Windex, the silent killer?

[JPloman]

I could leave a full glass of water and that water is going to evaporate well before it seeps through a glass...

This certainly isn't what killed this guys fish in 3 days.

You are talking about two different types of glass. All glass is different in the way it breaths. Fish tank glass on breaths one direction, expecially the acrilyic ones.

I agree, I do not think that windex killed this guys fish in three days. I would take regular use and exessive use of windex to kill fish.

 

[Clown Monarch]

Thus it will absorb anything you put on it

I just can't buy that! It would take years and years for something like this to affect the fish if the product didn't evaporate to begin with. I'm there with you on not spraying near the tank for fear of the overspray, but I just can't swallow that spraying on the glass is going to get into my tank... through the glass.

I could leave a full glass of water and that water is going to evaporate well before it seeps through a glass...

This certainly isn't what killed this guys fish in 3 days.

I'm with Phyl here. The amount of chemical ammonia that would get into the tank (airborne, let alone THROUGH the glass) would be SO minimal that I can't imagine any harm would come of it. I mean you're talking about fine particles of mist in 55 gallons of water. I would bet (though I'm not going to do it) I could pour a shotglass of Windex into my tank and not experience any effects.

Let's just say I'm not about to encapsulate my tank in a atmospherically-controlled bubble.

 

[sango]

You can use baby wipes that works great.

 

[RocketSeason]

I would bet (though I'm not going to do it) I could pour a shotglass of Windex into my tank and not experience any effects.

I will take you up on that bet!!!

 

[MT79]

I've always done what a few others said, spray a paper towel and wipe. I also don't believe windex could leach through the glass, if so your tank would always be moist b/c of water leaching out.

 

[JPloman]

I also don't believe windex could leach through the glass, if so your tank would always be moist b/c of water leaching out.

Most glass only breaths one direction. Fish tanks breath in, toward the water. Some glasses breath both directions, but that is not very common. It also depends on the thickness of the glass. Find a chemist to explain it to you. Its actually really cool. My sister is a scientist, she is the one that showed me once my husband jumped my rear quarters about using windex on the tank.

 

[MT79]

Most glass only breaths one direction. Fish tanks breath in, toward the water.

I'll have to look into that, it does sound interesting. FWIW, I've been cleaning my tanks as I described for years and I've been successful. I've got some reading to do...LOL.

 

[midiman]

I'm with Phyl here. The amount of chemical ammonia that would get into the tank (airborne, let alone THROUGH the glass) would be SO minimal that I can't imagine any harm would come of it.

This is what I think, too. I still have to believe that my killers are either viral/bacterial, or thelive LFS brine shrimp I fed them.

Funny, though, becasue I ate a couple of spoonfuls, too, and I'm fine.

 

[Fluff]

Funny, though, becasue I ate a couple of spoonfuls, too, and I'm fine.

 

[Steppa]

Glass breathing doesn't make sense. Take a glass jar... now vacuum seal it. If the glass breathed, then the seal would break (over time). And if the Windex or ammonia was causing that much of a problem by leeching through glass then we wouldn't be able to vacuum seal glass for very long at all..!

Also, I believe that super sensitive 'lab' samples are sometimes sealed (vacuumed or not) in glass tubes because air cannot access it and tamper/screw with it. Right? I dunno, my 2 cents.

 

[MT79]

My sister is a scientist, she is the one that showed me once my husband jumped my rear quarters about using windex on the tank.

While glass is not totally impermeable, most atoms are too large to pass through it. Helium and Hydrogen possibley can b/c they are among the smallest atoms, but I don't think you have to worry about that concerning windex. Plus it would take 30 years or so to build up. The debate continues... I'm still searching/reading LOL.

 

[ReefRaff]

I use RO water on a paper towle, and then dry it.

 

[Phyl]

You can use baby wipes that works great.

I wouldn't do that... there's lotion in those wipe, usually aloe and lanolin... Ick! I would imagine that would leave a film, if not immediately then certainly over time.

The best advice I've read so far is the Vinegar diluted with water. That is going to break down any salt residue and keep the glass clean. Vinegar is an excellent cleaner. Having a problem with a pump? Submerse it in vinegar and see how it does after.

 

[AR15 guy]

I spray it on a paper towel then wipe the glass off. I just had some fish die. I don't know if that was the reason though.

 

[MT79]

here is a good link for this debate, it's on another forum though...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=4548213#post4548213

 

[JPloman]

While glass is not totally impermeable, most atoms are too large to pass through it. Helium and Hydrogen possibley can b/c they are among the smallest atoms, but I don't think you have to worry about that concerning windex. Plus it would take 30 years or so to build up. The debate continues... I'm still searching/reading LOL.

I will buy just about anything my sis can explain in a scientific manner. She even drew a diagram of how the glass is created. Is it possible she was speaking of Helium & Hydrogen? Ya, but I asked her about fish tanks, so I am not sure.

I totally agree that it would take a long time for it to cause any major problems. I am sure this was not the killer of the fish.

 

[SpiffyCat]

Glass is not affected in any significant way by ordinary houshold chemicals. Per the Corning Museum of Glass:

"Only a few chemicals aggressively attack glass -- hydrofluoric acid, concentrated phosphoric acid (when hot, or when it contains fluorides), hot concentrated alkali solutions and superheated water. Hydrofluoric acid is the most powerful of this group; it attacks any type of silicate glass. Other acids attack only slightly; the degree of attack can be measured in laboratory tests but such corrosion is rarely significant in service for acids other than hydrofluoric and phosphoric."

Some might also argue that glass is a fluid, and it is the fluid properties that whould allow amonia to leech through the glass, but this is misleading. Glass exhibits the properties of a fluid only in its melted state, such as what you would see when a glass blower is working. The physics behind this is that at a high enough temperature the weaker chemical bonds that hold glass in a specific shape break down. As the glass gets hotter more of the chemical bonds break and the softer (or more "fluid) it gets. At room temperature, however, glass functions effectively as a crystaline structure and thus an effective barrier. Molecules as large as Ammonia will not pass though it. (even Helium and Hydrogen gas are only able to diffuse through it at an incredibly slow rate)

As for the spray- this will get into the water, but I'd bet that this amount is significantly less that the amount produced by your fish on a daily basis. I wouldn't worry about using Windex to clean your tank, but I wouldn't pour a whole bottle into the tank either.

 

[Jonathan G.]

understandable but most aquariums are not built out of glass and is more of a tempered glass. i could see how you would think that windex will seep through the glass but in actuallity the windex will evaporate before it has a chance to seep. unless you spray the bottle directly into the tank or just leave a whole gobb of windex on your tank i dont see any problems. i usually use a glass-plus wipes which come is a plastic container. works well for me.

 

[mjvincent]

Maybe it was the inside of the glass he was cleaning?

I too, doubt that windex was the culprit. May have been a contibuting factor (but there would have been residual evidence as well i.e. high ammonia level).

 

[midiman]

Maybe it was the inside of the glass he was cleaning?

I too, doubt that windex was the culprit. May have been a contibuting factor (but there would have been residual evidence as well i.e. high ammonia level).

I seem to have started a lively discussion here (that's why I love this board). I only posed the Q because I read it on another board (someone's LFS told him that windex had killed his fish) - my approach is never to rule out anything - hearing the opinions and views of others is always welcome. I, too, would find it hard to believe that the small amount of ammonia in Windex could kill, but I didn't know if there were perhaps other agents in the cleaner (perfume, color, whatever), so I posed the question.

BTW, I'm not sure it's accurate that glass only shows liquid properties in its melted state. VERY OLD bottles and glasses are often thicker at the base, I seem to recall from a long-ago physics or chemistry class, due to the flow of the glass.