So I picked up a nasty (but freeeeee) 36 gallon tank from craigslist the other day. The tank had obviously not been cleaned and had anything at all done to it for at least 6 months maybe longer. However, all the equipment was still running. It had a huge pleco in it!! There are some kinda gunk and deposits on everthing. The filter, the glass, everything. What are some products that have worked well for you guys to clean to crap out of the this thing? (literally) Thanks for the advice.
Nasty Tank, How to Clean?
- Thread starter SWerner13
- Start date
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It depends on what type of gunk you are talking about if it is algae it can most likely be wiped off. If the tank is acrylic it will be easily scratched so don't use any harsh scrubbers on it. I found a microfiber nylon net sponge at the dollar store that I found will take most stuff off tanks as long as it didn't have a chance to dry on.
If it has hard water deposits soak it in vinegar. I use some old towels soaked vinegar and laid on the tank.
If it has hard water deposits soak it in vinegar. I use some old towels soaked vinegar and laid on the tank.
I was thinking more along the lines of hardwater deposits or some kind of mineral deposit from the water. The guy lived out in the boondocks so I think he might have been using well water? I'll try vinegar when I get around to cleaning it. Thanks
bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
Muriatic acid (HCl) will take away hard water deposits in no time. Rinse it thoroughly and then use a dechlorinator to rinse the tank of any Cl- ions. Do the dechlor twice and rinse twice more. The tank should clean up in no time.
Where would I purchase Mriatic Acid? does it have a more common name or is there a product that mostly has that? I started to clean in today and I have been using a brand new razor blade very slowly. It seems to be doing a pretty good job without scratching the glass but it is time consuming.
MichaelsLilGray
Aquarium Advice FINatic
All good things come with a price... at least its a 39g... i just picked up a 125... and get to clean it out next x.x
bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
Muriatic acid IS the common name for hydrochloric acid. You should be able to find it at any hardware store, just ask them for some muriatic acid. It's used to "wash" brick of mud (the material used to lay the brick) after the brick has been set. It has other uses as well.
Make sure that the glass is wet whenever you are using a razor blade on it and also be sure to keep all of the blade in contact with the glass, otherwise you will scratch it.
Make sure that the glass is wet whenever you are using a razor blade on it and also be sure to keep all of the blade in contact with the glass, otherwise you will scratch it.
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
I use a plastic razor blade .... you get that from the hardware store (I got mine from Lee Valley) .... same as regular razor but less risk of scratching glass so you don't have to be nearly as careful.
If you can't find muturic acid, you can try CLR - the bathroom lime remover. <Note - get the original CLR, not the CLR line of soaps & detergents!> Again, rinse very very well after .... & rinse some more!
If you can't find muturic acid, you can try CLR - the bathroom lime remover. <Note - get the original CLR, not the CLR line of soaps & detergents!> Again, rinse very very well after .... & rinse some more!
newfound77951
Aquarium Advice Addict
Common vinegar also works well, and it less nasty than HCl.
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