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29 Gallon Dual Tank setups

First off I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Andres.  I am new to this
list and have been reading the information contained herein for a few days
now, and so far have learned allot, so thank you everyone.

I have been studying up on aquarium setups for a couple weeks now, learning
and mostly gathering information as I was looking to purchase a 37 gallon
freshwater setup.  A very good friend of mine just gifted me his two 29
Gallon tanks and all the fixings, including 4 air pumps of varying
qualities, 4 Powerheads, UGF systems for both and many many misc items, most
of which are all needed as I have not an aquarium in years.  All of it is
dirty and needs a thorough cleaning, as most of it has caked on sediments
and mineralized residue..Here is my question, for all the small stuff like
lines, valves, and misc I am going to outright replace them for new, but
what is the best way to remove all the 'scum' or mineralized water deposits
from the inside of the hood, tank, and powerheads...and all the rest of the
stuff I have sorted through?  Plain hot water?  Vinegar and water?  Any tips
on restoring these tank systems to near new conditions would be great.  What
SHOULD I replace, just to be safe?


I am only going to setup one tank for now.  I am planning on making it a
freshwater planted aquarium,  I originally was going to go with an Eclipse
filter hood for the 37 gallon, since I now have a gifted 29 gallon with UGF,
should I use the under gravel filter system at all?  I am concerned with the
possibility of the laterite sublayer I have been contemplating putting below
the gravel ( for the plants) leaching in the water via the UGF, can I go
without the UGF completely?  If so how difficult will this make maintenance
for the tank?  If I have to use an UGF, should I not use the laterite?
would it be better to just place occasional fertilizer pellets in the
gravel, once the plants are in place?  Or can I sandwich the laterite
between two substrates to add stability?

I have several more questions, but for the sake of the many people here I
will hold back abit.

Thank you,
Sunny in Florida
Andres M.