I cleaned my old tank with soap pad/ clr/ chemicals. Is there a way to make my tank safe for new pets?

Question

So, I used to have a pair of painted turtles in my 20 gallon long tank. I went away to college and kind of forgot about the poor little guys. My parents did an alright job taking care of them. But where I live we had a bad ice storm during the winter and unfortuneately our power was out for about a week. I kept my turtles in the basement which got so cold that it chilled their water to almost a freezing point. Poor little guys froze to death.

So it's been like 7 months since their death and I've decided I want to start fresh with new turtles. Well my tank was so dirty with calcium, lime, and rust. That I thought I know I'll use CLR!!! Surely that will do the trick. So I poured on the clr and scrubbed with a soap pad didn't do a good job. So I started using a razor blade and vinegar combination. And it's coming right off. But to my luck those chemicals I used apparently stay in the tank.

So my question is, is there anyway to clean the chemicals out so I can put new turtles in it?

Answer 1

try to get a cleaner specificly for reptile tanks and clean t with that then try it with turtles it should help my sister uses wipe out by zoo med

Answer 2

toss it

Answer 3

Fill the tank and let it soak. After a week or so. repeat with fresh water. If you can still smell any chemical odor in the tank, repeat until you can't.

Answer 4

How about getting a new one?

Answer 5

you should get a new one. dont risk your new turtles lives. use that tank for something that doesnt live in water but make sure theres no fumes.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, my Red Ear slider tank looks like that too. Tried it all. So now i just live with it. If you want to disinfect it with Bleach. Bleach should be used at the rate of 4 ounces per gallon of water. And the rinsed and air dried over night.

Answer 7

thats a bad idea i have a turtle of my own don't put any kind of chemicals in the tank that is really bad you have to wash it out with water for a very long time or get a new tank and keep them inside and get sometype of uv light thats what i do and my turtle is reallly healthy