Safe to reuse tank?

[veurli]

I've had this tank for sometime and had it first for my iguana, then I turned it into a FW tank. It's been empty for about 2 years and now I was wondering if I could use it for SW. Friend of mine told me that I should just buy another tank 'cause there could always be some kind of residues but I was wondering if there was anyway I could REALLY clean it or if I should just not even worry about it.

Let me know what yall think.

Thanks

 

[hans1976]

I would wash it out with vinagar and water.

 

[DgenR8]

After all that time dry, it would be a really good idea to remove all the old silicone and reseal it.
If you want to keep inverts, you need to know for sure that the tank was never treated with copper.

 

[veurli]

Treated for copper... huummm ... thats another good question. This tank was actually givent to me. So I know I didnt. But I dont know before. Is there a way to know or to just clean it with something that would take care of that ?

 

[DgenR8]

Some people believe that copper can be removed, others believe that copper, like Herpes, is forever.

I am more than willing to accept that it seeps into the silicone seals and can leach back out later. The only way I can think of to clean that is replacing the silicone.
What size tank are we talking about here?

 

[veurli]

55 Gallons. But I dont know about changing the silicone. I tried once on a 10 gallon tank and it leaked LOL.

 

[DgenR8]

I gotta be honest with you, a 55 just isn't worth the effort. Especially if you want to have a reef. You can replace that tank with a new one for $40 or $50 on sale. You can get a used one that you know holds water and was used for a reef for half of that.

 

[veurli]

$40....$50. Damn thats like Reef Crackhead prices... where do U find those ? LOL. Chapest I found so far was $150

 

[311Style]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7321853#post7321853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DgenR8
Some people believe that copper can be removed, others believe that copper, like Herpes, is forever.

I am more than willing to accept that it seeps into the silicone seals and can leach back out later. The only way I can think of to clean that is replacing the silicone.
What size tank are we talking about here?

haha that's great.

But yeah check like your local newspaper and ads like that. A friend of mine just picked up a 150 RR Tank for $100

 

[veurli]

will do that.... thanks everyone

 

[Sk8r]

That's true: when a divorced spouse or a hobbyist with too many tanks wants to get rid of a tank that's gathering dust in the garage, it's more getting anything for it than getting what it's worth.

On any used tank, however, I'd a) ask what it was used for and b) run polyfilter in it to see what color the pads turn. If blue, hold a garage sale of your own: that's copper.

 

[veurli]

Oh ! So why not run that polyfilter myself on the tank I have then ? And BTW ... where do U find that ?

Thanks again.

 

[veurli]

ok... so I'm gonna MAN UP and redo the silicone and wash the tank with vinegar. Also I was thinking about doing some kind of overgrown nano cube... meaning i'm wanting to use my 55 gallon as a all in one type deal where I would have a 15/20 gallon in tank sump on one of the sides of the tank. I've been looking for the same idea but couldnt find any. Let me know what yall think.
And, as I mentioned before, I never succefully siliconed a tank. So I did my researched and I never used tape so i'll try that. But also I was wondering if there was an "art" to apply silicoe because there an obvious difference between the home made tanks and the ones U buy at the store... the premade ones from the store have beautifull finishes. The silicone is slick all around. So whats the secret ?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[veurli]

bump

 

[veurli]

rebump