Cleaning a tank that's been sitting empty for a long time

[stroebele]

I have a tank that has sat unused in my garage for about a year, it that time, dust and dead bugs have accumulated in the tank. I've tried wiping the tank out a few times, but always seem to have floaties in the water when I feel the tank up. What's the best way to clean a tank that's sat for a while?
Thanks

 

[lion_crazz]

I would soak the tank in white vinegar over night to kill any harmful toxins that have accumulated in the tank.

 

[stroebele]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I would soak the tank in white vinegar over night to kill any harmful toxins that have accumulated in the tank.
What ratio of water to Vinegar? I'm assuming by saying soak the tank if Vinegar, you don't mean fill it with 150 gallons of vinegar, my wife would think I've lost it.

 

[vicegrip]

vinegar works great. 5:1 should be about right to scrub the sides if not add more vinegar. then 20:1 to fill and soak

 

[xdave]

The floaties are up getting stuck up under the rim. You might want to pop it off to rinse it and silicon it back on.

 

[maeistero]

whoa!!!!
i would never pop off the rim just to clean a tank. that's pretty much insanity.
in kansas i put it upside down on the deck or a picnic table and spray it down. a pressure washer is too much pressure on anything above the car fitting (been there done that) just hose it for awhile.
as long as your silicone looks good you should be ok. if it's rodent ate up toss it and get a new one. if you take the rim off the price is the same.

'

what i do is just fill it, set up filters and start to cycle. skim it and use a net. simple as he11 compared to resilicone.

 

[stroebele]

re-siliconing it is something I'm not comfortable with, no offense I just think it's a step I don't want to take. I'm going to wipe the tank down again using the vinegar mix discussed here, then I'll run clean water through it and try to filter the floaties out.
Thanks for the tips everyone.

 

[snakeblitz33]

just use a net to get the floaties. I would personally take the tank and wash it out, then turn it upside down on the driveway in the sun and let the sun bake it. You do this because the chemicals that you used will be baked out of it. Good little trick.