Fish only to Reef Conversion

[hhassan]

Not sure if I have a problem but I'm hoping that someone can answer two questions for me.

I have a 48"x24"x18" glass aquarium and have been keeping marine fish in it for over 5 years. Three years ago I had to sell the contents of my aquarium, and since then it has been empty.

During my five years of fish keeping I had a few problems with parasites, the aquarium water was treated with different forms of remedy to succesfully combat this.

Three years on, I now want to setup a reef aquarium and intend to use the Berlin method.

The two question that I have are as follows:

1) The remedy that I used, which is not intended for use in the presence of inverts, seems to of been obsorbed into the silicone sealent of the Aquarium. The silicone sealant is now a shade of blue. Will this be obsorbed back into the aquariun water and cause a problem when I introduce inverts into the aquarium?

2) As the aquarium has been sitting empty for three years, is there a chance that the glass may crack when I attempt to fill it with water?

Thanks in advance

[sheriff]

If your unsure of the silicone you could just put a thin layer of new silicone over the top of and then sit it somewhere like backyard and fill with fresh water and test it after it has cured
Make sure the silicone is recommended for aquarium use
I did a similar thing on my 4x2x2 about six months ago and it is fine
Steve

[OodleyBoodely]

The only medications that will cause permanent damage to the tank for reef use are copper based meds. The copper bonds with the glass itself, not just the silicone, so that any tank that has been exposed to copper will not be safe for invertebrates due to continual leaching of leathal levels of copper. Also, any rock, sand, or ornament exposed to copper should be disposed of, or kept for use in a quarantine tank only. If you are sure you did not use copper, then recovering the old sealant with new silicon, and a good scrub using either a stronge salt solution or straight vinegar should be sufficient.

[hhassan]

Thanks OodleyBoodely and Sheriff you botha have been very helpful.

I will check my medication shelf to see if the are copper based. Hopefully they are not.