Cleaning a used tank

[borderreef]

I just got lucky enough to aquire a 135g tank for FREE. Free is good, I'm not complaining, but man is this thing nasty. I guess it was used as a brackish tank years ago, and has been sitting in a garage empty for a while. I'm scrubbing and scrapping trying to clean it up. Anyone have any tips on what to clean the glass with, other than elbow grease? Also, the corners just under the silicone is gross, and will not do for a DT. Can I scrape the silicone out of the corners and re-apply a new bead without compromisint the structural integrity of the tank?

 

[dzfish17]

Ive heard of folks using vinegar, but not sure if they used it straight or cut it.

Dave

 

[sirreal63]

Hot Vinegar works wonders. Once that phase is done and rinsed out very very well, bleach should clean up the silicone. I would not try and remove the existing silicone. Silicone does not stick to silicone.

 

[mscarpena]

Use either bleach or vinegar. Is it dirt or is it calcium deposits. Calcium deposits use vinegar. Other algae and crud use bleach. Do not mix the 2. Also use both straight and rinse very well after cleaning. No soaps or other detergents should be used.

 

[WI reefer55]

dont use bleach straight you will be rinsing for days.

10 to 1 is good for bleach

vinegar is more for giving but a 2 to 1 is good

 

[Fish4Me2]

I've used straight vinegar on two past tanks, and it's worked great. If you're going to remove the silicone, plan on removing it all and re-doing the whole tank, since silicone won't seal well to more silicone, as noted above.

 

[borderreef]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm using the vinegar and a brush and a razor. this is something I've done in the past. Just wondering if anyone had come up with something different.
As far as the silicone goes, I wanted to remove all the silicone from all the corners cause it's nasty. After removal with a blade, tape off and apply a new bead around the entire tank. Since I'll be removing all the old silicone from the surface of the glass, the new will adhere just fine. I guess I'm looking for confirmation that, since this portion of the silicone is not structural, replacing it will not compromise the integrity of the tank.

 

[mscarpena]

If you do decide to remove the silicone best is to remove it all even between the pains of glass. Not sure if its a good idea to just remove the silicone on the outside of the pains of glass. ALso if you do decide to remove the silicone be sure you clean it all off and use Isoproyl Alcohol at 70% or above to clean the glass before re-siliconing. Good luck. Also bleach may whiten the silicone. Bleach is a good oxidizer of organics and will kill more than vinegar. Also that is why I said to use it straight. Chlorine in bleach is volatile and dissipates very quickly. Also you dont need to use 10 gallons of bleach straight. Do what you are doing now and whatever stubborn stains stick around use straight bleach to coat them until your desired cleanliness is achieved.

 

[cilyjr]

ok i have re siliconed 4 different large tanks largest being a 90 smallest a 75. one can remove the beads and not remove the small sandwich between the glass. make sure to get all the silicone. use a razor then go over it again. .and again. then use acetone. the previous poster is correct that silicone does not stick well to old silicone.