how to clean my used 55 gallon freshwater fish tank

Question
I got this 55 gallon freshwater tank which had been in my basement for a year or so and i dont know how to clean it or if there is any special things to clean it with. I kinda need this ansered asap

Answer
Dear Mathew,
If nothing has contaminated the aquarium from being down in your basement I would just give take a little hot water and aquarium salt and scrub it down a bit. Once you have reached all corners and the sides, you can rinse it out but that might be a bit too difficult. You can simply continue to wipe it out with a soaking wet paper towel, then you can let it dry. A little aquarium salt leftover of course won't hurt. The primary function of this cleaning is to remove residue of any debri possibly from being used in the past. There's honestly not anything special you need to do to aquariums besides getting residue of debri from it's past use like algae, and organic matter dried in the corners. Just use aquarium salt or rock salt but no chemicals unless they are aquarium-safe.

*~You may want to test the aquarium for leaks by setting it outdoors and filling it up and keeping watch for the next day or two for drops in water level....

I really hope this helps! Really no worry here!
Best wishes and Good luck on setting up the 55gal!
Karen~