I just bought a used fish tank. It was a great deal and i couldn't pass it up.
It's a 75 gallon Sea Clear System 1 with an oak stand and canopy. It was $59.00 at the local Goodwill store.
The previous owner didn't want it anymore and was tired of the whole thing. They left it with a couple power heads and a Fluval 303, rocks, ornaments, fake plants, heater, lighting.
My question is, How do i clean this tank up so it is safe for my fish?
I threw away all the ornaments and plants but i want to make sure that i clean it up really, really good before setting it up.
Also, it's an Acrylic tank. There are some scratches in it. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the scratches???
I'd really appreciate any and all help any of you could give me.
Thanks!

I think that there are products out there that are supposed to remove scratches from acrylic aquariums. Check with you're local pet store. As for cleaning it, if it were glass, I'd use water and bleach. But I don't know if you can use that on acrylic. Good luck and put up pictures when you get it set up.

What a great deal! I might have the chance to buy a 100 gallon for cheap so anyways I won't ramble on

I found this website that had this to say:

Clean the tank. A quick rinse if it is brand new a complete disinfection if second hand. People often sell their tanks when they have lots of fatalies. (These are often due to bacteria many of which are impossible to cure and you need to start again. This can be expensive never mind time consuming so bye bye tank). There are many ways of disinfecting a tank. Add 50 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide to 100 litres of water and leave in tank for three days, WITH LIGHTS ON. After this time most of the hydrogen peroxide will have decomposed to water. Rinse. Alternatively use Potassium permanganate. Fill the tank and add enough to get a strong violet colour, leave for three days and rinse clear. Or try spraying the tank with 70% Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol). Cheap skates can wash the glass with a slurry of salt and water and rinse after a wek. Alternatively visit the pet shop and buy something off the shelf.
http://www.geocities.com/tony2kuk/aquarium.html
I hope it helps

aparently, baking soda is meant to be a really good cleaner and its not as harmful like detergents.

Baking Soda with a scubbing pad that is meant to remove algae from acrylic tanks is plenty of abrasive to remove all the but the most ground in dirt. And that - if it is in the scratches - probably will not be removed without a lot of abrasion.

Baking soda is harmless but it makes a good gentle abrasive for removal of nasties. You can also try a little white vinegar, with the algae pad (white for acrylic - NOT blue for glass), but use the vinegar, then rinse after, so that it does not sit on the plastic for hours. It is a mild acid and, in already scratched areas, could potentially etch slightly. Vinegar cuts the hard water deposits and crusties that are usually on a used tank.

There is a commercially available tank cleaner. I tried it. It really did not seem to work any better than vinegar or baking soda. I do not think it is worth the money.

As far as disinfecting - I really like potasium permanganate, for it can be easily removed with hydrogen peroxide, is harmless if you do not get it all, and it really blasts any living organisms that may be in the tank.

Sounds like a wonderful new tank! Congratulations!!!!

ok, I FINALLY got my 20 gallon, and it's really dirty, I am curious to know if anyone has ever used Ammonia to clean a tank or had any information about using it to clean a tank?