Habitat - Indoor :: new tank :)

[ice]

i just picked up a 55 (?) gallon tank from some guy on the radio. i got the tank, a stand, a fluval 4, some stones (i threw out the tiny ones), a heater (looks like a real cheap one tho) and a few other things. all for 60 bucks!!!! i was so stoked when i found out about it. the dimensions are approx. 48x21x18. idk exactly how many gallons it is, but its big compared to my little 10 gallon.

i rinsed out the tank real well, and i took the stones, the heater, and the filter and put them in a bucket of water then poured in some bleach. hopefully thatll disinfect them enough. i'll be sure to rinse them very very thoroughly after i get home. and i'll scrub out the tank with bleach. but are there any other things i should do?

[jenaero]

Make sure everything that you washed with bleach is rinsed until the smell is gone, then let it sit and dry for 24 hours to give the chlorine time to dissipate

[N4784N R4613]

If you gave the correct dimensions, then it sounds like you have an 80 gallon tank!! Nice buy!!

[ice]

wow really? thats huge!! i was gonna do the math myself but i had to leave for a few hours. now that im back ill try it out for myself

[DavidY]

Was that 48" x 21" or 48" x 12" ??

[ice]

48x21x18 or somewhere around that

[DavidY]

Wow, nice. That's a good size tank (bigger than a 55gal)!

[ice]

thanks the guy initially put it on the radio as a 35 gallon. so i was like ok i guess thatll work. then he told me he was wrong its 55. so i was like yay a big tank! and now i find out its bigger i looked online and found a 60 gallon tank thats a few inches shorter so im guessing its somewhere around 65 gallons. sweet

i poured some bleach and water into the bottom of the tank and used a sponge to wipe down and scrub the inside. after its all dry, can i put water into it and get it all set up? i wont move the turtle in till tomorrow just to be safe. and all the little stones and toys and whatnot will sit until tomorrow afternoon. i just dont want my turtle to plop into a bleach bath

[DavidY]

That's always a pleasant surprise!

Yea, chlorine is bad news. Make sure to hose out the inside of the tank really well to get the chlorine out. I usually flush with fresh water for several minutes. You want to make sure you can not smell any chlorine. Then let it air dry. If you're eager to get it up and running you should go ahead and fill it up with fresh water, add some water conditioner and get your heater in there. It could take 24 hours or more just to get the water up to the right temperature depending on the size of your heater. Go ahead and get your filter running too as the circulation will help get the tank up to temp quicker too. Don't add the turtles until the temp is close to what they're in now.

Do you have rocks, decorations, heater and filter from your current tank? If you do, you should transfer those over to the new tank too once the temperature is ready. Using the old filter and decorations will help the beneficial bacteria colonize the new tank and filter and prevent an bacteria bloom.

[ice]

my current setup doesnt have any rocks. i used to have some stones but i think they were a bit small. plus they were a pain to clean. they made the water cloudy. i might get a few decent sized stones in the new one but idk yet. i gotta find my camera so i can post some pictures when its all done too.

so yea ill let it dry out, then move it inside and fill it up. well, not all the way, since im not sure how my floor will hold out lol but ill put a decent amount of water in. she wont be inthe tank until tomorrow though

[DavidY]

Oh, okay. You don't need rocks, I was just wondering if you already had some of those large river rocks, they can also hold the beneficial bacteria and could help get the biological filtration going in the new tank. But the filter contains all the bacteria needed.