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DejaBlue
03-03-2003, 11:18 PM
Frustrating...?
Yes!

I've tried elbow grease.
Moved on to vinegar...
A little more elbow grease...
What the hell...got the bleach...
Windex...
Razor blades...
What do I have to do to get this tank clear???

No amount of my best efforts will take a white-ish film off of the inside of this (empty) 55 gallon tank!

For the love of God...help me before the fumes knock me out!!!
::)

Carol_Roberts
03-04-2003, 12:07 AM
Fill it up with water and see if you still notice it . . . .

DejaBlue
03-04-2003, 12:25 AM
Ya know...I did notice that as I wet the glass the stains become less obvious.
However, it's glass!
It's very annoying...there should be a way to remove this film.

Steve_Warner
03-04-2003, 12:29 AM
Hi all,
DejaBlue, sometimes you get hard water stains on a tank that's been dormant for a while and the minerals have "etched" the glass into a VERY hard to permanent scar on it. You could maybe try to take it to a glass place and have them buff it.....or try Crest toothpaste, as I've heard it takes minor scratches away on windshields of cars with rock chips(might be an urban myth, I've never tried it myself). I have a 20 gal that seems to have been etched by deposits over the years. Also, just a note of "CAUTION" on the use of all those chemicals..........be CAREFUL mixing chemicals together, as the fumes can be VERY TOXIC upon mixing certain ones together(Ammonia and Bleach, for example!) Just some thoughts


Steve

DejaBlue
03-04-2003, 12:39 AM
Thanks for the info Steve...
I am trying to be as careful as...hey...look at all the cool colors, man...!
Where was I...?
Oh yeah, I wonder if maybe this mineral deposit thing will respond to a bath/shower type cleaner?
Off to the Lab!

brewmaster15
03-04-2003, 12:49 AM
If its hard water deposits , forget the bleach, the best bet is acid. Dilute HCL or muriatic Hcl.. Safety glasses, long rubber gloves., wipe on let sit for a few minutes. and rinse off. Fill the tank and let it sit with water that is Ph 2-3 . If that doesn't do the trick.... buy a new tank! :)

-al

ps....

The razor blade bit should have worked if the blades were brandnew.

Anna Piranha
03-04-2003, 03:29 PM
DejaBlue,
You and I have the same problem. I will be watching here to see if/how you resolve it. I have fish (gouramis, tetras) in my "scarred" tank at the moment, so I can't experiment right now. If I was to experiment, why I'd try the toothpaste thing. If it works we could re-package it and sell it as the number 1 fishtank glass cleaner and maybe even claim that it was organically developed. Yeah - that oughta sell ;D

DejaBlue
03-04-2003, 04:11 PM
Well...
Now that the fog has cleared, I can see that this is not going to get done with the typical household chemicals at my immediate disposal.
My next plan of attack will be with a more specific, and stronger mineral stain remover. I suppose anything I use will be rinse-able, so we will have to vamp it up!

It's off to the hardware store for some heavy artillery.

Of course...maybe a side trip to the pet store to price the new tanks too...

Wolf
03-04-2003, 09:43 PM
Have you tried CLR yet. You can get it at walmart. At full strength it might take care of those mineral deposits for you.

DejaBlue
03-04-2003, 10:08 PM
I have just tried CLR coincidentally...
I wish I could report positive results, but there is no change.
I will note that, as Carol had pointed out, it does not appear to be cloudy when wet.
Maybe with water in the tank it will become clear?
I dunno for sure.
Tomorrow I will try some stuff a friend tells me will definately work (!) and if (when) his potion fails too, I will just fill it up and see what I think.

I'm losing valuable cycle time!

discuskrib
03-06-2003, 03:18 AM
this morning i had the same problem with a tank i wanted to sell. used CLR and a knife wrapped in cloth to scrape it off. worked fine for me. just took a little more elbow grease and time than i expected. ...don't forget to wash it down real well afterwards

Ryan
03-06-2003, 03:47 AM
I have the same problem. We have very hard water and it leaves crusty white deposits on my tanks, usually around the top rim where water evaporates. When cleaning the tanks I can scrape it off with a glass scraper and I can scrub it with a Brillo pad, and it always looks like it's gone -- until the tank dries, then it's that same crusty white film. But, like Carol said, when you fill the tank up it disappears, so as long as I keep my water topped off at the right level I don't notice it.

I assumed the glass scraper trick would work but it didn't. I also have this problem with the plastic molding around my tanks. They get build-up on them as well and it comes back as soon as the water dries when I try to clean it. So Deja, if you find something that works, please share!

Ryan

beta
03-06-2003, 05:38 AM
Diluted hcl will do the trick, we get that as cleaning acid here!

DejaBlue
03-06-2003, 08:02 AM
First, I'd like to thank all of the posters who have chimed in.
The tank is still empty and even with all of the efforts, still unfortunately clouded.
I hate to give in to this mineral stain, but there seems little I can do to eliminate it.

Where would someone get hydrochloric acid?

Smokey
03-06-2003, 08:14 AM
You can get hydrochloric acid from any good hardware store. Becareful the fumes are a knock-out.

Smokey

DejaBlue
03-06-2003, 08:31 AM
Fumes...fumes...?
I laugh at fumes!!

:fried:

After this week, my house has been listed on the EPA's Superfund list!

RichieE
03-06-2003, 11:19 AM
Ive used a razor blade in the past. Its the same one used in sheetrock knifes. Stanley makes them. Go slow and be careful. It works well as I recall. I was a little worried about scratching the glass but had no problem. Just keep it flat to the glass . About 25 degrees more of an angle than this._____/_____ Hope that helps. Rich

discuskrib
03-06-2003, 05:43 PM
hydrochloric acid more commonly goes by its old name of muriatic acid in hardware and farm supply stores

Fisheyes
03-06-2003, 07:52 PM
I have the answer for you but only if the tank is empty and you are willing to rinse it out well,
Being a glassartist I to have had all the problems you are encountering and more . You see I sometimes I bake kiln wash on my glass at 1600 degs. and believe me its a ***** to get off a piece of art workthat has taken a week to produce.
Enough about my problem .
The fix for you is Lime Away which may be purchased at any Home depot. Spray on and leave for a few minutes and sponge it around --Hey Walla its gone. Don't foget rinse well

If you want to see some of my work go to
http://community.webshots.com/user/kenney100

Ralph
03-06-2003, 08:58 PM
Was the tank stored near a natural gas source? I've heard it can etch the glass and nothing gets that off, cause there is nothing to get off. If you can't see it when wet, put the best side to the front and get it ready for fish.

DejaBlue
03-06-2003, 09:17 PM
Ok...I have come to the realization that the tank will not let go of the mineral stain that I have struggled with for way too long.
Tonight I have filled it with water.
The stain is much less obvious, and I think I can deal with it...although a new tank purchase is still planted in my mind.
I can't explain why I don't feel very good about this tank...I am waiting for it to burst as it sits briming with new water two feet away!
The cross member at the top of the tank trim snapped long ago, and I have a threaded rod keeping the middle of the tank from bowing.
That would really suck.
But hey...ya only live once!
Anyway, now I must concentrate on other equipment. I need a heater and although I have a AC500, I am toying with the idea of getting a wet/dry filter.
What do the experts think??
:)
I like the idea of the wet/dry so that I might place the filter away from the tank...you know, a nice, clean, quiet thing.

Are those heavy sighs I hear???

flogger426
03-07-2003, 12:09 AM
carol said it best - fill the tank with water and the hardwater stains will disappear!

what is the problem here? so what the tank has some hardwater stains on the glass - who cares? the discus sure don't!

if it bothers you that much get a new tank - c'mon

shamsoo
03-08-2003, 12:06 AM
HCL HCL HCL is the only solution, once I bought 12 used tanks all coated with white hard crust HCL did the job cleaned all in 3 hours
take all safety measures before opening acid bottle HTH

breed_beyond
03-08-2003, 12:52 AM
Try steel wool and go in circles it won't scratch the glass either.

Anna Piranha
03-10-2003, 12:24 PM
Steel wool? Wait a minute. I have a 55 gallon bowfront tank that I bought brand new in August. I clean the tank frequently and only ever use appropriate fish accessories. I clean the inside with a regular what-do-you-call-it...You know the long handled sponge/scrubby things. Well, my beautiful relatively new 55 gallon bowfront tank is showing haziness and what appears to be scratching on the glass on the inside. And I never touched steel wool or anything more abrasive than my long-handled scrubby thing. What the heck! I'm very upset about this. I know the tank comes with a limited warranty, but I figured they would probably just say that I damaged it. I just didn't think you could scrape up glass if you used the right accessories. Does anyone have any advice about this? It works my nerves every time I look at the tank >:(

breed_beyond
03-10-2003, 12:31 PM
Yes steel wool works very well, I used to work in a body shop painting cars and overspray happens no matter how good you mask off a car, anyway we would use steel wool to to clean overspray off of the windows and it works great and doesn't scrap glass. Btw I have never scratched a tank using it, but I have scratched it used a mag float and getting a piece of sand under it then moving to one side.

Fisheyes
03-10-2003, 12:34 PM
Anna
Are you sure your bow front is glass or acrylic :-X

Also I believe if you look at the standards for hardness you will find steel wool harder than glass .that means using it a few times you might not notice the scratches use it alot and you-----------------it up.
Fisheyes :furious:

Anna Piranha
03-10-2003, 12:41 PM
Fisheyes,
My understanding is that it is glass. It is advertised as such. I bought it from a LFS that sells the "All Glass" line of products. Here's the website with my particular style on it.

http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/index.asp

I am so bummed. I just can't believe it could be so fragile as to not withstand regular maintenance. :(

DejaBlue
03-10-2003, 12:43 PM
First, Anna...I think yours being a bow front tank would probably indicate it to be an acrylic tank.

...and secondly, steel wool did not work on my tank.

Anna Piranha
03-10-2003, 01:38 PM
That was supposed to be the beauty of it - a glass aquarium with all the scratch resistance that glass implies, but in an awesome corner design. It gives a 90 degree view of the tank from any point in the room. Now, I have a 90 degree view of scratches.

Has anyone here ever pursued a warranty issue with an aquarium manufacturer?

breed_beyond
03-10-2003, 02:18 PM
Could you possibly post some pics of the tank to show the scratches?

Wahter
03-10-2003, 02:58 PM
One guy on APD (aquatic plants digest) posted this article (with photos):

http://www.fitchfamily.com/glass.html

Maybe you want to try his route?

HTH,

Walter

Fisheyes
03-10-2003, 03:01 PM
Anna
I would take a razor knife and try to put a scatch in it some where unnoticable like on the rim or back .You shoud not be able to cut scratch it if its glass. If you the decide it is acrylic . . No matter what if you feel you have not abused this tank go after them with all your guns loaded and do not give up . Things like, I am a member of such and such clubs that have so many members does cut a lot of ice .
I have done this and it does work in most cases .I would say out of 10 cases I have suceeded 8 times. But then again I was in the right so I should have won.
Sorry to drag on but now you know why I won .I got them so pissed off with me they replaced the items ;D ;D ;D
REMEMBER --IF YOU DO NOT TRY YOU WILL NOT SUCEED.

I THINK SADAM HUSSAIN SAID THAT HeeeeHaaaaaa

Aquarius
03-10-2003, 03:39 PM
If it is an All-Glass tank, it is glass. I have the 54 corner, and a 46 bow, they are made with tempered glass, and they will Scratch! I have yet to see a tank without some scratches in them, even ones I have bought new and thought I took really darn good care of, still had them.

The ? is, is it an All-Galss, as they don't make a 55 bow tank...

Fisheyes
03-10-2003, 03:48 PM
Good idea Walter .I have one of these and the only trouble I can see with using it is it will cost you about 1000.00 ;canadian :smash:

Anna Piranha
03-10-2003, 04:17 PM
I feel like a fool on 2 counts: 1) It was advertised as a 55 gallon bow front, which is what I continued to call it. It’s actually the 54 gallon corner and 2) I had no idea that “tempered” glass is different than regular old glass. I must have been absent that day when they explained it to the rest of the class. I am really mad, because if there had been specific instructions about its care or suggestions on products to use with it, then of course I would have followed them. It makes me wonder what else I don’t know about its care.

I appreciate everyone’s input on this. I am going to contact All-Glass, because I still believe they could have done a better job of informing customers of how to care for “tempered” glass, since it’s properties are apparently so different from straight-up glass. I feel really mad. Really really mad.

The post regarding the cyrium oxide was interesting. I'm intimidated by the size of that job, however. Not that I'm lazy, it's just that the potential for further disaster is enormous. Thank you again everyone!

- Anna

Aquarius
03-10-2003, 06:33 PM
I have had my 54 corner for over two years now. I have used the Mag-Float cleaner and the Jungle pad with the long white handle on it many times. Never had any problems with scratches on it. When I was saying they will scratch, I mean every GLASS tank, not just these with Tempered glass. I have bought some used tanks that would make one wonder what the other owner was doing! Like, glass isn't that durable
IMO.