How do you prep a used tank?

mool · Post by **mool** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:17 pm

I'm starting to clean up my recently acquired 75g tank of dubious origin. It held fish before, freshwater, I believe. Right now I'm working on removing the grime with elbow grease, and copious amounts of water and white vinegar.

Do you sanitize them? If so, how?

What do you do to make a previous fish tank ready for crabs?

Post by **JoeHermits** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:18 pm

A razor blade can be really helpful for stubborn spots.

If soap or bleach would do a better job cleaning than vinegar then they are fine to use so long as you rinse out the tank afterwards.

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Post by **wodesorel** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:31 pm

I strongly recommend a straight razor blade for cleaning glass. Scrubbing dirty fishtanks can scratch the glass if there is any sand, gravel or mineral debris. I've ruined a few good tanks this way! A razor blade will cleanly remove anything that can be removed. If the glass is still hazy after then it's probably permanently etched. I can scrape a nasty tank down in about 20 minutes with a good handle on the blade.

As for cleaning, if I'm doing it outside with a hose I like to use cleaning ammonia. It does a bangup job on the glass and any remaining crud, sterilizes, and leaves no residue once rinsed and dried. On smaller tanks indoors I will use bleach instead in the bathtub to sterilize. If the tank can't be rinsed completely after, I stick with vinegar as residue won't harm animals.

If I'm not trying to sterilize the tank, then I have no problems using dishoap to clean up messes and rinsing it out thoroughly.

mool · Post by **mool** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 4:24 pm

Thanks to @JoeHermits and @Wodesorel! Right now I have the tank (75 gal) on a table in a greenhouse. It's pretty clean, but the glass is hazy (etched). Not much I can do about that. While I would prefer crystal clear glass for my viewing pleasure, it was more important to have the bigger tank for my crabs.

I'll probably fill it with water and add some bleach and then pump it all out with a siphon and fill again and heavily dechlorinate; air dry and get busy!

Post by **JoeHermits** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:50 pm

You don’t need to dechlorinate rinse water! The risks of tap are low if not used for drinking or swimming.

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mool · Post by **mool** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 10:22 pm

Good tip, thanks!

Hermielover121 · Post by **Hermielover121** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:08 pm

I actually just got a tank from market place for my snake and it looks kind of dirty. I was just wondering if vinegar would be good enough to clean it since it seems it was used for another reptile before. It’s quite heavy so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to carry it up the stairs again to the bathtub but I will if it is necessary.

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Post by **wodesorel** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:56 am

Vinegar cleans but it doesn't sanitize, and there are communicable diseases between reptiles that can be nasty and can stick around for a long time on objects. I use a 10% pure cleaning ammonia, or a 7% peroxide (use gloves, this is 40 volume clear developer for hair. I get it at Sally's Beauy) for new reptile tanks because of this. It's the only two things that will kill cryptosporidium which can be deadly and chronic, and it can live on surfaces for 18 months or more. I'll scrub the tank down good to remove all debris and then finish with the sanitizing. Ammonia shouldn't be used inside at this strength because of the odor. Neither need to be rinsed off, though it makes it easiest, but both should be allowed to sit for 10 minutes to work their magic then wiped off with water and allowed to fully dry. I had a gecko with crypto and managed to keep it from spreading, but I've been paranoid ever since!

mool · Post by **mool** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:46 pm

Great info!!

Hermielover121 · Post by **Hermielover121** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:32 pm

wodesorel wrote:Vinegar cleans but it doesn't sanitize, and there are communicable diseases between reptiles that can be nasty and can stick around for a long time on objects. I use a 10% pure cleaning ammonia, or a 7% peroxide (use gloves, this is 40 volume clear developer for hair. I get it at Sally's Beauy) for new reptile tanks because of this. It's the only two things that will kill cryptosporidium which can be deadly and chronic, and it can live on surfaces for 18 months or more. I'll scrub the tank down good to remove all debris and then finish with the sanitizing. Ammonia shouldn't be used inside at this strength because of the odor. Neither need to be rinsed off, though it makes it easiest, but both should be allowed to sit for 10 minutes to work their magic then wiped off with water and allowed to fully dry. I had a gecko with crypto and managed to keep it from spreading, but I've been paranoid ever since!

Thanks so much. I will be getting some cleaning ammonia soon.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association

How do you prep a used tank?

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