Cleaning an old used tank

[happygirl65]

Hello,
I have just picked up a great tank that was previously used.

It has a lot of calcium buildup and some old dried on algae.....what is the best way to clean it?

I have some chemicals that are awesome at cleaning this stuff and my husband says to use that...but am wary of using them on a fish tank. (It is a professional bowl ring remover which contains hydrofluoric acid...that just seems scary)but then perhaps some of you chemical experts can tell me the real scoop with that.

I am thinking vinegar and a scrub brush or brillo pad.

The tank is glass, would that scratch it up? I really don't think it would but thought I would put it out there to all of you.

 

[Gundy]

I'm new to the hobby but went through the same thing recently, but if you just use a algae pad for glass and warm water it should do the trick. I battled the same thing when I acquired a 20 gallon yesterday! I used an algae pad, because its designed for glass and won't scrape it up - not sure what the difference is between that and a brillo or scotch pad but better safe then sorry.

If there are really hard to clean water spots, I know Tetra makes wipes that work inside the aquarium ( even while fish are in the tank! ) that is totally safe and works WONDERS for removing the difficult water rings. I got a few small sample packets in a couple filter replacements I picked up.

I can't answer your question about the chemicals though, sorry!

 

[rich311k]

White vinegar will take off the miniral deposits. Hot water and a striaght edge should get the algae off the glass.

 

[happygirl65]

Sweet thanks!

 

[severum mama]

A razor blade (be careful not to scratch the glass) or a credit card will work for scraping. Also, Kent Marine makes a really cool algae scraper. The blade is metal but it has rounded edges and won't scratch your tank.

 

[happygirl65]

I will look for that, thanks!

 

[Leaf]

Be careful around the silicone seams (assuming this tank is glass & using silicone) as it's easy to detach that from the glass with a razor or similar device.

As previously mentioned, white vinegar can work wonders too. For hard to reach or difficult to soak areas - place a simple piece of paper towel against those spots and soak it with vinegar, making sure the paper towel sticks to the glass or plastic frame, etc. Results can vary, you may have to use repeat treatments and it could take several minutes or hours for results -- but it's a easier then filling the entire tank with vinegar or diluted vinegar and water.

A toothbrush is also handy for scrubbing the hard to reach corners too. It will take some elbow grease though.

 

[happygirl65]

It has gone pretty well. After the description of the algae scraper it made me think of something similar that I already have, it is a pastry cutter that is basically a metal ruler that has a handle that makes it easy to use for scraping dough off the counter etc....worked like magic, rounded corners too so it didn't scratch anything. (yeah!)

As usual I was trying to make it harder than it was, but I just wanted to protect my investment....you all know how I feel I am sure.

The vinegar works pretty well. I may go back and get the stubborn spots again before I set it up but for now it looks pretty darn good!

yeah!

 

[rich311k]

Good work. Looking forward to seeing it.

 

[happygirl65]

Here it is on the stand...it cleaned up quite nicely!

Thanks for all the input!