How to test a "new" used tank?

[1969iggy]

I have recently acquired, very cheaply, 2 used Aqueon 29 gallon tanks. (One may actually be new, it doesn't look to have been used, only dirty) They were advertised as 20 gallon, so not sure if I'm happy they are bigger or not. I guess that depends on if one ever has a catastrophic failure.

I have them for 24 hours now sitting on cardboard, filled to the rim, in my garage to check for leaks. So far so good. How long would you let them sit for? One of them had the sealant peeling in the top of the corners, but it seems like it's so overdone that it's extra. Seems like relatively overdone in general. I don't know it it's a concern. Maybe being heated while no water was in it for a reptile dried out the sealant.

They were previously used for reptiles, so once i know they hold water i want to sanitize them. Any cleaners i should stay away from? Any technique for washing? I assume that turtle poop isn't great for fish, but also that it won't be enough by the time my tanks cycle to really be that harmful. By then i assume anything still in the tank will be OK.

My hope is to use one for a tank, and the other for quarantine eventually. But maybe the one that is slightly peeling is too far gone to be useful?

 

[Dom]

That is a tough call. I'm not trying to be funny, but, I would say keep them filled until the uncertainty in the pit of your stomach goes away.

 

[Marco_99]

I tested a sump and the line I drew in the sand was a week, I felt, I felt good with that time frame. Like said above you’ll just know when you know, and what you don’t know, you don’t know