Restoring an old tank.

sgtfuzz · 08/16/2018, 09:46 PM

I bought an old 65 gallon saltwater tank. The tank is in poor condition rock hard salt creep, glass stained with algae, and when i saw it all livestock was dead and decomposing.

I threw away the rock and sand and im not keeping any of the equipment that came with it. I'd like to restore the tank and set it up as a clownfish and anemone tank. I'm looking for any tips and suggestions when it comes to sterilizing the tank.

My original thought process was to take it outside and blast it with a power washer and bleach. But before i go do something like that I figured I'd ask around if anyone has gone through what I have.

My goal is to completely sterilize the tank so that none of the algae and any harmeful diseases and bacteria wont be a problem in my tank. The original owner said the dead livestock have been inside it for over 3 months and died due to what he thought was a bad break out of ick.

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Tastee · 08/17/2018, 02:02 AM

I’d fill and soak it with a weak vinegar solution first, to remove as much of the scale you can. I’d be concerned that blasting it before doing this may cause more scratching. You also want to be very careful with the silicon seals and your power washer. I wouldn’t blast it at all, and just use soft bristles and vinegar.

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Rover88 · 08/17/2018, 06:13 AM

As Tastee said: Hot water and vinegar.

If you have a porch/deck/lawn, just put it on the lawn and fill it with tap water and leave it to sit for a while. This'll soften up pretty much any amount of salt creep. You might have to brush it here and there, but that part will be relatively painless.

When it comes time to clean off the algae and other part thats caked in, take some water out and replace it with vinegar.

Vinegar and elbow grease will get the job done easy. I cleaned and saved a 75 gallon that had old caked on stuff with a LITTLE vinegar, inside of an apartment. I just laid it on each side in turn, and put enough vinegar in to coat the glass and let it sit for a while before scrubbing with paper towel.

It cleaned up quite nicely. Didn't need a pressure hose, and as mentioned above I'd be worried about the seals.

Oh, a glass scraper REALLY helps.Pretty much just a razorblade in a holder, it does an amazing job with the stuff that just won't come off.

WVfishguy · 08/17/2018, 12:39 PM

Please listen to a professional with 50 years experience of taking care of hundreds of tanks, old and new.

(I know that statement automatically ticks some people off, but tough, it's true.)

Coincidentally, the last tank I revamped was a 65 salt water.

The most important thing to do is: CHECK THE SILICON SEAL.

I hope this is a old Oceanic tank you're revamping. If so, I'm sure it will be fine. Oceanics are tough as nails, and the 65 is a particularly good one.

But make sure the silicon is still soft and malleable, but not spongy, and well connected and sealed to the glass. If the silicon is shredding at the edges, has bubbles, or is peeling off the glass, you need to reseal the tank. (Not that big a deal.)

Everything else is gravy. Just pour in a gallon of bleach, fill the tank with water, let it sit overnight (outside!) and if it doesn't leak, you've done all you need to do. It will be sterile.

All this other crap (pressure washing, etc.) is a waste of time. I've noticed people go through a lot more trouble than they have to.

Be sure to rinse the tank out well to get the bleach out. I always add Sodium thiosulfate to neutralize the bleach completely, but any good dechlorinating agent will do. It wouldn't hurt to let it sun-dry after rinsing out.

Of course, salt creep requires work. It actually took a me while (about an hour, a long time for me) to scrub off 20 years of salt creep from the frame. Do not try to do this while salt creep is dry; do this as the tank is full of water. Wear rubber gloves if bleach is present.

WVfishguy · 08/17/2018, 01:48 PM

I should amend my post to add something which should be common sense; you may want to let the tank sit more than one day if the algae inside has not bleached out, and there is so much salt creep it needs a day or two longer to soak and remove. And I should also add that vinegar is good for calcium and salt - I used so much of it I forgot to add this to my post. When I was in business, I bought bleach by the case and white, distilled vinegar by the gallon. Be careful not to get that new type of bleach, the thickened, non-spill stuff. It's too hard to neutralize/remove.

Sorry for the long post; more info is better than less.

08/16/2018, 09:46 PM	#1
sgtfuzz Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 22	Restoring an old tank. I bought an old 65 gallon saltwater tank. The tank is in poor condition rock hard salt creep, glass stained with algae, and when i saw it all livestock was dead and decomposing. I threw away the rock and sand and im not keeping any of the equipment that came with it. I'd like to restore the tank and set it up as a clownfish and anemone tank. I'm looking for any tips and suggestions when it comes to sterilizing the tank. My original thought process was to take it outside and blast it with a power washer and bleach. But before i go do something like that I figured I'd ask around if anyone has gone through what I have. My goal is to completely sterilize the tank so that none of the algae and any harmeful diseases and bacteria wont be a problem in my tank. The original owner said the dead livestock have been inside it for over 3 months and died due to what he thought was a bad break out of ick. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

08/17/2018, 12:39 PM	#4
WVfishguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 677	Please listen to a professional with 50 years experience of taking care of hundreds of tanks, old and new. (I know that statement automatically ticks some people off, but tough, it's true.) Coincidentally, the last tank I revamped was a 65 salt water. The most important thing to do is: CHECK THE SILICON SEAL. I hope this is a old Oceanic tank you're revamping. If so, I'm sure it will be fine. Oceanics are tough as nails, and the 65 is a particularly good one. But make sure the silicon is still soft and malleable, but not spongy, and well connected and sealed to the glass. If the silicon is shredding at the edges, has bubbles, or is peeling off the glass, you need to reseal the tank. (Not that big a deal.) Everything else is gravy. Just pour in a gallon of bleach, fill the tank with water, let it sit overnight (outside!) and if it doesn't leak, you've done all you need to do. It will be sterile. All this other crap (pressure washing, etc.) is a waste of time. I've noticed people go through a lot more trouble than they have to. Be sure to rinse the tank out well to get the bleach out. I always add Sodium thiosulfate to neutralize the bleach completely, but any good dechlorinating agent will do. It wouldn't hurt to let it sun-dry after rinsing out. Of course, salt creep requires work. It actually took a me while (about an hour, a long time for me) to scrub off 20 years of salt creep from the frame. Do not try to do this while salt creep is dry; do this as the tank is full of water. Wear rubber gloves if bleach is present. Last edited by WVfishguy; 08/17/2018 at 12:44 PM.

08/17/2018, 02:02 AM	#2
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	I’d fill and soak it with a weak vinegar solution first, to remove as much of the scale you can. I’d be concerned that blasting it before doing this may cause more scratching. You also want to be very careful with the silicon seals and your power washer. I wouldn’t blast it at all, and just use soft bristles and vinegar. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

08/17/2018, 06:13 AM	#3
Rover88 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 590	As Tastee said: Hot water and vinegar. If you have a porch/deck/lawn, just put it on the lawn and fill it with tap water and leave it to sit for a while. This'll soften up pretty much any amount of salt creep. You might have to brush it here and there, but that part will be relatively painless. When it comes time to clean off the algae and other part thats caked in, take some water out and replace it with vinegar. Vinegar and elbow grease will get the job done easy. I cleaned and saved a 75 gallon that had old caked on stuff with a LITTLE vinegar, inside of an apartment. I just laid it on each side in turn, and put enough vinegar in to coat the glass and let it sit for a while before scrubbing with paper towel. It cleaned up quite nicely. Didn't need a pressure hose, and as mentioned above I'd be worried about the seals. Oh, a glass scraper REALLY helps.Pretty much just a razorblade in a holder, it does an amazing job with the stuff that just won't come off.

08/17/2018, 01:48 PM	#5
WVfishguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 677	I should amend my post to add something which should be common sense; you may want to let the tank sit more than one day if the algae inside has not bleached out, and there is so much salt creep it needs a day or two longer to soak and remove. And I should also add that vinegar is good for calcium and salt - I used so much of it I forgot to add this to my post. When I was in business, I bought bleach by the case and white, distilled vinegar by the gallon. Be careful not to get that new type of bleach, the thickened, non-spill stuff. It's too hard to neutralize/remove. Sorry for the long post; more info is better than less.