Really manky tank

[Cavafish]

Hi

I too have been gone some time from the forums as I have simply been too busy to keep in touch. I find that i spent soooo much time here that I had to have put myself on a blanket ban.

My Question:

I have had a Juwel 60 litre tank sitting on my kitchen worktop festering away empty all summer and I now need to strip it down and restart it. The problem is when i say it has been empty it has only been empty of fish, everything else has been left in and running including heater and filter. As a result there is a sludgy brown algae(??) on the gravel, plants, wood etc and it is giving off bubbles.....

I am prepared to throw everthing away gravel, plants etc but what is the best way to then clean the tank, filter housing etc ??

Any help will greatly appreciated.

Cava

P.S. I have had to turn the lights off recently it has got that unsightly...... )

 

[WILDER]

Salt and hot water, then refill and leave salt water in for the night, then rinse well and leave to dry out for aday, filter hot warm salty water run filter for a while then refill bucket with fresh water and rinse with turning on filter again, plastic plants can be bleached, throw gravel and sponges away, or microwave sponges in a old jug a few times

 

[ncjharris]

I too have been gone some time from the forums as I have simply been too busy to keep in touch. I find that i spent soooo much time here that I had to have put myself on a blanket ban.

[snapback]907411[/snapback]​

Lol. Methinks there are a lot of people like that. How was the 'cold turkey'?!? Did you get the shakes?!

Anyhow, I would think a complete clean of everything would be ok. Hot water, mild detergent and a good rinse kind of thing.
You would have to recycle to tank too (fishless?), as I am guessing anything that has gone that long without an ammonia producer would not have an inherently mature nitrogen cycle. Although I am prepared to be told otherwise (decaying plant matter for example.

What ever you do, I would suggest a few days standing after the clean before adding fish and a water test to make sure that the tank has cycled.

If you are going to go one step more and bleach the tank (just in case) then make sure you rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse....you get the idea.

P.S. I have had to turn the lights off recently it has got that unsightly...... )

[snapback]907411[/snapback]​

Ah, better put fish back in it then!!

And welcome back!

 

[Durbkat]

If you get the water tested and its ok. Just get a pleco and he'll clean it away. No work on your part just feed him.

 

[fish_keeper2]

ummmmm how are you going to sugest a fish when we dont know what the tank size is or what fish.... and it wont be ok becuase there has been no fish so the bacteria has died and the tank needs to be recycled.

 

[Durbkat]

Um you better reread this topic fish keeper 2 because the person who started this topic says at the begging that he has a jewel 60 liter tank. And their might besome bacteria in it. And if he has another tank he could put the filter media from that tank in to this one. Or he could put ammonia in it to cycle it.

 

[funkybodal]

Hi there,

If you have a hosepipe outside then I would suggest the following: Remove the filter media into a bucket of TANK water. Take out as much substrate as possible and put that in a container (so you can clean it later). Remove the decor etc. Carry the tank outside and blast it down with a hose - lay the tank on its side so that water just flows out whilst you scrub the sides with a suitable sponge etc.

This has worked really well for me and usually results in your tank looking as good as new.

It's quick too so you can hopefully get the tank set back up in time to save some of the bacteria on your filter media, making cycling easier.

I wouldn't recommend adding a plec - he might clean some of the algae, but you'll still be left with a load of sludge and your tank will never look really clean.

Good luck.

 

[fish_keeper2]

Um you better reread this topic fish keeper 2 because the person who started this topic says at the begging that he has a jewel 60 liter tank. And their might besome bacteria in it. And if he has another tank he could put the filter media from that tank in to this one. Or he could put ammonia in it to cycle it.

[snapback]907519[/snapback]​

yes i know this. but once all the amonia is gone the bacteria die. so more than likely there is NO bacteria. also i have never herd of a plec eating brown sludgey algea....only green algea. and yes he can seed it or re-cycle it but it would simply be easier to take the whole thing down and start over as to seeing as there is no fish to worry about.