When You've Acquired A Used Aquarium...

[ZanDPY]

Let's say you've picked up an old aquarium from a yard sale. It came with everything but the water, plants and fish.

Before you even think about putting fish into it what needs to be checked, cleaned, tossed, and repaired?

 

[rabbut]

You need to clean all the equipment and I'd recomend replacing all filter media. Any decor supplied should also be cleaned. I do this in 1 part CHLORIEN bleach to 10 parts water. This will sterilise everything and make it safe for use.

Next up, check the seals in the tank. If there is any algea growing UNDER them, you will need to replace the seals. Once algea grows under them, you generaly have 6 months before they go Also, press outwards on the front and back, followed by side pannels. Look for any movement. If the glass moves, you need to have the tank re-build because the structural silicone will have gone. Run the filter in a sink somewhere with fresh media in. The flow should be good and there shouldn't be excess noise. Lights should be checked and tubes changed if you are planning on keeping plants. After this, set-up and Cycle your tank with liquid ammonia, as described within This Thread and the threads it links to

All the best
Rabbut

 

[flash22]

fill it up with water out side and leave it a few days to make sure it dont leak

empty it it out and give it a good scrub out with hot water with a squirt of ammonia to kill any nasties


the rest is common sence

 

[Inchworm]

Hi ZanDPY

I would use everything except the heater and the filter media (unless it's new). Everything else should be safe with a bit of cleaning.

If there are hard water lines or patches on the glass or metal, a short soak in white vinegar and a little rubbing with a plastic scrubber should remove it. If there are patches of dried algae, wet it and use the scrubber pad with some table salt as a mild abrasive . Rinse well.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi ZanDPY

I would use everything except the heater and the filter media (unless it's new). Everything else should be safe with a bit of cleaning.

If there are hard water lines or patches on the glass or metal, a short soak in white vinegar and a little rubbing with a plastic scrubber should remove it. If there are patches of dried algae, wet it and use the scrubber pad with some table salt as a mild abrasive . Rinse well.

Also, there was a quite interesting thread about how fresh lemon can be good (used like the white vinegar) in the fight against old hard water lines.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LellowFish]

[stalks topic]

This is really helpful!

 

[Skodaman1]

Agree, really useful.

1 more question in the same vein though...

Once the tank has been scrubbed with the diluted bleach, and rinsed thoroughly, how much dechlorinator/tapsafe/stuff should I add to the final rinse?

Is there a testing kit for Cl?

 

[rabbut]

I would add a double dose of dechlorinator to the final rince and allow it to stew for half an hour or so. After that, it should all be good

There is no need to test Chlorien levels.

All the best
Rabbut

 

[ZanDPY]

You need to clean all the equipment and I'd recomend replacing all filter media. Any decor supplied should also be cleaned. I do this in 1 part CHLORIEN bleach to 10 parts water. This will sterilise everything and make it safe for use.

Next up, check the seals in the tank. If there is any algea growing UNDER them, you will need to replace the seals. Once algea grows under them, you generaly have 6 months before they go Also, press outwards on the front and back, followed by side pannels. Look for any movement. If the glass moves, you need to have the tank re-build because the structural silicone will have gone. Run the filter in a sink somewhere with fresh media in. The flow should be good and there shouldn't be excess noise. Lights should be checked and tubes changed if you are planning on keeping plants. After this, set-up and Cycle your tank with liquid ammonia, as described within This Thread and the threads it links to

All the best
Rabbut

That is going to be incredibly helpful.