New Tank how do i clean it Help!!!???

I just bought a 55 gallon tank tonight from a guy. It was his old saltwater set up and still had a little water and sand in the bottom i dumped it out because it was very little what is the best way to clean it out fully thanks! Would it be ok to just take it out side and spray it down with the water hose? He also gave me in bags the left over sand he had Pulled out of the tank about 40 pounds or so should i use it? And finnaly is it ok to just fill the tank to check for leaks just using regular tap water?

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You could use the hose to get any loose material out then use and 50/50 vinegar and water solution to loosen any calcium deposits. If the sand smells nasty don't use it. It would be safest to not use the sand. Leak testing with tap is fine. Just dump it out when done and dry out the tank before adding saltwater. Add some dechlorinator to be safe.

 

if any one else has any further comments that would be greatly appreciated tips as well Thanks guys i love this site!! ;D

 

Nice, a good starter tank for sure, and I bet you saved a penny ot two. Welcome to 3reef!

yeah, that works. If the salt is loose it should rinse off, might want to use an old credit card to scrape it... let it soak for a few hours. If there are hard calcium stains fill the tank and add a gallon of cheap vinegar and let it sit overr night - this will also test for leaks.

You'll want to wash it thoroughly if you do reuse it. Put 5-10 # at a time in a 5g bucket and flush it heavily with water, make sure the water flow is pushing out all the accumulated gunk. Then add a few ounce of bleach, let is soak for an hour, and rinse VERY well, add some chlorine remover, and then let it dry out. You'll probably want 4 or 5 buckets - make sure they're new and clean as well. You can never have too many buckets anyways.

yep, just don't mix your salt in the tap water. You'll want reverse osmosis or kold-steril for the actual fish water. Do not use the 5g drinking water bottles filled from a kiosk, it's usually softened and/or the filters are bad. Most LFS's sell pre-mixed water if you don't have an RO/DI unit.

have fun!

-Doug