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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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Abused, neglected tank
Heya - I have a spare 30l tank that I initially used as a quarantine tank.
the tank is in my bedroom and the noise of the tricle filter used to drive me insane when trying to sleep after a night shift at work. SO, when I transferred the last of my fish from the QT into my main 200l aquarium, I foolishly thought, as there are no fish, I can turn the filter off, and as water started to evaporate below the heater 'min water' line, I turned the heater off to avoid damage.
My tank was healthy and cycled, but after sitting for a couple of months now, the tank doesn't look good at all...
lots of water evaporated, and left some residue on the inside walls.
Also, a mould / fungus has grown on parts of the inside of the tank.
Any thoughts as to how to clean it? Also, There is some gravel and a nice piece of wood decor in the tank that I would like to keep - Should I treat it with anything?
As I said, it was a healthy tank, but I fear it may not be now...
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Helper
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First just spray it out with a water hose outside. Your best bet after that is to clean what you can with salt water and a semi-abrasive sponge like you would use on dishes. Stay away from soap. On the stubborn areas, use a 10% bleach solution and rinse well. Bleach is better to use since it easily rinses out whereas soap just sticks all over everything.
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July 28th, 2008
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Moderator
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Like Ghostfish said, rinse it out, avoid soap, use a bleach solution to sanitize. Follow with an extra dose of dechlorinator (to get rid of the bleach)
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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wHAT ABOUT MY SUBSTRATE AND WOOD - DON'T WANNA BLEACH THE WOOD DO i?
aND THE FILTER? i HAVE A SPARE SPONGE FILTER CARTRIDGE SO i'LL THROW THE OLD ONE AWAY. i MEANT TO ASK FOR SOME ADVICE RE THIS FILTER - hOW EFFECTIVE IS IT?
Small trickle filter that sticks to the inside of the tank about 7 inches tall. Has a filter cartridge with built in charcoal and a thin spongey bit. There's a water inlet at the base that sucks water in, up and over the top, tricling down into the tank, catching and filtering any bits and pieces as it goes.
It's incredibly annoying and doesn't look great, but is it any good...?
(bearing in mind it's a small 30liter tank)
Last edited by Steve113; July 28th, 2008 at 07:43 PM.
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Master
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pretty much you have lost any beneficial bacteria from either drying out, or lack of feeding the tank...so I agree, id start completely fresh to get rid of any mold or mildew the tank aquired  |
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July 28th, 2008
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Moderator
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It will make it a bit paler, but won't hurt it.
You can bake or boil the wood, however, to sanitize it.
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Keeper
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If you're not comfortable using bleach in a fish tank, I'd recommend giving a white vinegar solution a try. Just use it to scrub the inside, then fill the (empty) tank up to the brim with hot water and WWV to let it soak overnight.  |
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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BUMP!
Sorry - I added stuff in edit that may be missed.
(apologies for the caps lock - I'm at work, I'm tired, It's late, and I'm lazy! So deal with it!  )
:P
Last edited by Steve113; July 28th, 2008 at 07:51 PM.
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July 28th, 2008
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Moderator
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If it's acrylic, I wouldn't use a semi-abrasive sponge because it'll scratch it. I ruined a small tank that way. It was too small for anything to live in, but lesson learned.
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July 28th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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Glass.
& Could someone advise re the filter please? |
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July 29th, 2008
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Moderator
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The filter is simple. Change out the media and wash the rest with vinegar. That will get rid of the lime scale and kill anything growing in there. |
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July 29th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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cheers darksol - but is the filter any good? it came free with the tank and I was always skeptical of it as it looks so inferior beside my massive external box from my 200l!
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July 29th, 2008
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Fish Keeper
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It sounds similar to the one I have in our 2.5Gal tank. If you are going to continue using it for a Q-Tank I don't see why it wouldn't work fine. I use ours for fry. I stuck a sponge under it so it wouldn't suck them up and fill the water just under the lip of the filter to keep some surface agitation. The air pump is louder then the falling water. If you are looking to keep fish in it and it came with the tank.. it wont hurt to get something more efficient and quiter.
This is as close as I could find on the filter I have.
Last edited by outlaw; July 29th, 2008 at 06:45 PM.
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July 29th, 2008
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Moderator
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I'm guessing it's one of the Tetra "i" series (or something similar). I like that filter. It's especially good for smaller tanks or tanks with too wide of a lip for HOB filters.
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July 30th, 2008
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Fish Addict
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k thanks guys.
I'm not going to use it as a QT - Just haven't got the room to justify that. Any thoughts as to how to stock it?
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