Habitat - Indoor :: saltwater tank

[turtledlucas]

im buying a 55 gall saltwater tank for my turtle but i was wondering if there was any certain way i should clean it out. also should i use the fake plants that were in the aquarium or is that to much saltiness.
p.s: are there any effective ways to cool an aquarium other than a water chiller becasue thatsjust expensive

[BullDog]

I don't know if there's anything special you need to do for a saltwater tank, but I clean my tanks with straight vinegar. Then rinse and rinse until you can't smell the vinegar any more.
Or you could use a mild bleach solution (I think 10:1 water to bleach is recommended), and again rinse until you can't smell the bleach any more. With bleach, it's also recommended you let the tank air-dry for at least 24 hours, so any residue bleach evaporates.

The plants I think you could dunk in a small bucket of vinegar, and even leave them in there for a few minutes.

For cooling tanks, there are a few ways.
I put a frozen 2L milk jug in the tank. It seems to cool it about a degree, maybe two. You could also use a frozen pop bottle.
I replace the glass top that covers half of the tank with an old fridge rack. The glass top traps a lot of the heat, but the rack allows for more evaporation.
You can also have a fan blowing across the water (make sure it's not blowing on the basking area) and that will help increase evaporation.
Finally, partial water changes with cool water.

[theartbook35]

Hmm... Vinegar, smart move. Wish I had vinegar lying around so I could do that.

[munkly]

salt water fr turtle? RES i thought were fresh water turtles? :-/

[BullDog]

Munkly - the tank he's buying was previously used for salt water fish. He's going to fill it with fresh water for the RES

[jozzep]

I would just use soap, water, and elbow grease.....Repeat if necessary.

[BullDog]

You don't want to use soap in an aquarium. Soap residue is very hard to get all of it off.

[theartbook35]

You don't want to use soap in an aquarium. Soap residue is very hard to get all of it off.

Yeah... I like spray on bleaches better.

Bleach should only be used if the tank is extremely filthy, and the dirt has become a possible health hazard. A bleached down tank should be rinsed thoroughly until it no longer smells like bleach. When I used bleach a couple of days ago, I spent well over 30 minutes rinsing the tank. (A ton of potting soil got in the tank. It wouldn't come off with just water alone.)