redlessi

Any suggestions on the easiest way to clean and rinse this 72 gal tank out before I set it up..............................

The previous owner said he cleaned it with windex before I picked it up on saturday......................

Jaysee

WINDEX The inside

Maybe try bleach. IDK

sirdarksol

Edit: I retract my previous post. What I thought was an alcohol is actually a very dangerous solvent. I am currently looking into ways of dealing with it.
(note; it is in very minute concentrations in Windex, and may not even be a problem, but I always want to err on the safe side in a closed system like an aquarium)

redlessi

I am not sure; what are you saying??

Nutter

Too easy. Give the whole thing a good wipe down with methylated spirits then rinse it like crazy with fresh water. If you want to know if there are still traces of windex in there, just give the inside glass a wipe with dampish paper towel. If the moisture evaporates the same way it does with windex, (quickly & streak free), there is still residue & you need to clean it again with the metho. If it dries out like normal water (slowly with water marks), you are set to go.

iloveengl

Basically, Sirdarksol is gonna look at the ingredients in Windex and try to find out the best way to counteract them.

Hopefully he'll get you the answer you need. I'm worried if you bleach it, that might cause some bad reactions with whatever is in windex. For now, it may be best to hold off filling the tank and see if Sirdarksol or anyone has more specific advice.

redlessi

What is methylated spirits I am not planning on even trying to clean it until the weekend, maybe.

Something just nagged at me to ask the guy what he cleaned the tank with and you can imagine how I felt when he said "just windex"

Thanks

thorpbrian

As someone who used to sell cleaning products I can tell you that the main ingredient in most kinds of Windex is ammonia which could be bad. However, cleaning it with other chemicals will probably only make it worse. As far as chemicals go there are much worse that could've been used.

The good news is that Windex is water soluble. I would rinse the tank several times with just plain warm water and wipe it down with paper towels after each rinse.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T USE BLEACH!!!!! Ammonia and bleach mixed together can react with a gas similar to MUSTARD GAS. (Google it if you like) Obviously your only dealing with mild ammonia residue but I wouldn't risk it.

Like I said just rinsing with plain water several times and wiping down the aquarium with paper towels will eventually get rid of any ammonia residue.

redlessi

Has anyone tried to rinse with a python or similar to get the water out that I put in?? Would that work as there is no way I can empty this very large tank without several people to help me and that is not an option anytime soon.

thorpbrian

The main ingredients in Windex to be worried about are isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol and ammonia.

The rest of the ingredients are dye, perfume, surfactants, and a water softener (all in very very low quantities). The majority of Windex is actually just plain water.

I'd really only be worried about isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol and ammonia. All these are in relatively low concentrations on Windex and generally will only survive in very low levels after the product is wiped away after use. The amount these ingredients could be present in your tank is very low and all of these products will almost certainly disappear after a good rinsing or two. Windex, and pretty much all non-disinfecting cleaning products, are designed not to leave much, if any, of a residue. Thus rinsing with water should be enough to get rid of any residue. As a matter of fact any time a cleaning product I sold left a residue we'd suggest just rinsing with plain water to get rid of the residue.

If your tank is already full of water what I'd do is scrub the sides and bottom of the tank with an algae brush than completely change the water twice with the python and then test the water parameters before cycling the tank and adding fish.

This is just my 2 cents. But I would feel pretty comfortable using the tank after two rinsings.

Tony G.

I think a python would do the job nicely, wait for sirdarksol's suggestion, but im pretty sure you can use the python you must be so excited!!

redlessi

I have not filled the tank or anything yet...............I picked the tank up last saturday, so he probably cleaned it somewhere around that time or before. Its just sitting in my living room for now.

Jaysee

Surfactants lower the surface tension of water - so would that aid in the gas exchange? HYPOTHETICALLY

Nutter

Methylated spirits is just a rubbing alcohol available at any hardware store. It's a solvent that leaves absolutley no residue behind at all. Fantastic for sterilizing tanks & cleaning them. Much easier & safer to use than bleach.

Most of the other suggestions up there are pretty good to. Just DON"T bleach it. Rinsing out with a python will be no problem. I do it all the time as most of my tanks are large & I can't move them easily either.

sirdarksol

Sorry about my delay, my internet died immediately after my last post.

This is no longer true.
Windex is now primarily water and alcohol with a form of glycol ether that I believe produces that streak-free coat that Nutter is talking about. (This is according to a current copy of "Original Windex's" MSDS)
Edit: These are the only three ingredients, presuming the guy used ordinary Windex; the original blue stuff we all recognize from the commercials. Thankfully, there are no perfumes or surfactants, the latter of which is a bigger deal, because a small amount of surfactant can kill fish.

Nutter's got the right idea. Bring the tank out into the yard, or somewhere else you can readily drain it (edit: or just use the Python... duh ;p I make things too difficult sometimes). I'd go with rubbing alcohol (not the mentholated stuff, just plain, clear rubbing alcohol), followed immediately by a rinse (don't let the alcohol evaporate. What you want to do is get the Windex chems into a liquid form so they mix with the water). Drain the water as best you can. Let it dry. Repeat as often as you feel is necessary. After the last wash, let the tank dry completely.

The first treatment will probably be enough for your fish to be fine, but as I said, I prefer erring on the side of caution when dealing with a closed system like this.

jdhef

Red, you may want to check and make sure he really used Windex, and doesn't refer to all glass cleaners as windex, much as most people refer to gelatian as Jello, no matter who makes it.

This could make a difference since different brands of window cleaner will have different chemical make ups.

redlessi

Yes he really used windex on the outside and inside. I will attempt to clean over the weekend with the rubbing alcohol.

Thanks so much for all of your assistance, its appreciated.

jdhef

Hey just remember, if it seems like too much work to clean it, I'll come and take it off your hands, just because I'm such a good friend!

redlessi

sirdarksol

Such kind, selfless people we have around the forum here.

Good luck with the tank.

One other thing I forgot to mention about the glycol ether that's in Windex; it biodegrades. Thus, letting a tank sit for a long time (a month, several months, a year) will get rid of it as well.
Just including this info for completeness, as it sounds like you're happy with the rubbing alcohol option.

jprime84

I have also heard of the smell test. If you can smell a trace of that windex in there, then there is probably still some residue.

Is there a water test that can be made to detect harmful elements besides the standard ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

redlessi

Are you saying if I just leave it alone for a few more weeks, I wont have to worry about it? because I like that option, then I will only have to rinse it and start from there........

sirdarksol

Yes, there are tests, but they're specific to the chemical in question, and most of them are not readily available to consumers (though you can probably order them) and are pretty expensive.

As far as letting it sit, it will work. The rub is that I don't know how long it needs to sit.
You could split the difference and do the alcohol thing once and then let it sit for a few weeks.
Really, I don't think a bit of Windex would be all that harmful. The specific substance that we're worrying about is listed as being "mildly toxic to aquatic animals." One alcohol wipedown and rinse, followed by a couple of weeks to let the remainder degrade, should make it absolutely fine for your fish.

redlessi

Again, I like the one wipe down, rinse and let sit for a few weeks option. That gives my fry a chance to get a little bigger before the move.

Thanks much, I so appreciate all of your assistance...............