help cleaning empty tank

[frankski]

Someone gave me a 100 gal tank.The problem is that it sat outside for a year and rain water sat in it. After cleaning it up i noticed small brown spots all over the inside. They wont come off with razor blade very easily. Any suggestions on what to use besides elbow grease?

 

[michaeltx]

try vinegar I know it really works great for hard water stains and getting some stubborn algae off. just be sure to rinse the tank very well several times with good clean water before setting up.
what are your plans for the tank.
Mike

 

[frankski]

will give it a try. going to go with an agressive setup-love what people say about triggers. i have a 110 gal. now but not trigger compatible so on to a 2nd tank.

 

[michaeltx]

kewl just research the trigger you want and compatiblity issues I thought I was good and was for several months till my humu humu trigger went ballistic after more reading they do that alot.
Mike

 

[chipmaker]

chlorox and a scotch brite pad will remove virtually anything that gets on a tanks glass, and a decently sharp single edge razor blade in a scraper works wonders also. As long as there is no gritty substance like sand in the tank scotch brite pads will not harm the glass.

 

[michaeltx]

how did they tank clean up or did you get to it yet.
Mike

 

[frankski]

just got some vinegar today. will try out tomorrow. will let you know

 

[frankski]

to chipmaker: have you ever used a tank that you cleaned with bleach. ive read posts that say its a no no. it would probably make my life easier using it ,but dont want to lose the first expensive batch of fish

 

[michaeltx]

I have used a diluted bleach solution but only as a last resort because it takes a lot of rinsing to be sure you get all the residual bleach out. any left in the tank will cause major problems as you pointed out.
Mike

 

[mandarin w]

It is always best to stay away from bleach. Best to use vinigar. But if feel the need to use bleach, You need to be very careful. That is why I didn't say anything about it before, But if you do, rinse, rinse, and rinse again, Then you need to use a chorine detoxifier like Prime, This should make any bleach residue safe. I would suggest, If you still can smell the bleach in the tank, you need to let it air out for a few days, and rinse again.
Really the only reason I could think of maybe risking useing bleach, is if the tank you want to use for your fish, was at one time used for lizards. That is only because lizards carry dealy to fish salmanila viruses. But vinigar is a wonderful cleaner. I have yet had a hard time getting the most stubrun coralline alge off of anything.
Just fill the tank up with a few jugs of vinigar and water, let it soak overnight or a few days. This will loosen up anything in the tank, and let you know if the tank leaks, After a couple days, anything that is in that tank will come off very easily,
Just rinse a few times, and you are good to go. Hint: While the tank is filled up with the vinigar water solution, any other equipment you may have that needs to be cleaned to reuse for this set up. powerheads, heaters, filter intake tubes etc. can soak in the tank while you have it filled. Then everything can be ready at the same time.