Cleaning ideas for inside glass on used aquarium?

KSzegi

KSzegi

New member
Just got a very large used tank and trying to clean the inside of the front glass. Not sure what the residue actually is, assuming some calcium type deposits .... apparently tank had been used as a water mixing station. Reside is in a spotty pattern like hard water deposits on shower doors etc .....I thought it would be an easy clean up but so far I've not been able to get off whatever the residue is with any simple and tank safe ideas. Have tried vinegar, magic eraser, scrubby pad, and even a light scraping. Never dreamed it would be such an issue ...

I really wanted to avoid any harsh chemicals if possible so I would have less worries about rinsing the tank extremely well before setting it up .....its a 300 gallon tank so not one that I can just take out in the yard and give a good rinse too easily!

Anyone have any ideas to try? Front pane is much worse than sides - and it is starphire if that makes any difference?
 
well, i was gonna suggest vinegar and one of those plastic razor blade looking scrappers.........but, looks like youve tried that.....

maybe get a pack of razor blades and go very slow and be very careful, changing the blade every foot?

lets see what others come up with, interested to see. good luck, sounds like a dandy of a tank and im sure you will have a great build thread after this :)
 
I've heard you can use muriatic acid.. I've never used it though so do a search... I always use vinegar and a credit card
 
LaOtIn said:
well, i was gonna suggest vinegar and one of those plastic razor blade looking scrappers.........but, looks like youve tried that.....

maybe get a pack of razor blades and go very slow and be very careful, changing the blade every foot?

lets see what others come up with, interested to see. good luck, sounds like a dandy of a tank and im sure you will have a great build thread after this :)
Click to expand...

Oh man, I hope somebody comes up with something easier ..... I really hate the thought of the razor blade scraping idea ..... suddenly the tank has become even bigger!! :hmm3:
 
If fill the tank with water+vinegar, let it soak, then use a credit card or equivalent. Soak time is important.
 
Take the tank to the driveway, front side down and pour straight vinegar on it and let it sit for a while. Try scraping with an aquarium scraper first. A razor blade won't scratch the glass by itself. If there is dirt or grit, that will scratch the glass so make sure that is definitely rinsed off well before using a razor blade. Keep rinsing as you move along and keep checking the blade to make sure its still sharp and not burred.
 
Razor blades work really, really well. Just get a razor blade holder thingy at walmart so they are easier to handle
 
I had a tank like that. I cleaned it with vinegar and razors. Still had the residue after all that but when I filled the tank, you couldnt see any of it. Try filling it and see if it is REALLY a problem.. Good luck
 
Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I really want to avoid the muriatic acid if I can - will use that as a last resort short of giving up on the tank I guess!

Looking like razor blades and/or filling the tank with vinegar and water will be the next option. I would think that the vinegar/water solution would have to be at least 50/50 for the soak? Boy oh boy, Sam's club is gonna think I've gone into the pickling business if I go in there for 150 gallons of vinegar!!! :spin2:

Reefbouy .... I would love to let the tank sit with the vinegar on the front for awhile but it took 6 of us to get it in the house yesterday ..... I will not earn points with the hubby if I tell him we gotta move this beast outside and back in again!!!

Taking your advice Phishguy .... am filling the tank right now to see if it is noticeable when the tank has water in it. I'm hoping not, but guess if it is I'll just empty half the water and try the vinegar soak next!

Now if I woulda just been happy with the standard Marineland tank I wouldn't be having this issue .... but no, had to get used so I could have eurobracing and c2c overflow - but still less than the cost of the standard new dd ..... Please someone reassure me this is gonna be worth it in the long run!! :spin1:
5042c617.jpg
 
I would fill tank with 50/5o mix of vinegar and water. Then get the biggest PH or pump you have and place it so it fires toword the front pane. Leave it for a day or two. Should come right off. I had the same issue with an old used tank I bought and it worked like a charm. And by the way... Damn! Who uses a starfire tank for a mixing station?!
 
reefermad619 said:
I would fill tank with 50/5o mix of vinegar and water. Then get the biggest PH or pump you have and place it so it fires toword the front pane. Leave it for a day or two. Should come right off. I had the same issue with an old used tank I bought and it worked like a charm. And by the way... Damn! Who uses a starfire tank for a mixing station?!
Click to expand...

Yea, looks like thats going to be the next plan. Hopefully Sam's has got 150 gallons of vinegar in stock! :hmm4: I've got a couple big Koralias and an extra mag24 around so I'll blast them all at the front for a couple days.

Tried vinegar and baking soda, tried hot vinegar .... tried both with saran wrap over them for about an hour to keep it wet with it ..... not working. Even tried just a little spot with some CLR (daily stuff so not full strength) and that didn't touch it either.

Yea, was a pretty dang fancy mixing tank huh?! I sure hope I can get it 'prettied up' again so it doesn't have to be relegated to mixing status again!! Far too nice of a tank for that.

Thanks again everybody for their suggestions ..... hopefully I can get this thing cleaned up and start on more fun parts of the build!
 
Your best bet is to put the tank on its side and soak it with a gallon or two of vinegar. 150 gallons of vinegar is going to be expensive, and unnecessary. If you're dead set on not moving it, get some muriatic acid. Mix up a ratio of acid to water (maybe 1:10), and let the tank soak. Use a razor blade to scrape the stuff off the glass.
 
NirvanaFan said:
Your best bet is to put the tank on its side and soak it with a gallon or two of vinegar. 150 gallons of vinegar is going to be expensive, and unnecessary. If you're dead set on not moving it, get some muriatic acid. Mix up a ratio of acid to water (maybe 1:10), and let the tank soak. Use a razor blade to scrape the stuff off the glass.
Click to expand...

I've never used muriatic acid before either. Is there any chance the diluted acid would etch the glass? Seen others use it for cleaning equipment with no problems.
 
Why scared of muriatic acid? Dilute it and just use common sense like ventilated area. Does an amazing job. Just remember your High school chemistry and add the acid to water, never water into acid. I use the stuff on every used tank I buy, so easy, it eats dried on coralline and calcium like breakfast...30 seconds and wipe clean
 
I lay them down on the front and pour straight muratic on them and maybe dilute 1:1. I let it sit for a while and then rinse with a lot of water - muratic is harmless when diluted enough. The stuff scrapes off like butter after this.

I do the next three sides the same way.

Vinegar is like throwing a baseball at a semi truck. Muratic is like throwing a freight train at a semi truck.
 
I recently had to clean a used tank that looked just as bad.
I filled with fresh water and added less than a gallon vinegar (maybe 3/4 gallon, just emptied whatever was left in the opened container) on a 45 gal tank. So mix is way less than 50/50. and ran powerhead and left it like that for a week. The glass scraped clean easily after a week. as with most things with this hobby, patience is the key. (waiting for an hour for vinegar to soak in is definitely not long enough)

Then I just turned the powerhead off and left the tank, and a few days later I got a bacteria bloom. The whole tank was cloudy and has white snot like substance inside.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Algae
2
Replies
20
Views
395
Jamie805
J
Oceanutz
White stain on glass
Replies
2
Views
209
wvned
wvned
Dogs442
Cleaning my xxl900 Is it safe?
Replies
3
Views
398
Dogs442
Dogs442
DjPhato
Gray film on water surface
Replies
6
Views
266
DjPhato
DjPhato
M
Do I need to take the glass apart on 300 Gallon glass tank
Replies
3
Views
298
griss
griss
Back
Top