I've Just Bought A New Tank :d

[allan078]

Hello.

So i've just bought myself a second hand 85 litre tank on ebay (please see here) (£67 for that package, quite good i thought)

What precautions should i take, if any, with a second hand tank? I intend on replacing all the filter media, not bothering using the under gravel filter, giving the tank a very good clean too (any fish friendly cleaning agents anyone could recommend from my LFS if required?), and for the first 6 weeks or so I'm planning on squeezing the sponges from my old filter into the new one.

Once it's up and running i intend to have it fairly heavily planted.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

 

[doresy]

Back in the day when I was running as many tanks as I could fit in the house I always did the same thing with a newly acquired second hand tank.

I placed it on a flat hard surface in the garage (or anywhere where water on the floor didn't matter)and filled the tank to the very brim with cold water and 25% 0f THIN household bleach) then left it for a couple of days.

This checks for leaks/seepage and cleaned the tank at the same time. Also in this time the outside of the tank should have dried of any splashing and condensation so try tracing around the silicone edges with a piece of toilet tissue which is the best check for seepage

Finally, empty the tank and rinse well with water and let air dry

 

[Gvilleguy]

I like what doresy suggested.

 

[allan078]

Sounds like a good idea. Although bleach makes me slightly nervous lol. Plus I live in a single room on a military base so the only space I have to have a fish tank full of water is where my current tank sits..

I'm going to wash it out as much as possible though. Don't know what was in it before hand and what diseases they may have had. Is there such a thing as fish tank cleaner? Ie something that'll kill anything nasty but if there's traces left in the tank won't kill all my fish?

Also, how deep should my substrate be if I'm putting real plants in?

 

[fluttermoth]

The best thing you can use, IMO, is a very strong salt solution. Freshwater parasites that can't survive salt water.

You can use a cheap, thin bleach, as doresy says, because it's chlorine based, and a rinse with water containing a double dose of dechlorinator will neutralise it.

I prefer salt though; like you, putting bleach in tanks scares me!

You need a couple of inches of substrate for plants

 

[allan078]

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[allan078]

Well I got the tank set up with the fish in. It's looking good. The water needs to clear up, went a bit cloudy because of the sand, and I need to start aquascaping. The fish seem a lot happier with an extra 56 litres to roam in!