Can i clean with tap water

[jamest0o0]

This may be a dumb question, but I was wondering if it's alright to clean an old tank out using tap water? I have one in my basement that is dirty I wanted to clean up, was thinking I'd use vinegar and rinse out with tap water. Any problems with this?

 

[hotelbravo]

absolutely!

 

[RayAllen3422]

I have a sink in my fish room and I clean straight from the tap. I have heard others that don't though. I can't imagine it makes a difference. I don't dump large amounts of tap water into the tank.

 

[ca1ore]

Wasting RODI for washing out tanks and sand seems ....... well, a waste. Completely unnecessary if one considers the tiny residual amount.

 

[kevin kaplan]

This is actually the smart way to do it if you ask me.

 

[jamest0o0]

Alright cool happy to hear it's no big deal, i was worried id have to get a big tub of ro/di water.

 

[Koop]

I cannot imagine that the tiny residue from a tap water wash could have a significant impact. I suppose if you were concerned, you could make a small final rinse with RO/DI if you would sleep better at night.:lolspin:

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Does a wild bear crap in the woods?

 

[AndrewNC]

I'm anxiously waiting for an answer to that ^^^

Yes use tap water. Ro water would be a complete waste

 

[jamest0o0]

Does a wild bear crap in the woods?

Not if it's a polar bear

 

[Sk8r]

I wash sand with tapwater, eg, and just finish with a dose of Prime, which takes cares of the chlorine, etc. Not optimum, but cheaper. Never has given me a problem.

I also clean pumps, etc, in white vinegar, and that is truely safe. White vinegar is just a carbon dose for a tank (by the milliliter) and will dissolve the white deposits, aka calcium carbonate.

 

[CStrickland]

This may be a dumb question, but I was wondering if it's alright to clean an old tank out using tap water? I have one in my basement that is dirty I wanted to clean up, was thinking I'd use vinegar and rinse out with tap water. Any problems with this?

Like they said, it's fine. I just bought an old cruddy tank and I found the best way is to buy a spray bottle at the pharmacy (we ladies use them for our hair potions) and fill it with white vinegar, blast all the surfaces and let it work for an hour, then use a scraper (razors work on glass, an old credit card is safer for acrylic) to get off the chunks without really jamming on it too hard. You want to be careful that you aren't grinding the newly released chunks of whatev against the glass which is easy to do if you are scrubbing circles with a sponge.

Then you kindve rinse it all well with tap water and see what remains, repeat as needed. I found it helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby, I dipped my sponge in to flush off the chunks intermittently while I was wiping... not scrubbing. If you need to scrub at a spot, mr clean magic erasers work well, but you need to make sure there's no sandy stuff under it to scuff up your project.

If you find a few tough spots, I used masking tape to hold a paper towel over the larger sea monsters and coraline colonies, then I sprayed the hell out of the towel with vinegar and the deposit wiped right off the next morning.

The tank water issue would be a much bigger concern if you were filling the tank with it and marinating your PVC in copper. For a regular amount of spraying and wiping it's nbd.

 

[Member No. 1]

Not if it's a polar bear

Well played sir!

 

[ScienceRulez]

Does a wild bear crap in the woods?

A wild bear craps where ever it wants...

 

[tomreefer]

you can always use the RO/DI waste water when making your water The waste water would have a better TDS I think. Like others said though tap water is fine to wash.

 

[Sk8r]

Not a better tds, actually. A worse one. But it's useable.

 

[jamest0o0]

Awesome replies thanks everyone, luckily my tank is just dusty, so shouldn't be an issue. I like the idea of soaking pumps in vinegar though, if any of them even still work lol.