100 litre hardscape project

[SmallestFrog]

I have been given by a family member, an old tank of their's. Its 100 Litres, or around about that. Its a cheap ClearSeal model. And its been through a heck of a lot of abuse. Water changes once every few months. Overstocked with 4, very, very large goldfish (now in pond). It is grimy and horrible, as you can see below:

My aim is to clean it up nicely, and hardscape it mainly, with low light requiring plants and mosses. This is all subject to change though, but certainly I'd love to do a really decent hardscape with slate, rock, possibly some petrified wood too.

Anyway, when I get the tank as you can see it will need a serious clean. Can anyone recommend anything for the tougher looking stains on the glass, such as what appears to be limescale (I think?). And any advice/suggestions welcomed

 

[deesal1985]

Hi a razer blade scraper and a hose pipe will make that tank look like new best if you do it out side

 

[ian_m]

I cleaned a dirty tank like yours, using bleach and a nylon scourer to remove the black & green slime, came away wonderfully.

I used Killrock liquid descaler to get rid of limescale "tide mark".

Do not mix bleach and Killrock you will get chlorine gas

Do it all outside, obviously. The bleach will kill any grass it gets on, so be carefull where you spill bleach and dispose excess liquid carefully.

One done, left tank full of water & dechlorinator for a day or two. Came up wonderfully.

Did try using Brasso to polish out a couple of scratches, made slight difference, should have persevered. Removed Brasso residue using meths.

 

[SmallestFrog]

I'm in a top floor flat, so outside is not an option sadly. I might see if I can take it round to my parents and clean it in their garden though. Failing that... I think open windows and a mask will have to do.

Currently still waiting on the tank, or rather, waiting on a cabinet to hold my other tank before I collect this one.

Stocking wise, I'm looking at a pair of Red Dwarf Gourami to begin with. Danio's from my other tank will also go in. I would love some rummy nose tetras, but need to check my water hardness.

 

[ian_m]

I'm in a top floor flat, so outside is not an option sadly. I might see if I can take it round to my parents and clean it in their garden though. Failing that... I think open windows and a mask will have to do.

Could you put some old blankets in your bath (to protect the bath) and clean it in the bath ? It's just that squirting large volumes of water via hose pipe (or shower ?) makes the cleaning so much easier, especially as some of the best cleaning chemicals are not too human skin friendly !!

 

[SmallestFrog]

Yeah I think that may well end up being a good idea. I've really got my work cut out for me though!

 

[SmallestFrog]

After cleaning, this is what it turned into...

Not the best pic, will get better ones in future!

Plan so far is:

Moss on the wood, lots of it, all over. Same goes for the slate. I'm wanting to heavily plant with crypts through-out the rest, though with a focus on the left side of the tank. Am also considering riccia or dwarf hairgrass as a foreground addition.

Tank: 73xsomethingx40 - about 20 litres smaller than what I was told.
Substrate: Dense layer of Verve Aquatic Compost from B&Q, capped with Unipack black sand.
DIY CO2
Slate, bogwood and some stones from Brighton beach.
Stocking plan: Red Dwarf Gourami is what I have my heart set on right now.

If anyone has any suggestions for the tank I'd love to hear them. I'm pretty limited by funds though until after X-mas.

Stealth edit: A big THANKYOU! to those that suggested how to clean the tank. Managed to do it outdoors at the family member's who had the tank, used ammonia, a hose and a razor blade glass scraper. Picture doesn't do it justice on how clean it is.

I was an idiot though. I've never used ammonia before, and thought, hmm, wonder what it smells like? So I opened the bottle and gave it a good sniff. And promptly nearly passed out.