Getting back into the hobby

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Vinegar contains acetic acid. It is good for cleaning algae and detritus. Rinses easy and isn't toxic. Can lower pH in a running system and is a viable carbon source for bacteria.

Bleach is good as well, but only to be used on clean up. Mix according to the directions. Soak rock or fill or scrub the tank. Rinse well allow 24 hours for evaporation. I recommend a second rinse and another 24 hours dry time, but have never had any ill effects when I didn't do the second rinse.

Well the Vinegar it is. My tank is in such a mess, it will take a long time to cycle once I finally clean it.

 

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Does anyone know if the sand can be used again after sitting dormant for so long?

Shawn

 

[Boogie]

It can be but you need to rinse it extremely well. I usually take a home depot bucket and fill it 3/4 way with sand then stick a garden hose in it and let it run for a good bit, move the hose from time to time. I'm sure thats not the proper way but its always worked for me.

 

[freedominco]

Does anyone know if the sand can be used again after sitting dormant for so long?

Shawn

I have reused sand before but it was a real pain to get it clean, I used fresh water to rinse it and even after 30 minutes the water coming out was still nasty.

 

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Would this delay the cycle process?

 

[Zooid]

As long as you rinse the sand extremely well, you can reuse it no matter how long it has been sitting, in my opinion.
I rinsed out three buckets of sand for the 150 I just set up. The sand was sitting in nasty crap for months and it cleaned up
nice. The cycle ran for about a month or so in the new tank but that's because I only added dry rock and the newly cleaned sand.
The sand I cleaned was filthy, ran on a system with no skimmer and low flow and it didn't take too long to rinse it out. I just kept stirring it with the running hose until the water ran clear out of the bucket.

 

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Is there a site that tells you how deep a lighting fixture can go? I have a 70W 14K system but not sure if it would work on a larger cube I was looking at buying.

 

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What about putting items in the dishwasher and then rinsing it really well after? I was going to put my powerheads, skimmer parts and tiny refugium through it.

 

[Boogie]

Its better to let those small items soak in a bucket of water/vinegar mix for a few days. No residue left from that.

 

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That's what I was afraid of. Is there a good vinegar/water ratio?

 

[Boogie]

I've used straight vinegar on a really bad tank but usually soak phs inbetween 30-50%vine/50-70%water depending on stubborness

 

[Cake_Boss]

I've used straight vinegar on a really bad tank but usually soak phs inbetween 30-50%vine/50-70%water depending on stubborness

You're supposed to dilute vinegar? Woops. I found the vinegar at sams club comes in really handy for larger quantities.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[dv3]

Its better to let those small items soak in a bucket of water/vinegar mix for a few days. No residue left from that.

what a waste ..you can smoke that stuff you know?