55 gallon used tank

Question
i know bout tank cycle as far as the vinegar and paper towel thing i soak the paper towel til the paper towel is dry then wipe the tank off inside and out or do i wipe it while the paper towel is wet then let dry and rinse with water ? the vinegar wont hurt the fish
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
hi i just got a 55 gallon tank that was used for saltwater fish i am wanting it for a black moor and another goldfish (not sure what type of goldfish) i have cleaned it out the best i could seeing its huge after adding the water and letting it filter for many hours (no fish yet) i have noticed i did not get all the salt, and sand out of the tank i havent put rock in it and its all at the bottom  seeing goldfish are freshwater would this salt that i didnt get all out hurt the goldfish?
-----Answer-----
Good evening Michelle, thank you for your question.

I just bought a used 55 gallon myself, only to find out it had a crack near the bottom. I blame myself for not having thoroughly inspected it, sigh. Secretly I was a bit glad to be getting a brand new one from Walmart, in spite of the monetary loss, just because the limescale appeared so thick and impossible to remove! That being said, salt will be equally challenging to scrape off. This is what I would do:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa042402.htm

His suggestion about the paper towels soaked in vinegar is absolutely right, I had used this technique a few times before I realized it was already invented! (I was feeling quite proud of myself before then, for being so clever.) I used blue shop towels, which absorb the maximum amount of vinegar. After letting the towels soak until they were dry, I wiped off the excess with a damp cloth. You may need to repeat this technique 2-3 times to remove most of the salt.

Frankly, Michelle, it's not the salt itself I am worried about so much as other things saltwater fishkeepers add to their tank such as copper, which may be in that salt creep you see. Copper is frequently used in fish only systems to treat marine ich, and lots of folks don't employ hospital tanks, unfortunately. Before adding fish is the ideal time to remove this grit, for aesthetic and practical reasons.

You do know about cycling, right? Read here just in case...
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

...Since I'm not sure you know that this tank will need to sit empty for a minimum of a week, before you can humanely add fish. Use a piece of cocktail shrimp as an ammonia source, within a week it will be a greyish goo and will have provided all the ammonia necessary to feed the beneficial bacteria, without half-killing your pets in the process.

Enjoy your goldies, and check out www.kokosgoldfish.com and www.goldfishparadise.com if you haven't already - both fine resources for goldfish keepers, beginner and advanced.

Take care,
Nicole

Answer
Hi Michelle,

Sorry, my head's a little fuzzy right now so I'm having trouble understanding what you wrote. The towel needs to stick to a dry surface, what I meant was:

Get a thick paper towel, dampen it in straight white vinegar and duct tape it to the patches of salt. Leave it on for a while, the vinegar will eventually evaporate and the paper towel will no longer feel wet. Remove the towel, wipe the area clean with a damp cloth. Stubborn places can be scraped clean with the edge of a credit card, the salt should be much softer. If there's still salt left, repeat until it's mostly gone. The vinegar will evaporate from all the surfaces and you can just fill it up again, it won't hurt.

The towel shouldn't be so wet that it is dripping. I'm picturing you taping it to the top, hopefully the salt patches aren't on the whole glass from top to bottom. That would mean you would have to empty the whole tank, a real pain. If this is the case, use the garden hose to siphon the water out and lead it out the window or door.

Hope that makes sense, good luck with everything.
Nicole