Rat Tank As A Fish Tank?

[bobross]

Hello everyone!!

After about an hour of googling, i can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for regarding a fish tank I want to buy. Here's the skinny.

I was approached by a kid wanting to sell this used 40(ish) gallon fish tank for a heck of a deal. $10 to be exact. The glass is in real good shape and the hood & light are as well. The only problem I noticed was that there was a bunch of rat or mouse or some sort of rodent droppings at the bottom. I asked him if he ever housed any mice or the like in it and he said no. he purchased it a garage sale and never set it up. He had no idea house the poop got in there.

My assumptions are that a mouse or something used it as a temporary home and thats where the feces came from. I examined the silicone & there were no visible marks or spots where it had been chewed at. The silicone also seemed to feel fairly soft, like it normally does on a fish tank, I guess.

Again, the tank is fairly good shape & I figured for $10, it's not much of a financial loss. I'm gonna buy it regardless to the answer to my question but wanted to come and ask everyone here to see what you all would advise.

I want to say I 've read somewhere that rodent or mouse feces is bad for aquarium silicone as the silicone can absorb something from the poop and in turn leech it back into the aquarium water. Maybe I made that up in my head too. Anyone got ideas if thats true or just a pipe dream?

Thanks

BobRoss

 

[drobbyb]

Are you looking for an answer as far as how to clean and sanitize the tank so that it's safe for fish? If so, I have always used bleach in a 1 part bleach (the cheap kind works best) to 10 parts water ratio. This will sanitize the inside of the tank, and a good scrub (take care of the silicone) will take care of any leftovers from the previous tenant.

Just be careful because bleach softens the silicone a bit, but once fully dried the seals remain intact. Triple rinse the tank with clean water and use a double dose of dechlorinator when you fill it.

 

[bobross]

Well, that answer is actually more relevant to my question than my question itself, if that makes sense. I have no idea where I read that at, but I was talking it over with a buddy the other day and he seemed to recall reading it somewhere too. Regardless, i guess it doesn't matter where I read it at since that answer helps more than what I was looking for.

Just wondering here, how much total water/bleach mix should i use? I've always been skeptical of using any sort of cleaning agent or chemical inside my tanks which is why I ask. I was thinking of a very small amount of bleach, like 1/4 or 1/3 of a cup mixed with a gallon or two of water and rinse it like crazy when I was done. Sound good?

Im gonna get the tank tomorrow(Wednesday) and will probably upload a couple of pics when I get around to it. It won't be setup for quite sometime since I need to track down or build a stand for it. Thanks drobbyb, good answer!!


Take care everyone & goodnight,

BobRoss

 

[arobinson1984]

10 parts water to 1 part bleach, so if you use 5ml of bleach, mix it with 50ml of water or anything to that same ratio such as 10ml bleach to 100ml water etc

Andy