Used tank

[steve611]

I picked up a 120L tank today which was second hand. The tank looks relatively clean but at the very top around the sides, there are marks on it. Kind of like the marks you get on glass when you quickly tear a sticker off. Anyway, I won't be even thinking about setting it up for a few months at least just because the tank I have is fine for now, but when I do decide to set it up, how should I go about cleaning it?

I've read lots of conflicting material of people saying use bleach, don't use bleach, etc. What would be best for my axolotl in terms of safe cleaning of the new But used tank?

 

[tigmades]

I've always just used vinegar for cleaning my aquariums before starting them up. It works extremely well for cleaning - just make sure you rinse it thoroughly

 

[sugarkandii]

Bleach is usually used to completely disinfect or get rid of stubborn parasites. I personally would never use bleach simply because I'm too clumsy and would probably screw it up I've just done a quick search about the safer alternatives to bleach, and like tigmades said vinegar seems to be the number one suggested alternative. Mix half a cup of white vinegar with half litre of distilled water and spray it on or soak it. Aquarium scrapers are also a good tool that I personally use to remove stubborn gunk on tanks- a putty knife completely dedicated to the aquarium that hasn't had any previous uses may also be suitable to remove gunk on the sides.