Hi everyone this is my first post so please be gentle.
Its a bit long winded but please bear with me.

I am in the process of being given an existing tank which is an Aqua One UFO-880 305ltr Corner Tank, however it is in a right state.
It doesn't look like it has been cleaned for quite a while, with a good coating of Algae on the Glass and it doesn't look like it has ever seen a gravel cleaner as there are quite a few places on the gravel which is covered in Brown muck to the point that you cant see the gravel underneath it.
I have borrowed a smaller tank from a friend to set up temporarily until I can collect clean and setup the larger tank. I have taken water from the existing tank to put it in the temporary one got it up to temperature.
I have now collected the fish and put them in their temporary environment and they all seem happy enough

On Monday I am collecting the tank and this is where I need most of the advice, The existing tank water is a light brown colour probably due to lack of water changes,
1. Is it worth keeping 50% of this water to put back into the tank or should I start with fresh water?
2. The Gravel needs a good clean, what is the best way to do this?
3. I was going to try and clean all of the algae off the glass and basically give it a good clean before putting any of the gravel back into it, should I be using anything in particular to clean it with?
4. The plants that are in it (or lack of them) are in such a state that I was going to purchase some from plants alive, but I am totally lost as to what collection I need to purchase, the tank is approx 3ft tall so should I be buying the 36" selection? any help on this would be appreciated.

Thanks for bearing with me and any help and advice would be appreciated.

Oh and I've just ordered the API Master Test Kit to Test the water

Thanks

Hi, welcome to FK

Have you got a filter in the smaller temporary tank?
What is happening with the filter running in the old tank?

It's hard to know whether to tell you to keep the old water until you can test it for pH, hardness and nitrates, and test your own tap water for these things, to see how far apart they are. The trouble is that if the tank has not been maintained it may have very low pH and high nitrates, and you don't want to shock the fish by changing these too drastically at once. Best keep a filter or airstone running to stop that water going stagnant in the meantime.

Gravel is best decanted into buckets (no more than half full) then swirled around with a hosepipe in it until it runs clear. Or in the bath if no garden.

To clean out the tank I'd invest in some salt, vinegar , Milton and Magic eraser (melamine foam) and be ready to rinse, rinse, and rinse again afterwards.

Sorry, that's not comprehensive answer, keep on asking!

On the plants question: Plants Alive collections for a tank size are for the length of tank not the height so the 36" inch collection is for a tank 3 feet long and so on.

Hi Cathie, thanks for your reply
There is a filter in the temporary tank, and I have left the filter running in the old tank so the bacteria didn't die off.
I live approx 1 mile or less away from where I'm getting the tank from so I would assume we have the same water or would that be wrong to assume?

I have plenty of buckets at the ready so will be able to clean the gravel, I just wasn't sure about using tap water to do it

I already have Milton and was going to use the old filter cloth to clean the glass but what would I do with the salt and vinegar? Also I don't want the cleaning to take to long as I want to get the filter up and running as quick as possible to maintain the bacteria in it.

Thanks Noodle, that makes more sense I will get some ordered

There are 2 issues about the water. Your tap water may be the same as the previous owners, but it may come from a different supply within the same water company, so it is worth testing, and that is one issue. The more significant issue is the 'old tank syndrome' I mentioned. If tanks are left for long periods without proper water changes the pH can fall significantly and the nitrates rise sky high. The previous owner may have been doing water changes without doing the tank cleaning but you need to test to know. if the pH has gone too low, the filter bacteria may also have died off ... Meantime the tank should have a bit of fish food added daily to keep the filter bacteria ticking over
Vinegar is to remove any limescale. Salt is an alternative to Milton, but the mild abrasive can help shift things.
Washing gravel in tap water is ok because with internal and external filters, that's where your bacteria are, not like in the old under gravel filtration when you could not have done that as the bacteria were in the gravel. Just obviously be sure you add dechlorinator to the water you pour into the tank on top of it.
You can keep the filter going by putting the media in a bucket of tank water with an airstone running in it while you do cleaning, rather than leaving it turned off.
Magic eraser is very quick, wish I had known of them whenI got my first second hand tank

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Is it a mature filter - i.e was it running with fish in right up 'til you put your fish in there?

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It's probably the same, but you can't be absolutely certain - you could be over the border between supplies from two sources.

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Tap water for gravel cleaning is fine as most of the beneficial bacteria are in the filter media rather than the gravel. Just add some dechlorinator to the final rinse to make sure you don't inadvertently introduce chlorine/chloramine into the tank and wipe out the filter.

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Again, do a final rinse with dechlorinated water as Milton is a mild bleach product.

White vinegar is a mild acid and is good for removing stubborn limescale. Salt or bicarb make good non-scratch scouring powders and bicarb can be mixed with vinegar to make a paste to soak areas of limescale. Flat green kitchen scourers and kitchen sponges with a scourer on one side are very good for stubborn spots. Use plastic scourers only though, metal ones will scratch the glass.

Another useful tool is one of those scrapers for removing paint splashes from glass when decorating. They usually have either a razor blade or a Stanley blade in them. Great for scraping algae, limescale etc off, but make sure you don't accidentally cut into the silicone seals.

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If it's a separate filter rather than built into the tank or hood, run it on the other tank while you work. More than a few hours turned off will wipe out most of the bacteria.

Thanks guys, some very good advice there.
Unfortunately the filter in the temporary tank is a new one with only about 3 days to cycle with existing water from the old tank, but we were on a timescale as they need this tank moving by Monday as the decorators are going in on Tuesday.

The big tank has the filter built in to the hood, which I believe is called a dry filter as the water is sprinkled onto the filter media from a sprinkler bar. I suppose I could remove all of the media and put it into a container with tank water in it with an air stone in it whilst I clean the tank, do you think this would work?

Finally where would I get a Magic Eraser from? Remember I am a bloke and don't usually go into shops

Thanks again for your advice

Edit: Hopefully the water testing kit will arrive tomorrow and I will have better information for you

Don't know about the Magic Eraser - I expect Cathie can tell you.

The fish are in danger at the moment with a new filter. The old tank water won't help as the bacteria don't live in the water, only in the filter media and to some extent on surfaces in the tank - gravel, rock etc. Basically at the moment ammonia will be building up in the tank. I would take as much media from the existing filter as you can - especially sponges and any bio balls or similar and replace the new filter's media with it. That will kill two birds with one stone: the fish will have a cycled filter, and the media will be preserved and can go back in the main tank's filter when the tank is ready.

EDIT: Is the filter on the tank you've bought running at the moment? If it's not and has been off for more than a few hours you've probably lost the bacteria

I have managed to put 2 large pieces of bogwood and the one good plant that was left into the temporary tank, but there is now no way I can get to the cycled filter as they are away for the weekend now, would it be best to do daily water changes or anything like that to keep them safe until Monday evening?

I knew I should have joined this forum sooner

EDIT: Yeah both filters are running at the minute