Year long hiatus over!

So a year ago, I moved to Oregon, and was too poor to start my tank back up. I finally got a new job and am able to afford to start up my red sea max 34 again, but my tank is very dirty (and not full of water), and I'm trying to decide what the best way to clean it out would be. Taking it outside and hosing it out is not an option. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Buckets of water and elbow grease. 50/50 solution of vinegar and water for any calcium stains.

 

BTW welcome back and to 3reef.

 

Thanks! Also, there are no calcium stains, just a lot of fungus/algae. I was considering filling the tank with tap water, scrubbing all of the surfaces, and doing water changes until the water clears up entirely, then draining the aquarium and going from there. If you think a bucket of water and scrubbing would be more efficient, maybe I'll try that, but I am concerned with all of the hard-to-reach surfaces in the "sump" portion of my aquarium, which if you know anything about the RSM, is built into the aquarium itself.

 

Hey, welcome back! I am glad to hear when all is going well for someone. You can use a couple of cups of bleach and fill it with hot water. Let it sit a couple of hours and then scrub it down with a scrub brush. Be sure it is on level ground as to not crack it. Why can't you take it outside for a quick rinse with the hose after cleaning?

 

Provided it doesn't get on metal, and you wear skin and eye protection and a mask / work in a ventilated area, muriatic acid will melt off any coraline algae / calcium / other deposits and make it look like new.

 

The Tool Time method, LOL:

 

Because it's extremely heavy, I'm on a second floor apartment, and I don't have a hose available to me unless I want to walk it across the apartment complex and plop it down where the hose is for car washing.

Also, I was looking at chillers, and decided that it would be more cost effective if I moved my tank into my room and got a window AC unit to keep my room iceberg gold in the summer . Last summer was brutal ><

 

Finally got my fish tank completely cleaned out! This week (hopefully) I'll start it up. I just had a hefty car repair bill, so we'll see if I can find enough scratch :-/.

 

Got the water, live rock, and live sand in the tank now. Time to let it cycle....