Tank Cleaning

[centyr]

hello all,

I am a total newbie to reef keeping. Fist of all i would like to say that these fourms have been of great help to me.

I do have one question right now. I have a 55 gallon tank that used to house a Bearded Dragon (lizard). I am wanting it convert it to a reef tank and need to know what would be best to clean it with.

Thanks for you help.

centyr

[slimytadpole]

Your best bet would be plain old water. I wouldn't imagine there'd be anything on the glass requiring much work to get rid of, if all you kept in there was a lizard. If you do find you need to use something stronger, adding a bit of vinegar should help.

[ReefAquaria4me]

I agree with just plain old water w/ vinegar if needed. But if you are going to use a tank that you keep a lizard in. You may want to think about if the tank is going to leak, because of the lizard's claws digging into the silicone.

[centyr]

Thanks for the heads up on the leaking due to claws. I dont think it will be a problem it had a preety deep substrate and the lizards claws where not all thet big. But i will test the tank for leaks just to be safe dont want the living room flooded. I was think water would do just fine for cleaning, but my LFS recomended somthing i cant rember what. Just thought i would get some other opions.

Thanks

[Roundboy]

I would be concerned about the seals. The silicon in the seals can dry out and become brittle if a tank is not filled with water for an extended period of time. This can lead to premature leaks, etc. If I were in your situation, i would redo the silicon on the inside of the tank. Make sure you use 100% silicon with no anti-molding agents.