Previous Reptile tank?

Question
QUESTION: i heard somewhere that if a tank has previously had reptiles in it that it can never be used for saltwater (something about you never being able to fully clean out something that the reptiles give off?) so i was wondering if this was true (found a cheap tank that was used for reptile am going to use it for freshwater tank for now but was wondering if i could use it as a refugium eventually for a larger tank i want to convert to saltwater without it having any negative effect on fish or corals

ANSWER: Hello,

sorry for the delay, but it has been a bit busy here, (still cleaning up after a non-reef related flood in my condo.)

Anyways, Im not sure what is so specific about REPTILES that the tank can not be cleaned up well enough for reef, but, unless you cant afford a new or cleaner tank, you can try....Rinsing/soaking in bleach - water mixture for 24 hours, then rinsing and soaking in vinegar - water for another day, then clean with fresh water, and soak, 'water-test' the tank for another day...  

that should be good enough to kill off any germs or bugs...

good luck and let me know how things work out for you


bill



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thats alright i know you are usually very timely thats crazy about your condo i know flooding an wreak havoc! i have a larger tank but dont have the funds to make it into saltwater just yet so gona start out with a smaller, more affordable one lol (20g long) but yeah the tank wasnt that dirty (just typical residue on lower inside walls) and i washed it by filling it with water and spraying a couple sprays of tilex in it, let it soak over night then scrubbed it with sponge and now it has been soaking in water with dish soap (figured that would be gentler) for the past 2 nights and then i will be scrubbing it again with sponge and metal scraper to make sure everything is off glass and hopefully that will be good, i guess i will try to find a cheap coral or invert to put in it first before anything else to test and make sure

ANSWER: you will really want to rinse/soak the tank in vinegar/water, about 1/cup vinegar for 2gals of water...

this will pH nuetralize whatever you have n there..  Also, you want to rinse out all the soap, as those are pure phospates which will wreak havoc with algae issues later on...

Also, please read up on setting up a saltwater tank, and make sure you understand what they mean when they say be PATIENT.  Usually, if you follow most of the advice out htere, including my own, it will take at lesat 60-90 days before putting any coral into your tank, and then it will be simple stuff like mushrooms and zoanthids...

'TRYING' stuff out, just to see if it will work is not a very eco friendly mentality as we are trying to save and culture living critters, not create art, and the sooner we are done the better.

If you would like to discuss the proceedures and issues involved in setting up a saltwater tank, please register at my new forum at WWW.thelittleocean.com, and you will be able to talk with me and many other members who will help make sure you have the best chance of success...


till then,  good luck, and I lood forward to chatting with you again.

bill


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey bill,
ok thats good to know about the soap i didnt know that, will be sure so rinse it well and soak in vinegar, and i have researched alot about saltwater and know the work that goes into it i didnt mean putting something in it right away to see if it works i meant once its cycled and everything to try a more common coral before i put others in to make sure the whole reptile thing wont affect them and i am actually already a part of your forum (Sarah88) but you wernt on when i went into the chat so thought i would ask you here. and i would definitely be sure that all the parameters of my tank were ideal before adding ANY kind of coral but just didnt want to add all corals in and then find out the reptile thing was true and lose them all.

Answer
oh, yea, sarah!!!!  My memory is just TRASH...

Yea, Im thinking the reptile thing wont be an issue. especially if you use bleach and kill whatever could be inthere...  And yea, soaps, dirty water, pH, phospates, and teh list gpoes on.  Killing/stripping, and nutralizing is your best bet,  Then after that, cycling your tank, even for a bit longer time, will alllow your tank to digest the nutriet