if I need more or less or something.

Thanks in advance.


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

i usually take the gravel out if there is any and either bleach/rince it or give it away. then i use a cloth with bleach on it to wipe the inside of the tank down while it's empty. if there's a lot of water stains or stuck on algea i scrub with salt on a cloth. then rinse, fill and away we go.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

The way to get calcium deposits from evaporated water off is with vinegar or (much cheaper if you aren't afraid to work with it) diluted muriatic acid. Rather than fill the tank, apply some paper towels wet with acid to the areas that need cleaning and let them 'soak' that way. If the deposit is really thick and crusty, scrape some off with a single edge razor blade first, or after some soaking. Be careful not to apply any pressure that will translate as a bending force to glass while you're cleaning it especially if it's a small tank with thin glass.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I put about 1 teaspoon of bleach per 10 gallons into tanks I want to disinfect, I fill about 20% full, slosh the bleach/water around, let it sit ten minutes, slosh it around again, then dump. Then I rinse and dump. Then I fill, and use about 2x the normal amount of dechlorinator, which should take care of any chlorine I missed with the rinse.

For decalcifying, I would do the vinegar (spray bottle onto affect areas) before the disinfectant stage. The idea of soaking a paper towel and sticking it to the side sounds really effective and I think I'll try that next time. 



W


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## Jonathan (Oct 16, 2009)

bae said:


> The way to get calcium deposits from evaporated water off is with vinegar or (much cheaper if you aren't afraid to work with it) diluted muriatic acid. Rather than fill the tank, apply some paper towels wet with acid to the areas that need cleaning and let them 'soak' that way. If the deposit is really thick and crusty, scrape some off with a single edge razor blade first, or after some soaking. Be careful not to apply any pressure that will translate as a bending force to glass while you're cleaning it especially if it's a small tank with thin glass.


This is the method I use. It works very well, especially dilte muqriatic acid. Make sure you wear gloves and eye protection though.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I put about 1 teaspoon of bleach per 10 gallons into tanks I want to disinfect, I fill about 20% full, slosh the bleach/water around, let it sit ten minutes, slosh it around again, then dump. Then I rinse and dump. Then I fill, and use about 2x the normal amount of dechlorinator, which should take care of any chlorine I missed with the rinse.
> 
> For decalcifying, I would do the vinegar (spray bottle onto affect areas) before the disinfectant stage. The idea of soaking a paper towel and sticking it to the side sounds really effective and I think I'll try that next time.
> 
> W


This is how we clean our tanks as well. First a vinegar wash, then bleach and then several thorough rinses.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

One more caveat -- be careful not to get sand on anything you're using to scrub the tank because you can easily scratch the glass. Not only is this an aesthetic issue, but deep scratches can start cracks under quite minor twisting or bending forces. After all, that's exactly how you cut glass -- you make a scratch and bend it slightly and CRACK.

Having just had an old used badly scratched tank 'blow out' the day after it was filled and flood my office.... I'm kind of attuned to the problem as I dry out the boxes of books and papers I had on the floor. Fortunately it was only a 15g tank!


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I use enough bleach to make the water feel slippery to the touch. This not only disinfects, but burns up assorted organic matter. I often fill the tank with bleach mix and run a powerhead for a period of time, perhaps a day or so. Nylon pot scrubbers work well for wiping it down while the water is still in it. Vinegar works well for removing mineral deposits. I usually do it after the bleach, as the vinegar neutralizes the bleach. Small tanks go in the dishwasher for a good wash with dishwasher detergent. This also works well for hard plastic items like filter boxes/bodies.
Gravel I bleach also, and give a good wash.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

BillD said:


> I use enough bleach to make the water feel slippery to the touch.


That will do the trick for sure! But I wouldn't dwell on that slippery feeling for too long and get your hands rinsed quickly...the slippery feeling isn't from the water, it's from fats and oils from your body being turned into soap (essentially).


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Usually when I get a used tank I scrub off any major filth with a sponge after letting the tank dry out for a week or so. Once dried I fill it to the top with water and drain it once or twice depending on how it looks and that's it. I guess I use drying out of the tank instead of bleach to kill anything bad in the tank. Im not 100% satisfied with bleach either as some organisms believe it or not will survive a bleaching. About two years ago my roommate and I bleached a tank that had been infect with camallanus. We had everything out of the tank, just the glass and even with a really high concentration of bleach there were these little worms that were alive and swimming that we could see. Even after more than an hour they were still alive. That said, bleach will kill almost anything. In that same tank we had snails which were still inside when the bleach went in and they actually dissolved so that only a shell was left. Pretty cool.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Well right now I've got a used 10gal tank that's just holding some plants, driftwood, and small fish while I find some time to map out a landscape plan or possible redo of my tank. The tank was in active use before it was shut down so I just used it as is without cleaning it tho I probably should have scrubbed it but hey... I was a bit impatient and wanted to see it filled up.  

I may scrub it up when I have another holding tank to work with. Thanks for all the feed back so far.


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