what can i use to clean an old fish tank

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Using an erstwhile fish tank is a slap-up way to provide the right home for your fish without the expense of purchasing a new tank. For your fish to thrive and survive, it is important that your old fish tank is properly cleaned and sanitized. By emptying the tank, sanitizing the drinking glass, and washing all the tank decorations, your fish volition accept a like-new home that is clean and condom!

1
Take out all the removable items from the tank. Using your hands or a fish net, remove everything from the fish tank that isn't permanent, including all decorations, plants, rocks, and gravel. This will let y'all properly clean and sanitize the tank.
- If you programme to clean and reuse these items, set them aside to be sanitized separately.
- If the gravel is too difficult to remove by mitt or fish net, you may need to use a gravel siphon vacuum to get it all out.
2
Drain or pour out whatever old water into a saucepan or sink. If the fish tank is relatively small and easy to carry, you can lift the tank and cascade any remaining liquid into a bucket or sink. If the tank is too big to lift, identify a big saucepan on the ground next to the tank and gently tilt the tank so that the water slowly falls into the saucepan.
- Brand sure that you apply a bucket that is large enough to concord all the former water in your tank. You desire to drain information technology completely. For example, if your fish tank holds iv gallons of h2o, you will likely want to use at least a five-gallon bucket to avoid spillover.
- If the fish tank is very large, y'all may need to use a siphon hose to bleed the h2o into a bucket or sink.^[1]
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3
Wipe away dirt and residuum with warm h2o and a paper towel. Lightly dampen a paper towel with warm water. Wipe the interior and exterior sides and bottom of the tank with the lightly dampened paper towel to remove dirt and remainder.
- Wiping away the more easily removed dirt and residuum volition brand it easier to sanitize the tank and identify any white residue due to lime or calcium build upward, or hard water spots that will need to be scrubbed or scrapped clean.
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i
Mix your cleaning solution. It is important that you apply a safe cleaning solution and so that your former fish tank is properly sanitized.^[2] In that location are several cleaning solutions that yous can mix upwardly to effectively and safely clean your one-time fish tank. Try mixing:
- Equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle. A vinegar and water cleaning solution is splendid for breaking down white residual or difficult water stains, neutralizing fishy odors, and safely sanitizing your old fish tank. Add together vinegar and water to a clean spray bottle, alternating each to ensure that you accept equal parts.^[3] Shake vigorously for 10 seconds to combine.
- 1 role not-detergent bleach to every 9 parts h2o in a spray bottle. When used in proper concentrations, bleach is perfectly safety to utilise to clean an old fish tank. For fish prophylactic, it is important that your solution does not exceed ten% bleach. For example, mix ii ounces (57 g) of bleach with 18 ounces (510 g) of water in a spray bottle. Milkshake vigorously for x seconds to combine.
2
Spray the cleaning solution over the interior and exterior sides and lesser of the tank. Generously spray to ensure you cover all the surfaces of the tank with the cleaning solution. Make sure to spray inside and around whatever items that may be fastened to the tank.
- When spraying the outside of the tank, brand sure that the tank sits on a bleach-safe or vinegar-rubber surface, depending on which solution y'all choose to use.
iii
Leave the cleaning solution to sanitize for 10 to xv minutes. If you are using bleach, make sure that you do non get out the cleaning solution on the fish tank for more than xv minutes. Bleach is a corrosive chemical and can crusade permanent damage to your one-time fish tank if left too long.^[4]
- If you lot are using a vinegar solution, it is prophylactic to get out the solution on for longer. Yous tin leave a vinegar and water solution on for up to 48 hours without causing harm to your fish tank.^[five]
4

Rinse the fish tank with water and bleed with a bucket. Fill up the tank with clean water and permit it soak for x to 15 minutes. After the make clean h2o has soaked, drain by slowly tipping information technology into a large bucket or sink, or by using a siphon hose.
5

Permit the tank air dry out to break down chemicals into harmless past-products. Once the fish tank is drained, let information technology air dry out for 24 hours. This allows any remaining bleach or vinegar to break down, leaving it safety for your fish.^[half-dozen]
half dozen
Scrub and scrape any remaining white balance or difficult h2o build upwardly. Using a razor blade or a fish tank safe algae scrubbing pad, scrub and scrape whatever remaining rest or hard water stains from the walls and lesser of the tank. In one case yous have scrubbed and scrapped all remaining stains, use warm water and a newspaper towel to remove whatsoever excess debris from the tank.
- Be sure to apply caution when scrapping with a razor bract. Ever signal the blade away from you with light to medium pressure to avoid scratching the drinking glass.
- If safe is a business organization, you can use an acrylic or plastic razor blade instead of a metal blade. An acrylic or plastic razor blade is less sharp than a metal bract, but should withal be effective in removing lime, algae, and calcium build upward or difficult h2o stains.^[7]
- If you lot scrapped a lot of debris into the fish tank, you may demand to re-rinse the tank with water to ensure the tank is completely clean for your fish.
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1
Spray the removable tank items with your vinegar or bleach cleaning solution. Afterward you've cleaned and sanitized the glass in your tank, you will want to sanitize whatsoever tank decorations y'all plan to reuse.
- Place all the removable tank items on a vinegar or bleach-safe surface.
- Spray all the items generously with the cleaning solution and let them soak for 10 to fifteen minutes.
- Later on the soak, rinse the items under running h2o to remove all the vinegar or bleach. Permit them air dry for 24 hours.
- You can also mix your vinegar or bleach solution in a big bleach-safe bucket or sink and let the removable tank items soak submerged for 10 to 15 minutes.
two
Scrub the tank decorations with a fish-safe scrubbing pad or clean toothbrush. Using a fish-safe scrubbing pad, scrub whatsoever items that take any remaining build-upward, dirt or debris. If the detail is pocket-sized or has hard-to-achieve spots, you can utilise a clean, new toothbrush to aid reach into crevices.
- Rinse the scrubbed items under running water. Pat dry out with a clean paper towel or let air dry out completely.
3

Return removable tank items to the fish tank. Once the tank and all the items take been cleaned, you are ready to reassemble your quondam fish tank and provide a safety and sanitary home for your fish.

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Things You'll Need

Clean water
2-3 buckets
New spray bottle
Algae or fish-safe scrubbing pads
Razor bract
Not-detergent bleach or vinegar and salt
Siphon hose

Remember to make clean whatsoever filter media in your tank as well.^[8]
Make clean any gravel before you put information technology dorsum in the tank.^[9]

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Never use soap or detergent to clean your fish tank or any of the items that go in it. Both are highly toxic to fish and fifty-fifty a small amount of remainder left over later cleaning tin can exist deadly.