# Buying Used Tank - Need Help!! (Cleaning, Maint. Etc...)



## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Hey! I'm buying a 55 gallon tank from a fellow fish friend, and I need some help, the tank is nice and it comes with plants and gravel and such. The guy said the tank is 5 Years old, it comes with heater, hood, lights, bulbs, Eheim Filter - the works! 

I notice though that it had a brown kind of algae on the tank, and it leads me to the big question...

When buying a tank from someone - used - what precautions should I take? 
My plan so far is to take it home,
Clean it as much as I can w/ out soap, then let it run for at least a week without fish, just to clean it up a little.
Next I was deciding on getting some free Malyasian trumpet snails (MTS). Because the MTS do a good job I hear on cleaning the tank, I figure it would be perfect? I'm so so on this though...>

Any Suggustions? Thanks!

Also - I will be rinsing all the fake plants and gravel before using it!        Thanks!


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## CICHthis (Oct 10, 2008)

Wash it down with a mixture of vinegar and water and put some elbow grease into it. Good way of cleaning it without using chemicals. Should clean out any hardwaters stains it may have.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Razor blades are your friend. As above, vinegar wash, and leave to dry after rinsing with water.


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## CICHthis (Oct 10, 2008)

Yea, razor blades are good if you need to scrape anything off, vinegar wash and a good rinsing. If you're any good, give it a re-silicone just to make sure that if it has any leaks, you will take care of it now then later.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Don't bother re-siliconing. Silicone bonds poorly to cured silicone. 

If you're going to re-silicone, best to strip the old stuff off and then reapply to cleaned glass.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Thank You!! 

I will do that right away! Can't wait to get it started!


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## CICHthis (Oct 10, 2008)

Sorry thats what I meant. I would never suggest to someone to re-silicone on existing silicone, wouldn't work. Take the time to remove completely and then re-silicone.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Is the re-siliconing necessary?


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## CICHthis (Oct 10, 2008)

Not necessary. Ask the person you are acquiring the tank from if the tank had any issues with respect to holding water, if not, why fix something that ain't broke, right?

I myself do, can't hurt. At least you know that there is a fresh seal on the tank.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

It's not necessary in most cases. I've seen tanks that have been running for 20 years without ever being taken down.

If you get a slow leak then you might look into a re-seal, but for a 55g, IMO, you'd be better off just buying a new tank.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Well, the tank is 5 years old, he said there was no problems with it, just the oscar was getting too big so he had to upgrade. Should I just buy a brand new tank?


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Just get a magnetic glass cleaner and clean it off. You can also use any of those cleaning pad for pots and pans to scrape it too, but don't brush too hard, you might scratch the glass.
Don't get MTS, they don't clean glass all that well and they spawn out of control.
Vinegar is better than bleach. But keep in mind that you have to rinse really well after ward as vinegar also a very strong anti-bacteria agent as well. If I remember correctly, it's 1 part vinegar and 1 part warm water. Don't use pure vinegar.
How long the silicon last depends on the guy who silicon it. Some sucks and some last 20 years as I still have my dad's 20 years old 30G running. When it sits empty inthe garage for 1 year without water is the only time you need to worry about the silicon.
Good luck and have you read up on how to cycle a tank?

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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Yup! I've read about cycling tanks and such=)

Is it expensive to silicone a tank? The tank right now is sitting in the guys garage.

Also, the filter is a 2213 ehiem canister filter, are those any good for a 55 G?


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

First off, a 5 year old tank does not need to be resiliconed unless it is leaking. Vinegar is okay for mineral deposits, but I would bleach everything. Bleach gets rid of a lot of things vinegar won't. I would bleach first, and then use vinegar for any mineral deposits. I never use a tank without bleaching first. vinegar will neutralize any residual bleach. A 55 certainly shouldn't be scrapped for a leak (as someone suggested), when a $4 tube of silicone and a few single edged razor blades will fix it, with about an hour's worth of effort.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Thank you guys so much!

Will any bleach do? Like the clothes kind of bleach? (Sorry for sounding new - haha). And do I just dip cloth in bleach, ring it out, then wipe down tank? Same for the vinegar? 

Thanks!


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi Daveyman.

I wouldn't use scented bleach. And I also suggest your do this outside, in a garage or at least in a WELL ventilated room wearing rubber gloves and protective glasses (or eyeglasses) and old cloths.

The bleach is great for sterilization but the vinegar will help with the calcium deposits, so if you really want to use bleach, do the vinegar scrub (elbow grease required) first for the calcium then rinse well with water then a rinse with the bleach, let stand for several minutes then rinse well with cold water. Let dry. When filling it up, add a double dose of dechlor and let it sit for a day to make sure all the bleach is gone. I may be a bit over cautious but better safe than sorry.

Cheers.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Ooo, conflicting advice here. You'll have to choose.
But one word of advice. Saving $100 is not worth the $10 000 you will have to spend fixing your house when it busted. Even though that's a worst case scenario, but it's happened.

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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Zebrapl3co said:


> Ooo, conflicting advice here. You'll have to choose.
> But one word of advice. Saving $100 is not worth the $10 000 you will have to spend fixing your house when it busted. Even though that's a worst case scenario, but it's happened.


Um, which is the conflicting advice? The silicone or the bleach or the vinegar?

Can you be more specific please?


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## CICHthis (Oct 10, 2008)

I think he might be refering to the silicone part. Why take a chance and re-silicone the tank and know that it has a fresh seal or allow it for possible failure. Then again, I'm no mind reader and am speculating.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Don't remove the silicone unless you have a good reason to do so. Its only a few years old, and if it's been running the whole time, there should be no issues with the silicone.

For washing out the tank, I suggest just going with vinegar straight. For the tough calcium deposits, use a razor to scrape most of it off and the rest should be removable by vinegar alone. That should have the tank looking good as new.

There's really no reason to be using bleach to nuke everything. Unless it needs a sterilization, just clean with vinegar.

The eheim 2213 is too small for that tank despite it being rated for 66g. It's rated for 66g with very low fishload. You'll need a second fair sized filter. Also, the flow from a 2213 is not sufficient for a 4' tank.

Now get going on that cleaning and fill er up!


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

I would not buy the tanlk. You said it is in the garage. The cold will cause the silicone to retract and the warmth will mkae it expand. Over time this will destroy the seal. Plus 5 year old tank. What is it worth $35 max. You need to do the math and figure if it is really worth the money to buy a tank that might last a few years or even a few months. That is way too old to be positive there wont be a problem even if it does hold water in front of you at the sellers home does not mean in a few weeks there wont be a problem. Buy a new tank and save yourself the trouble. 

If you do buy the tank I am with the others who said resilicone it. 

If you use bleach it should be mixed with water 10-1. 10 being the water 1 being the bleach. Do not use straight bleach.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Silicone is meant to be used outside, so a tank stored in a garage will not have the silicone deteriorate from the cold or from drying out. I stored several tanks in a garage for 10 years (while out of the hobby) and used them with out problem. 
While bleaching may not be necessary, I like to start with a sterile setup. I use enough bleach to make the water feel slippery. Things like filter boxes and small tanks, I run through the dish washer.
As far as used tanks go, I only have 2 tanks in my possesion of the 20 or so that were bought new. One (a 10 gal) was bought in the 60s, and the second, a 32 was bought in 1973. Every other tank was bought as a leaker other than the 5 I built. One was built about 40 yeqars ago, and the other 4 were built around 1992. All are in use.
It never ceases to amaze me how people are so free with other peoples money when offering suggestions, and how everyone knows better than the manufacturers whether a filter is adequate for a particular setup.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Thanks for everyones responses!

I'm rethinking buying the aquarium..

It comes with gravel and ornaments and stand and everything, test kits, extra bulbs, but I can get a brand new tank, with heater and filter and such plus a stand for 400 for Big Als (after taxes) 

Do you think I should go for it?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Well, it depends on what your buddy is asking for the tank. For $75 it's a no brainer.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

350 for everything


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

$3.50?

If not, get the new tank.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Haha,

Yeah, I tihnk that's what i'm deciding...

New Tank, New Stand, no cleaning.

Now with cycling my tank.. is there a way i can make the process faster by using my old tanks water? it's a 29 gallon


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Use the filter media. Swap out your media in the filter right now with new media, but leave your present media in the tank until the other tank is ready to receive the media. Will allow for the colonization of the new tank media/surfaces much faster and result in a really short cycle, provided you give food for the bacteria to spread.


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## Daveyman (Jan 28, 2009)

Okay - just to follow,

I need to take the cartridge out of my filter in the 29 gallon thank,
Put a new one in,
Leave in until the other fish tank is filled with water and gravel and such
Put the entire filter on the new tank
Don't add any fish to the tank yet
Put fish flakes in the water for bacteria?

I hope have this right =) Just wasn't sure!

Thanks though!


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