Converting An "older" Tank From Saltwater To Fresh

[Fuego]

Hi! My wife and I are finally ready to start setting up our second, 40g, tank. Our first was a little 15g starter tank. We are still relative newbies.

After the stress of worrying about our platys while we cycled the first tank with fish-in, we've decided to cycle the second tank fishlessly. We haven't really read up on the process of cycling the tank chemically... yet... but my questions here are really about the tank itself!

We got the tank from some co-workers. My wife traded some massage hours -- she's an LMT -- for the 40g tank, which comes with some equipment like a filter, heater, some plastic plants, even some rocks. The tank also has a very nice stand with cabinets. The tank has been sitting first in our friends' house and lately (for a couple of months) in our garage, open to the air. As far as I know, the tank was being used until fairly recently as a saltwater tank; the previous owners' fish died when the owner was injured and unable to get in to her (locked) office where the fishtank was for several weeks. So the fish died, but not because of some disease or anything like that.

We have some questions about cleaning it and re-using old equipment:

(1) The inside of the tank is probably a bit dirty/dusty, but not too bad. We'll need to clean it out, wipe it down a bit. But we're concerned about adding any bad cleaning chemicals to the tank. Should we just use old rags, which have been through the clotheswasher, to wipe it down? Or would paper towels be better? Should we just use some water to help us clean it out, or are there some kind of fish-safe cleaning chemicals we can use???

(2) Since the previous owners of the tank used it as a salt-water aquarium, is there anythnig else we should do to clean it??? Any problems, in other words, with converting the tank from saltwater to freshwater???

(3) Is the filtration, heating equipment, fake plants, rocks, etc. safe to use in a freshwater tank??? Should we get all new equipment anyway, or is it okay to use slightly older equipment??? (As far as I know, it all works fine, and the previous owner will help us with the setup to make sure everything is working and if we need to buy any new stuff.)

(4) Are there any other things we should be worried about before we start adding water to the tank and beginning the process of cycling the tank fishlessly???

Any advice or suggestions anyone can give us would be awesome. (Any links to good websites or discussions on this forum about fishless tank cycling?) This forum has been a very good place for us to get information, and a nice complement to the knowledge we get from books and the LFS. Always nice to hear from people who have direct hands-on experience doing what we are doing!

Thanks!

 

[thereverendturtle]

Just use water and some cheap white vinegar to clean it out and remove any hard water stains. The only thing I wouldn't use is the rock or any substrate if that was included. Most rocks used in saltwater, will raise the pH. Rinse everything else well and it will be fine to use.
There are several threads on here about fishless cycling.

 

[Fuego]

Just use water and some cheap white vinegar to clean it out and remove any hard water stains. The only thing I wouldn't use is the rock or any substrate if that was included. Most rocks used in saltwater, will raise the pH. Rinse everything else well and it will be fine to use.
There are several threads on here about fishless cycling.

Thanks for your information! The problem with this forum is that there are almost too many threads! Way too MUCH information about fishless tank cycling, don't know where to begin.

 

[OldMan47]

We have a pinned thread for fishless and another for fish in cycling. I have a link to them in my signature area. The wealth of cycling threads are more about people who have minor problems along the way, not the basics of how to go about cycling.
Check your tap water pH Fuego. If I recall correctly, you have almost no minerals in your water and may be dealing with a low buffering capacity in your tap water. That will mean a pH crash or two during a fishless cycle.

 

[Fuego]

Awesome links in your signature, OldMan47. Looks like I'll be doing some reading!