Opaque or cloudy front aquarium glass?

[pecan2phat]

Okay, here's a shot in the dark: has anyone come across the problem where the front of their aquarium glass has started to turn opaque or cloudy? I know that since this is only a 29 gallon tank, it is inexpensive enough to just replace the tank but I would hate to dismantle a perfectly good running eco-system. I've had the tank up & running for 6 years, the front glass started getting cloudy or opaque about a year ago. I first thought that this was just some kind of algae film but even razor blades has no effects. Do you think this is some kind of chemical reaction or calcification precipitation with the occassional kalkwasser drip or the one-part calcium additive that I use?
Preplexed & puzzled..............

 

[SquishyFish]

Thats exactly what I thought when I started reading it. I have several friends in the hobby that this has happened too. If your like them...scraping, scrubbing, and any other "ing" that you can think of doesnt take it off. I from what I can remember, the only that that was effective at all was a razor blade.

Squishy

 

[pecan2phat]

Thanks Squishy, it's definitely not something on the glass that you can scrape away. I've tried all kinds of algae scrubbing pads and have gone over it with a few new razor blades and the glass is smooth afterwards but still cloudy. It's almost as if the properties of the clear glass has chemically changed. It's weird that it is only the front glass, where as the sides are perfectly clear. My thinking is that it has to be something connected with the additives that I dose.

 

[SquishyFish]

yep...sounds like its time to upgrade!

 

[patrolman602]

I was wondering what you were able to do with your aquarium glass? Did you find a way to get the cloudy film off the front glass? I have a 46 gallon bow front and it is the same way. I bought it used and it was about 5 years old. The sides of the glass are clear and the front inside glass is cloudy. I've tried scraping and even took it apart and scrubbed it with lime away. Nothing has even touched it. When there is water in it the cloudiness is just barely noticeable from any normal viewing angle. If you get down on the floor and look up toward the light you can see the cloudy film on the front. I really don't think that there is any way to scrub it off. Would a brand new tank really be worth getting considering that the cloudiness in hardly noticeable and would the new take do the same thing after a few years? Also, why is it just on the front glass and not the sides? Does it have something to do with the type of glass used to make the 'bow' front? Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.