Question - buying a used tank system and cleaning

Om_Seeker · 10-31-2004, 06:11 PM

Hi folks,

I am considering buying a used complete system from someone. The thing is that the seller has been running water in the tank (no fish/animals/coral) but has not been maintaining it for at least the last 6 months. Therefore there is tons of algae growth.

How do you clean out all this algae? How about all the algae and other junk stuff you can't see inside the rigid PVC, etc.? Do you just flush with hot water and vinegar, and scrub the heck out of everything?

What else should I check for when buying a used system?

Or is it not worth the trouble compared to buying all new equipment?

FYI - the tank is about a 90 gal (still need to get the exact measurements from him) with a sump and all the gear.

Thanks for your help!

FragOutpost · 11-02-2004, 04:53 AM

If you can get the tank at a good price then I woulld do it. I would get a scrub pad either for glass or plexiglass whichever your tank is and scrub it down as best as possible. I would also use hot water and vinegar for cleaning. Some people reccommend using bleach or other chemical cleaners but I wouldn't chance it. PVC is cheap and can be replaced easily. As long as the glass/plexiglass is clean then I wouldn't worry too much about everything else as it will eventually be covered with coraline among other thing in due time.

Have you seen it full of water? If not I would want to see it full before buying to ensure that there are no leaks.

What other equipment is included?

Om_Seeker · 11-02-2004, 06:46 AM

Hi FragOutpost,

Thanks for your suggestions! (Karma to you!)

The used tank is currently full with water and the system is running. There are a few critters in there (a damsel, starfish, anenome).

The main issue with "cleanliness" is that the tank is full of a long-hair type of seaweed. I am attaching a photo of the stuff. It's literally all over the place.

How do I scrape all that stuff off the rocks? Is it "good" seaweed or "bad" seaweed? Should I save it for a 'fuge (that I still need to put together)?

To answer your question, here's what's included in the used system:
- 90 gal glass tank with overflow box
- four section sump with skimmer, etc.
- Iwaki mag pump
- teco chiller
- Aquaconnect UFO overhead lights (2 HIT bulbs - need to check wattage with 2 florescent bulbs)
- PH meter
- other odds and ends (like timers for lights, etc.)
- some livestock mentioned above

The whole thing is about 3 years old and seems to be running okay. The mag pump and some of the equipment has salt creep but I guess I can wipe that off.

So if I am going to use vinegar and hot water, how do I make sure all the vinegar is out of the system? Do I let it dry? Or try to flush it with as much fresh water as possible? Something else?

Thanks again for your help!
Greg

Om_Seeker · 11-02-2004, 06:47 AM

Here's a close up of the algae. Thanks

m_lacom99 · 11-02-2004, 07:01 AM

I'm no expert but that looks like hair algae... NOT GOOD... i've been battling with it in my tank. It looks good but thats about it... One of the thing it does that ive been told is that it will raise your PH. You will have to take it out... scrub it off the rocks and everything else. Hell of a job.

Marc.

FragOutpost · 11-02-2004, 07:09 AM

Thanks for the Karma.

It is kind of hard to tell exactly what kind of algae it is from the pics. It is most likely Derbesia or Bryopsis. Both are considered nuisance algae. You could put it into your fuge, but personally I would try to eradicate it. You have a couple of options here each could work with a varying degree of success. First of all try to manually pull as much off the rocks as possible. Second you could flip the rocks upside down into the sand cutting off all light and water flow. Another option is to basically cure the rocks in a rubbermaid container or trash can. To do this fill your container with water, preferably freshly made saltwater but it doesn't really matter, and put a lid on it with a powerhead and place it in a dark place for a week or two. You can accelerate the process by adding a heater and cranking it up a little.

Another option is herbivores, although this will be time consuming and you will probably have limited success.

Now I am assumming that you will be breaking down the tank completely to move it and to do a thorough cleaning, right? This is what I would suggest. Start fresh. If you plan on keeping the livestock then maybe find a friend to hold it for you until your tank is re-established and cycled.

As far as the vinegar is concerned...Just rinse as good as you can. Vinegar is non-toxic and any residue left behind will quickly disapate when you refill with fresh salt water.

For your fuge, let me know when you get it set up and I'll mail you some cheatomorpha to get you started (assuming you are in the continental US). Just pay shipping.

I hope this helps.

Om_Seeker · 11-08-2004, 09:17 PM

Well, I've cleaned out the entire tank and it's now standing empty. I've gotten most of the algae off the glass although there are some stubborn parts that won't come off. I'm also curing the rock (it's not LR any more) hoping the algae will dive off.

I'm going to give the whole thing another once over with hot water and vinegar and start putting the system together.

FragOutpost - thanks for the offer of some cheatomorpha to start up the fuge but I'm living in Hong Kong so I don't think you can ship here. (BTW - I can't figure out how to put Hong Kong in my profile so it shows up.)

m-Lacom99 - thanks for the advice. I'm scrubbing away.

Cheers,
Greg

Birdlady · 11-09-2004, 03:27 AM

Hello Om Seeker! I had an outbreak of that type of algae during my initial tank cycle. I used the old salt water to scrub it allllllll off with a toothbrush.

I was unable to get all of it off and it would keep regrowing. I ended up getting a bristletooth tang and it does a GREAT job of keeping all the algae gone and the sand clean (it also eats diatoms!!) Lucky me!

Here is a pic of my tank....just a consideration for a tank addition a bit down the road for you.
PS...if your rock is still in saltwater, then it will still be Live. Live refers in part, to the bacteria living inside the rocks that perform biological filtration

Birdlady · 11-09-2004, 03:29 AM

http://www.3reef.com/cgi-bin/album.p...dy/My_tank.jpg

There, and you can see the tang right in the center...
It's not at pretty of a tank yet...it is still fairly new!

hmmm....I should upload my new pics later.....

Om_Seeker · 11-11-2004, 10:52 PM

Hi birdlady,

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about the tang but my LFS suggested getting an urchin instead because it eats hair algae like crazy. LFS guy also said that the drawback is the urchin also eats coraline growth. So for now, I'm holding off until I get water in the tank and the system going.

I have the algae-covered rocks in a container of salt water, covered wit h no sunlight as FragOutpost suggested. I haven't had a chance to clean off the hair algae yet -- day job keeps getting in the way! But I think this rock is all dead because it seemed grey and lifeless compared to the 30lbs of Indonesian LR I have in my current tank. Once I get the algae rock cleaned off, I'm going to use it as base rock. There's some petrified wood included with that, too. Do people use that in saltwater tanks?

BTW, congratulations on becoming a Moderator! That's great -- I've been following a lot of your posts, especially the DIY stuff.

Thanks,
Greg