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Post by childofgod12 on Mar 2, 2022 23:23:03 GMT -8
Looooong title yeeeeea lol. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had had this same issue or perhaps could’ve provide some advice but probably not 😂. I’ve got a 36 gallon bowfront aquarium (and I’m already discussing on a previous post on wether it’s a good size for a pair of gerbils). Issue is, The aquarium has no animals in it, but it still has the water, decor and substrate in it. Obviously it’s going to need to be cleaned out thoroughly, and I was just wondering if anyone had some tips on how to do this efficiently and easily because it is a heavy/large tank, so it’s not like I can just pick it up and dump it, like you could a 5 or 10 gallon tank. Also I’d like to rinse the sand and keep it for later because I do have another aquarium) (I think that’s feasible so Ive got a bit of an idea for that.
But I’m just wondering how I’m supposed to make sure I suck out all of the water and get all of the sand substrate and mess/chemicals out, making it clean for new animals. Maybe no one can help me at all, but I thought hey it’s worth a shot posting my conundrum on this forum.
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Post by Markpd on Mar 4, 2022 17:06:00 GMT -8
A wet vac would do that, but if you don't have one you could syphon it out with a hose or small rubber (etc) tubing. Drop the hose in the water, put your thumb over one end, then lift one end out (with your thumb still over it), then aim it a basin or a bucket (the tube end has to be below the tank), then take your thumb off. Make sure the other end isn't accidentally pulled out of the water.
As for the sand, couldn't you just use a dustpan?
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Post by childofgod12 on Mar 10, 2022 8:58:09 GMT -8
I never thought of a dustpan! I do have a syphon I use to clean my aquariums and I will be using that, I was just really struggling on what to do with the sand lol. Thank you, the dust pan idea is rlly great!
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Post by mygerbilprince on Mar 11, 2022 18:42:18 GMT -8
Just thoroughly clean with gerbil safe cleaner or vinegar/water solution. When I clean out my aquariums (I'm probably TOO cautious) I scrub it several times with a cleaner then rinse/wipe it with hot water, you have to really get the corners especially with a former fish tank because they hold all the debris. I repeat this process around 5 or 6 times but I imagine 2 or 3 would work out okay. After I dry it with a hand towel as paper towels tend to leave little paper bits (small detail I just rather them not be there) and since the tank usually gets steamy because of all the hot water I let it cool before adding bedding. With such a large tank I would definitely do this outside or in a garage so with access to a hose which would speed up the process. I found a really great tank and I was so excited to clean it out. I didn't know it was glass so I went to dump the water out and I smashed the entire front which was pretty devastating but at least it was free! Moral of the story, be careful!  |
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Thea
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Post by Thea on Mar 11, 2022 23:45:45 GMT -8
I once used an old fish tank for my gerbils that I found for free outside someone's house. When I got it, it was literally still wet from the fish water - I just scrubbed it down super thoroughly with a water/vinegar solution (I'm pretty sure I used something else to clean, but I can't remember what!) Lots of times. Anyway, my point is that the gerbils lived in that fish tank for months with no problems  Sounds like a nightmare mygerbilprince !  |
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Post by Markpd on Mar 13, 2022 5:42:16 GMT -8
mygerbilprince nightmare on breaking that tank!  . But how did you not know it was made of glass?  Btw, are people finding that vinegar & water is the best for cleaning off water scale? I still need to clean off the 2nd tank I got (that project's stalled ), and the de-scaling spray I normally use isn't much use, even letting it soak for 15-30 mins only made a marginal difference. I'm reluctant to use vinegar as I think it might stink out my flat! lol (I need to find the thread where other solutions were discussed before).
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amura
Member
Learning!
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Post by amura on Mar 13, 2022 9:29:17 GMT -8
Don't worry, vinegar won't stink out your flat! It really stops smelling very quickly. I don't like vinegar (or its smell) but I've been using it for cleaning for years, because it does the job very well and it's non-toxic. Which is great if you have toddlers or pets |
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Post by mygerbilprince on Mar 13, 2022 10:28:23 GMT -8
mygerbilprince nightmare on breaking that tank!  . But how did you not know it was made of glass?  Btw, are people finding that vinegar & water is the best for cleaning off water scale? I still need to clean off the 2nd tank I got (that project's stalled ), and the de-scaling spray I normally use isn't much use, even letting it soak for 15-30 mins only made a marginal difference. I'm reluctant to use vinegar as I think it might stink out my flat! lol (I need to find the thread where other solutions were discussed before). I thought the tank was acrylic, it might have still broken but acrylic doesn't really shatter it is more prone to crack. The vinegar doesn't make it smell too bad especially if you rinse it out afterwards. |
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Post by Markpd on Mar 14, 2022 11:47:57 GMT -8
Re vinegar, fair enough, not that I've got any atm!  For future reference, glass will feel cool, plastic won't (and it sounds different when you tap it). |
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), late 70s
. But how did you not know it was made of glass? 
. But how did you not know it was made of glass? 
