Should I buy a used tank that housed Saltwater fish?

[stac545]

Hi ~
I have been gathering a wealth of information before I jump into raising discus again. My question is, there is someone selling a 75gallon tank that housed saltwater fish but he said he would pressure wash it out before selling it. Would any amount of cleaning make this tank safe for my new discus juvies?
Thanks for any advice,
Stacy

[Bill63SG]

I don't think it's any problem,different disease's.Not exactly the word I'm looking for,but two different enviroments.I'v had these guys in a tank for months now that was a reef tank.72545Id be a little leary of the powerwasher compromising the seams.

[stac545]

I don't think it's any problem,different disease's.Not exactly the word I'm looking for,but two different enviroments.I'v had these guys in a tank for months now that was a reef tank.72545Id be a little leary of the powerwasher compromising the seams.

Thanks so much for the advice, I did some more reading on here and i will probably clean it out with vinegar or bleach (not at the same time). I will tell him to not powerwash it for me. I was just curious about the levels of salt in the tank and seams. I just want to do this right.

Stacy

[joanstone]

There should be no problem what so ever. I've swapped saltwater and freshwater tanks many many times with all of my switching around of livestock over the years. I think you'll be good with your plan to clean it well.

[DonMD]

My understanding is that salt water pathogens do not cross over into fresh water, and vice versa. So, if you're concerned about disease transmission, that shouldn't be a problem. Now whether or not there is a lot of calcium buildup on tank surfaces, that's another issue that may be hard to remove. But if the price is right, I say go for it.

[Bill63SG]

pathogens THATS the word that escaped me!

[TNT77]

I have 2 discus tanks that used to be saltwater. The only problem I had was getting the calcium buildup and the coraline algae cleaned off.

[ockyra215]

You should be fine I have a 55 that was a reef tank no problems at all. Just clean it throughly!

[sayitfast]

In the past I've had a tank that went from salt to freshwater back to salt then freshwater again.... I always just used bleach and then rinsed the heck out of it. No real worries...

[stac545]

Thank you everyone ! The price is definately right and cant be passed up. I am so excited to get in to this again after taking a 5 year break.
Stacy

[DonMD]

Good luck, Stacy, have fun!

[Matt0matic]

Get the tank set up outside someplace with the filters running and fill it up with a vinegar and water solution. Let it run for awhile and it should take care of the Calcium build up. If there is still calcium left in the tank you can try a higher concentration of vinegar (plus warm water) or move to some of the commercial calcium removal product (extreme case: CLR product).

My ex-saltwater tank was easy to clean up using this method.

[LKSDiscus]

I did the same and had no problems

[x2h]

my 75 gallon was a reeftank also.

[neon]

I have done it as well and no problems.