How to Sterilize a Tank?

[R_sustaita]

I hope this belongs here.

But how would you sterilize a tank? as many of you know John was a good guy and gave me a 29g tank that his neighbor gave him. the tank was in his garage and now i have it on my apartments storage. its been there for like a month or less. but i am ready to set it up, all the glass is super dirty and has lots of calcium stains on it. what to do to clean it and place fish on it.

thank you in advance.

[eklikewhoa]

Vinegar and water, safest way imo

[R_sustaita]

so can i place the bath tub with water and pour the vinager on it. also the dome, and the filter?

[mgarrido]

white vinegar, warm water and razor blades for remove the calcium stains.

[R_sustaita]

sounds like a long evening. i may jsut do it on the weekend.

[tbui1178]

white vinegar, warm water and razor blades for remove the calcium stains.

+1

[Totenkampf]

white vinegar is best for anything in contact with the water. for things like hoods and glass tops i have been known to use CLR to save time but then you have to flush / rinse / soak it really well and avoid getting it on silicon. pool acid (muriatic / hydrochloric) would work too if you are comfortable working with it and you can do it outside. its pretty bad stuff though but it will neutralize with water completely if you rinse it out really well.

[troy tucker]

let us know how it comes out.

[eklikewhoa]

Muriatic acid.works good but dilute it, I've used this in extreme cases and it worked out good.

[afremont]

white vinegar is best for anything in contact with the water. for things like hoods and glass tops i have been known to use CLR to save time but then you have to flush / rinse / soak it really well and avoid getting it on silicon. pool acid (muriatic / hydrochloric) would work too if you are comfortable working with it and you can do it outside. its pretty bad stuff though but it will neutralize with water completely if you rinse it out really well.

I used CLR in a used tank to remove water scale. I believe it's only composed of various acids and no surfactants (soaps). I just rinsed it out real well and haven't seen any problems out of the fish I've put in it. I use it for a quarantine tank. Soaking paper towels with white vinegar helps to remove deposits also. Some times the glass is just etched and nothing is going to take it off. Fortunately most of that stuff pretty much disappears when you put water in it.

If I really wanted to sterilize a tank, I'd use potassium permanganate and bleach (separately of course). Rinse well and dry in the sun.

[R_sustaita]

welll i think i will try vinegar and water. i hate muriatic acid. lots of fumes. i will do that this weekend and see how it goes i will place before and after pics.

[afremont]

Use White Vinegar

welll i think i will try vinegar and water. i hate muriatic acid. lots of fumes. i will do that this weekend and see how it goes i will place before and after pics.

Use white vinegar, not the brown stuff. It smells pretty strong too. The nice thing about bleach is that dechlorinator is good at neutralizing it. When I clean with bleach, I rinse well and fill with water. Then I dose about 10 times the normal amount of dechlorinatore to make sure the bleach is neutralized. I do the same when cleaning decorations or gravel.

[R_sustaita]

sweet. i had though about it but since everyone suggested white vinegar i will be going that route.

[madehtsobi]

dont forget the pics! lol

[R_sustaita]

i wont i promise.