Can this tank be salvaged? What to do for dirty, neglected tanks?

foxandhound

foxandhound

Member
I am considering to buy a used tank setup and I found a great deal on one that is up and running. The person that owned/maintained the tank moved away and authorized the fam to sell it. They don't have the interest/time, so the tank is pretty dirty. There is thick algae all over the walls and on the rocks (scattered red/blown splotches and tons of thin, white stiff with a hairy appearance).
The fish and coral appear healthy. They fed the fish some brine shrimp and everyone swam around and not in a starved rampage either.
So my question is can this tank be recovered and back to thriving with out too many casualties and what is the best way to clean it????? Is it best to clean in stages as not to shock the fish and corals?
I am looking to hire a company to help relocate the aquarium, but I wanted your feedback, opinions, and suggestions on how to proceed. I am in South Florida if anyone knows any specialists to relocate a tank, just PM me.
I'll post pics below...Thanks!!!
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
since everything has to be removed from the tank to move it, I would set up a temp tank for the fish in your home first. A rubbermaid tub with a hang on back filter would work just fine. you can add a few piece of your cleaned live rock to the tub for the fish to hide and to keep the water stable.
when you start tearing down the tank its going to stir up a lot of gunk. Get a new clean scrub brush and scrub the rock in a bucket of salt water. keep the rock wet while moving it. use buckets or rubbermaid tubes.
I would replace the sand. old sand beds can cause more problems then good. Keep just a few lbs of it to seed the new sand.
keep your bio ball wet, just rinse them off good with salt water.
once you get the empty tank to your house, just scrap and clean the inside.
set everything back up except the fish. Test if for a week or so to be sure you dont get an ammonia spike.
T
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi and welcome to the site,
The tank is far from garbage. If it is an acrylic tank it could be scratched...if it is a glass tank just transfer it and clean the tank before setup. Don't clean the rock, unless you see hair algae and the pic looks like it does not, just put it in tubs and keep it damp with wet news paper wrapped around it. Get rid of the fish, you will want your own choices in the tank once it recycles and makes no sense to have fish you may not want pushed on you.
Don't say anything to the sellers...just bag the fish, box up the tank contents, rocks in a tub sand in a tub, snails and what not in a baggie as well. give the critters away...Rocks go in first, then sand....RO water to fill it then let the tank cycle before you add anything alive. A piece of raw shrimp will kick start your ammonia spike to start the cycle.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Flower, why would you tell him not to clean the rock, it looks like it is full of gunk that has settled on it along with algea. I always get a clean bucket of saltwater, a clean new scrub brush. Scrub the rock and rinse in salt water, this removes excess algea and detritus (poop) before adding it to a new tank.
since this is an established tank, I dont think he needs to add the dead shrimp either. Moving things a round will aready start a small cycle and he really doesnt need to since its already established.
fox, you will find there is no one way to do things and everyone will do things a little differant. You will have to research all opinions and pick the one you think is best for you.
T
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///t/388629/can-this-tank-be-salvaged-what-to-do-for-dirty-neglected-tanks#post_3428438
Flower, why would you tell him not to clean the rock, it looks like it is full of gunk that has settled on it along with algea. I always get a clean bucket of saltwater, a clean new scrub brush. Scrub the rock and rinse in salt water, this removes excess algea and detritus (poop) before adding it to a new tank.
since this is an established tank, I dont think he needs to add the dead shrimp either. Moving things a round will aready start a small cycle and he really doesnt need to since its already established.
fox, you will find there is no one way to do things and everyone will do things a little differant. You will have to research all opinions and pick the one you think is best for you.
T
I could see that if its hair algae to take brush to it...but just settled gunk ..shake the rock, any lose stuff will come off. The "poop" is good for restarting the tank. LOL...why would you tell him to keep the fish he didn't choose...LOL If he wraps the rock in paper and transports it like stores get it...he should have to recycle wouldn't he?
That last line is oh so very true!
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
as for the rock, depending on how far he is moving it, it wont have die off. Thats why I said to move it in buckets or tubs, to keep it wet. lol
As for the fish, he never said he didnt like the fish in there, thats up to him if he wants them, but I would never tell anyone to just get rid of them. He may like the fish that are in the tank.
T
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///t/388629/can-this-tank-be-salvaged-what-to-do-for-dirty-neglected-tanks#post_3428444
as for the rock, depending on how far he is moving it, it wont have die off. Thats why I said to move it in buckets or tubs, to keep it wet. lol
As for the fish, he never said he didnt like the fish in there, thats up to him if he wants them, but I would never tell anyone to just get rid of them. He may like the fish that are in the tank.
T
Well...true on all points. I was thinking more on the lines of starting over totally fresh. I like to choose my own fish, and you're right he didn't say he didn't like them. So new person...if you want to just start from scratch...do my way and if you want to salvage the other persons set up and just move it...do It T's way. Teresa's method will have your new tank up and running in hours instead of days or weeks....
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I agree with replacing the sandbed, and scrubbing the live rock.
Aside from the basics of moving and setting up an old tank, check to make sure that all the equipment is working properly. You may want to soak all the old pumps and powerheads in vinegar for an hour or so to break up any calcerous deposits that build up over time. That way they don't cause excess heat, and will run at full efficiency.
Before the tank is set up again, and everything is out of it - before you put down a new sand bed, you might want to take some vinegar and scrape the glass with a razorblade. If it's acrylic, you need to scrape it with a plastic credit card and some vinegar. This will get all of the calcerous deposits, algae, and so on off the glass and make it look a lot better.Regular white vinegar is very acidic, so it will eat through the calcium, and make it soft and able to be scraped.
If you have a voltmeter, you might want to go ahead and check each individual powerhead, pump, and heater to make sure it isn't leaking voltage into the tank before you put fish in the system. Sometimes when you move old tanks around, you can damage the pumps/powerheads/heaters which cause voltage to leak into the new set up. It's just something to look in to.
I also think you should have a bit of saltwater already pre-mixed (or bought) so that after your tank is set up, you can do water changes as necessary, or have it as an emergency in case something goes wrong or your ammonia spikes and you have fish in there.
I don't think the back of the glass on that tank is painted or anything, but before it's set up, you may want to consider painting the back of the glass with some black or blue (or whatever color you prefer) Krylon spray paint. It gives it a background so you won't be staring at your wall. It also can't be done after the tank is set up. Spray painting the back of your tank should only take 15 minutes, including taping the tank up. Painting a black background, to me, makes the colors of the fish and corals "pop" and is well worth the extra 15 minutes.
I'de also go ahead and replace the light bulbs in the fixture. No telling how old they are. I'de start keeping a record of how old the lights are when you replace them, or write the date on them with a sharpie, unless it's a metal halide. Old lights cause algae problems, they aren't good for corals, and have lost their intensity, and shifted their color spectrum to be more "red."
Anyways, those are just a few thoughts. I hope this helps.
 
foxandhound

foxandhound

Member
Thank you everyone!!! I am excited to jump on this! I want to do this the best way possible and I definitely want the fish and corals to live!!! I like the fish, they are the same as I would choose. :D
I have an empty 55 gallon tank and fluval 205 in my home, maybe I can fill this tank up halfway as a temp home for the fish? The tank is empty right now, should I fill it up today and get this process started? Does this temporary tank need rock, sand, a powerhead, or at least a few days for cycling prior to making it a temporary home? I am asking because you are suggesting that I use a temp tank for a week or so and I definitely want to keep the fish. :)
From what you guys are saying, as for the 75g used tank, I am going to clean it with Vinegar, a Razor, and new scrub brush, and rinse it with saltwater. Should I toss most/all of the old saltwater and replace with new saltwater? I understand that I should keep some of the sand and replace the rest, so should replacement sand be live?
The rocks are full of hairy algae, I'll clean the rocks in new saltwater in buckets and then place them in the tank.
I will soak all pumps and tubes in vinegar too. I'll replace the GFO as well. Hopefully the person I hire will have a voltmeter to check the powerhead, pump, and heater. Actually, I'll see it to this happens! Thank you for all of this info...so helpful!
By the way, can I use a Fluval 205 or a biowheel with a sump system? I know sumps are best, but this one is homemade?
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Nothing wrong with homemade sumps as long as they are designed properly and don't leak. 95% of the people here probably have homemade sumps. Get us a good picture when you get it. I wouldn't bother with a canister filter if you have a sump.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Heck, I've used rubbermaid totes in the past for sumps. Home made sumps are great if they don't leak or don't produce a lot of microbubbles.
 
foxandhound

foxandhound

Member
Just wanted to ask, what type of coral is this- it is all over the tank, on rocks here, there, everywhere. Is it some type of problem? Looks cool, but....it's thriving so much that it has me worried.
 
rainbow grouper

rainbow grouper

Active Member
Fragging xenia: Just literally cut it off if you don't want it but make sure the slime doesn't touch other corals, or you could always do it in a bucket.
 
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