I got a used 60 gallon with a biowheel for 30 bux. Well it has some white stuff stuck near the top. and a lot on the glass hood. I was wondering how to get it off..

When I get a used tank, I usually clean it with salt on a wet sponge or rag and rub the inside of the tank down well. Use a salt with no additives, such as aquarium salt or coarse salt (sometimes called pickling salt). Then rinse inside with clean water. You can use vinegar on the white deposits and see if they will come off. If that doesn't work, you can use a razor scraper (like the ones used for cleaning paint off of windows). You can buy them really cheaply at hardware stores or places like Wal-Mart. Make sure to hold the scraper flat against the glass so that you don't scratch it.

That white stuff is most likely a hard water mineral deposit from previous use. One of the best and most benign ways to remove this is to soak a towel in white vinegar and set it over the area so it sits and soaks. Wipe it agressively with a non - abrasive towel or wipe, and soak again, until gone. Vinegar can dissolve those minerals, but it takes a bit of patience. They sell tank cleaner solutions for this at the store, but they are basically just white vinegar anyway!

You will need to disinfect that tank and bio-wheel, too. I would suggest either replacing the biowheel part of the filter - wheels are available at PetSmart and similar stores - or boiling the wheel out. You need to be a bit careful and not let the plastic parts of the wheel touch the bottom of the pan for it can melt. They can take the heat of boiling, though.

The tank, once clean, should be washed out with a 10:1 water:bleach solution and rinsed well. You can simply fill the tank with water and bleach and then throw in all the pieces of the filter, decorations or anything else you have and let them soak for the duration. After emptying your tank, I would suggest setting everything out in the sun for a few hours. Turn them over to totally explose all surfaces to the UV of the sun. This is very effective, natural sterilizing process. It works well.

If you are unsure of how well the tank has been rinsed from the bleach, you can always add a slug of de-chlorinator to your water.

A new tank! How cool is that? WOW, that is a good deal.