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I have two red ear sliders that are currently in a 40 gallon tank. They are still about two inches a piece so I'm about to upgrade to a 120 gallon tank. I'm buying a used 120 gallon from someone who used it for freshwater fish only. Any suggestions on how to clean the tank thoroughly before use? Also I'm buying a FX6 cannister filter for it which should be plenty large but can anyone direct me on setting up such a large aquarium? I've never had one that big, and am open to suggestions on how to set it all up. I plan on purchasing an above the tank basking area from glasscages to go on too about 1/3 to 1/2 of the top. I also plan on getting an eheim jäger heater. On the lighting, obviously a heat lamp over the basking, but the artificial sunlight should it be over the basking and water areas? Any other suggestions are welcome. One other question I had was about the FX6 filter. Would you set up the media exactly like the FX5 that is shown in the filtration media thread on this site? All suggestions and comments are welcome and thank you for the help.

Welcome to the forum! Cleaning a tank usually isn't that bad unless there's a lot of mineral deposits. White vinegar should really help with that. The main thing, aside from any cracks, is that the seals are in great shape. Re-sealing a large tank is not fun.

Does glasscages actually have an ATBA? You can probably hold off on it, as you won't to have this tank filled all the way up just yet. Both the heat lamp and UVB light should be over the basking area. You can buy a bulb that does both (MVB) and will be a great source of UVB, but will be a bit pricier.

Yes, the FX5/6 layout should be the same.

Thank you for the welcome and info. I'm going to check the seals before I purchase the aquarium. The guy just drained the water on it a couple of days ago and it was not leaking. Fingers crossed loading and unloading will go well. Yeah glasscages does acrylic basing areas. They look pretty nice from what I saw. I suck at building things so I figured this would be an easier route for me. When I clean the aquarium do I just use water and white vinegar? I would guess soap is not a good thing to use.

If anyone else has any information it is all greatly appreciated.

Is that a 48x24x24 tank?

Depending on how dirty it is, you can also do 10:1 Bleach. Rinse until there's no bleach smell let it dry, fill up and use prime or similar to be on the safe side.

Vinegar should work the same. I bought a salt tank and did 10:1 vinegar bath and dropped a powerhead in and circulate the water. Let it sit for 2 hours and rinsed. It looked brand new after.

Well, you can use cleaners and other stuff, but you will need to rinse out the tank very thoroughly, several times. Best see what condition it's in first, and go from there.

The bleach is great for disinfecting, might be worth doing too.

It's a 72x18x? Not sure on height. It's a 125 I think actually. It's not actually too awful, it has a fish smell and a little residue. So would it be better to go bleach or vinegar? Will the bleach not hurt the turtles? And what is prime?

L x W x H then divide by 231. http://www.redearslider.com/calculator.html

How long has the tank been empty? Try with vinegar first. Whatever you use, including diluted bleach, you will need to thoroughly rinse it out several times. Prime is a water conditioner used for aquariums. It'll help neutralize any chlorine, though we do not recommend water conditioners for turtles.

Not for sure on how long it was empty. I will try vinegar, and this should be diluted 10 parts water to one vinegar? Or do I not dilute it?

You can dilute it, there is no set ratio. Try full strength on the tougher areas.