Cleaning old tanks, help appreciated...

[Uriel]

Hey all,

So, I have several 30 gallon tanks that I am setting up, both as small Reefs as well as mantis tanks. These were freshwater display tanks that a LFS graciously gave me for free.
I was told that no copper medicines were used, and they only need to be scrubbed of old algae...

Or...?

Looking for advice on cleaning them up. They are Acrylic tru vu tanks.
Problems: Old green/blackinh algae marks, as well as old tscotch-tape funk on the outside. the tape leftover is hard and doesn't want to come off by fingernail aline.
What can I clean these up with that won't present a possible chemical hazard to the life that I want to house within?


Any help appreciated,

-Ron

 

[chipmaker]

Vinegar works good at helping to remove old algae as does chlorox....followed by a good fresh water rinse. Chlorox residue if any will be neutralized pretty quick once the tanks are drained and allowed to dry so there is no residue left. Goo Remover works fine for removing old labels, tape etc, and since it is used outside the tank it should not pose any problem either. I use it to remove labels etc on tanks, or anyhting else, and if it goes in the tank, I just wash it good and go with it. If you rinse the tanks well and allow to dry, especially in the sun most anything but typical detergents will work fine.....Vinegar, chlorox, potassium Permangante, etc.

 

[Uriel]

Anyone else have any suggestions?

As far as cleaning, paper towels and the acrylic-safe scrubber that I use on my tanks is what I was thinking of.


-Ron

 

[iceman5]

1 cup vinegar per gallon of water just soak a 30 gallon the ***** fer it to the next 30 gallon and so on . the more tanks the more fun that involves clean to lol

 

[merlock116]

get some muriatic acid from hd or lowes. dilute it with water and use it to soak your tanks. you can use it straight up to get the tape off.

i've gotten the gallon jugs of vinegar from costco and imo they muriatic acid is much easier to use.

you should do this outdoors or in the garage w/ good ventilation and gloves.

 

[Atomahawk]

If you want to try and remove scratches theres a product called Novus # 1 and #2 they will help remove ones that are not to deep. Practice before doing the front pane, to get a feel for it and read the instructions. Always use clean 100 % flannel cloth to clean acrylic and don't put the the cloth on the floor or an area that will pick up something that will scratch the acrylic.

Best of luck

 

[fillibar]

Never use one of those generic green kitchen scrubs for cleaning a glass tank either. Despite it seeming like it could not possibly scratch it, you will end up with a huge number of very fine scratches that are very annoying... Not that I've done that lately to an old 29...

 

[dugg]

Get citric acid from the canning dept. at the grocery store. Fill the tanks with water, and add about 1/2 cup citric acid to each one. Let that stand over night, then rinse them out good. The citric acid will clean them like new, and won't hurt anything or leave any chemical residue behind.

 

[Amador]

I have a tank that was previously a freshwater tank, and has some junk inside the glass.

I've tried everything (including muriatic acid) to get the junk off, but no luck. Would the "citric acid soak" mentioned above work?

 

[radone]

On a side note if you use muratic acid be very careful a 1:10 ratio is fine. This will also help rid of copper if it was used, just to be on the safe side. Wash with a bleach mixture then rinse very very well.
Good Luck

 

[Amador]

Anyone know?

 

[fella1320]

presure washer i have used them on old salt tanks that i decided to reuse it blasts the coraline and algae right off pretty quickly just be sure you dont have one that is too powerful my is 2400psi and i use the medium wide spray nozel. the best part of this method is that you dont have to use dangerous chemicals. of course the bad part is you have to have a presure washer. good luck