Questions on a second-hand tank

[Vizja13]

Yesterday I picked up a 29 gallon tank with filter, hood, light, air pump and bubbler (meh) some gravel, and decorations, two out of the three of which probably won't be used....same goes for the plastic plants. Oh well, not like I bought the tank for the decorations.

ANYWAY. This tank is second-hand, bought it off a young man who had just moved into an apartment and had no space for it. He was a bit clueless about fish (seriously, he tried to keep African Cichlids with tropical community fish in a pretty much barren tank, no heater O.O) but I got out of him that it has always been freshwater, kept tetras and cichlids, (okay first he said chinchillas xP But I figured it out).

Is there anything special I should do to clean it out? I plan on doing a bleach treatment on the tank, gravel, dec, etc. (I have a habit of making sure anything I own is available for use at any time) before setting it up and mixing the remainder (between 1/3 and 1/2 a bag) of my Flourite by Seachem substrate with the gravel to use as a base. The tank will in a few months be used as the growout for my spawn, but I want to within a month or two have it started on a cycle and get it planted.

[Oldfishlady]

Nearly everyone of my tanks are second hand...lol....

What I like to do first with second hand tanks...The 24h leak test-even if you are told it held water and/or never leaked. One wrong twist can break a seal and what a mess.....What I do, I set mine up outside on a level surface-fill with water and some bleach-then I hook up the filter so it can run for at least an hour with the bleach water. Once it passes the 24h leak test-a good rinse and scrubbing if needed. If it has a lot of mineral deposits or tannin stains-I will use vinegar and a razor with lots of elbow grease...lol.....

Look forward to pics once you get it setup....

[Vizja13]

Alright, got it soaking in bleach, but there's no outlet outside so I need to go run an extension cord >.> I did some scrubbing on the gunk on the bottom, will do again when I rinse.

Rinsed out the gravel in a weak bleach solution as well then obsessively rinsed that with water (all outside) and added the Flourite, rinsed that, and now it's sitting in a bucket to be added

It will be awhile before the tank is done, I plan to do all natural plants, then decorations probably rocks and terra cotta. May use the tree stump cave I got with the tank, it looks kinda cool, but I will definitely post a picture somewhere

Thanks for the help; that fish in your avatar is stunning!!!

[aemaki09]

OFL said it well, but she forgot to add that you want to make sure the filter media isnt in the filter while you are running it, you're going to want to get brand new media instead.

Also, depending on how long the tank was used before you got it, I would re-seal it whether it passes the leak test or not just to be on the safe side, plus if you do it now, you wont have to worry about it later on. Just scratch out all the sealant with a razor blade, get aquarium safe silicone, put it over top of where the original silicone would have been, and let it settle. -- Like I said, depends on how old the tank is and how long it has sat without any fish in it. I myself try to re-seal a tank anytime I get a used one just so I can keep my mind at ease. If you are interested in doing this there are a lot of youtube videos on doing it that you can check out!

Goodluck with your new tank!! :D

[Vizja13]

Yep, planned to replace the media for sure xP It LOOKS like he put a new one in but better safe than sorry.

The tank looks pretty new, and you shouldn't let me anywhaere near sealant I always make a mess. SO as long as it holds the water, I will be leaving it alone. With me there's a bigger chance of CAUSING the leak than fixing one. Obviously, I will never be an artist.

[aemaki09]

Haha I understand! If the tank had been setting without water for more than a few years then I'd keep recommending to do it, but as long as the tank and sealant look good and it holds water there's no need for it. I only do it so I won't have to worry about it later on.