Its been stored away for a few years.
2006-07-30 04:09:27 · 13 answers · asked by honey 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
vinegar
2006-07-30 04:13:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, no, no! Never use any kind of soap. Once used in a tank it is almost impossible to get all of it out. Bleach is OK in some instances, but you have to be really careful to rinse at least 3 or 4 times and use some kind of chlorine remover each time you rinse.
FishLoverGuy and Dudnath are right. Use salt to clean it out. Wet it down and use a paste of salt on a cloth to scrub it out. Rinse it well, although a little salt residue will not hurt the fish. In fact, some people recommend a tablespoon of salt per five gallons of water to help fish stay healthy.
Vinegar will remove hard water stains on the glass if they are not already etched into the glass itself. Turn the tank on its' side and pour the vinegar right onto the glass. Let it set for about an hour and then scrub. Don't use anything too abrasive to scrub with, you can scratch the glass.
2006-07-30 08:00:08 · answer #2 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try just plain water first...use soap as a last resort. Anything that you use as a cleaning agent you will have to make sure that you completely rinse out before you use it. If you are having trouble with a particular spot, you might want to try aquarium plant cleaner. This is supposed to be a fish friendly solution for cleaning plastic aquarium plants, but it might help if elbow grease fails and is sold at most pet stores and aquarium stores. Mostly, what I use to clean my aquariums (I have one glass fresh water and two arcylic salt water) are abrasive aquarium pads from Wal-Mart and a plastic scraper (from an aquarium supply store, but a platic puddy knife works good too) for the difficult spots. Personally, I never use soap or other cleaners...just water.
If your aquarium is glass, and it has been stored for awhile, you might want to make sure that it does not leak before you spend the time cleaning it. Lay out a dry bath towel and set the aquarium on top of it. Fill it to the top with water, and look to see if you have a leak. If you don't see a leak, go and watch a movie or something. Come back a bit later and check it again. If, after a couple of hours you still don't see a leak and the towel is still dry (meaning that you don't have a leak on the bottom and you don't have a slow leak) clean away, rinse it, and fill it for the fish. If you do find a leak, you can purchase aquarium sealant from most pet and aquarium stores.
By the way, if you are thinking of going for salt water, you might want to check out the marine aquarium podcast on iTunes. It is a bit difficult to find, but it is free and you might find it helpful.
2006-07-30 04:27:20 · answer #3 · answered by Wayne D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water, and vinegar. Or water and salt. If the prior fish died of some sort of disease. I'd use soap, or bleach. Then rinse the tank out 3 times. Fill with warm water, and leave for 10 minute. Empty it and rinse. Repeat soaking, empty, rinse twice more.
People who say don't use table salt above don't know what they are talking about here. 1st there isn't enough iodine in table salt to hurt your fish. 2nd fish need iodine as much as we do. Now if you were talking about using table salt in your aquarium when you had fish in it you could make an argument. (They'd still be wrong IMNSHO.) Most of those fish store that sells you pricey aquarium salt don't use any salt or uses table salt.
2006-07-30 07:59:39 · answer #4 · answered by Sabersquirrel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should use Aquarium Salt Which is the most recommended thing to clean a tank that has been used or that your about to start an aquarium. Yiou should go to ur local pet store and read it and see it or your could ask the pet store personel, and im sure they will be more than glad to tell u... and if thats not the case the most inexpensive way to do it is to use hot salt water and let soak and all the guk and ecoli in the fish tank will deteriate and its like haveing a new tank thats never been used.. trust me it werks i have a lot of fish in my house....
2006-07-30 05:52:34 · answer #5 · answered by Ryan Dudhnath 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The safest way to clean it would be to take an algae scrubber and scrub it down with water. do NOT use soap, bleach, or vinegar. Residue from any of these will kill your fish. There are certain cleaners that your pet store will probably have in stock that are specially made for this purpose. But make sure after using them you thoroughly rinse it out with water.
2006-07-30 12:00:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anita B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Vinegar will take off any hard water/lime stains. If you're careful, bleach will take off the algae from the tank and any furniture, but you have to let them soak in it, rinse them very well (VERY well) and then let them sit an extra night or two to dry. The reason this works is because the bleach will evaporate after it has been rinsed. A worker at Petco showed me one time how they clean their plants with bleach like that. Works beautifully, just remember to rinse rinse rinse.
2006-07-30 04:25:30 · answer #7 · answered by Angie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good sensible question for health's sake of your new fish. Ask an expert at your local pet store.
2006-07-30 04:15:39 · answer #8 · answered by enchiladagirltacomaniacmurraylov 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should pr obably wash it with dish soap and then make sure all of the the soap is washed out before you fish in it.
2006-07-30 09:04:08 · answer #9 · answered by Ali 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bicarbonate of soda is always good and harmless otherwise go to your local pet shop and ask for the safest cleaner for fish tanks!
2006-07-30 04:14:18 · answer #10 · answered by Angie H 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how big is the tank, if its big it would be better to change it as due to the seals would have been damaged. Best things to use soap and water, and rinse it out.
2006-07-30 04:24:36 · answer #11 · answered by Arun M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋