Best solutions to use to clean crud off...

[silent_thunder]

used aquariums...such as lime etc...

I had told this lady a month ago I would take her tank IF...she cleaned it up or pay less money...either way.

It came with an oak stand which I wanted...needless to say I went and picked it up and its like great...she told me it was cleaned up and I need a solution to use THAT will clean it...

Thanks you...

[Eddie]

vinegar and a scrub pad, it will come right. ;)

Eddie

[Jhhnn]

Most of the time, what Eddie suggests will work just fine.

OTOH, sometimes stronger measures are helpful, like muriatic acid. It's cheap, too, ~$6/gal at Ace hardware.

Be warned that it's really nasty stuff, and should only be used outdoors with safety glasses, rubber gloves and apron... the fumes are dangerous, as well. A respirator wouldn't hurt a thing. It won't attack glass, silicone seal, some plastics, or pvc, but it will eat up almost anything else. Always pour acid into water and not vice-versa. keep the hose handy, very handy...

I recently made a bad mistake, and bought the used aquarium from hell- a complete older 75gal Oceanic reef system. The inside back of the tank had an overflow box in one corner, and the rest was overlaid with black acrylic. It had leaked into the area between the acrylic and the glass, and had then been stood on end for months, whereupon the trapped liquid dried and became... limestone, almost 1/8" thick. The sump and bioballs were also heavily encrusted. Vinegar barely touched it, and I vainly went through a couple dozen razor blades, as well.

I have a dry sump under a flagstone patio that serves as a catch basin and a way for water to leach down into our very sandy soil. It's a low spot, and there's really no other way for it to drain in a downpour...

So, I wetted the patio well, laid the aquarium on its side, poured straight muriatic acid on the affected area, washed it around with a 3' dowel and a white scotchbrite pad. Lots of foaming and very unhealthy corrosive stinking ensued, but the scale came off rather quickly. Whatever happened in there when the scale formed was so nasty that the glass has been heavily etched in places...

I used much the same process on the sump, soaked the bioballs in a more dilute solution in a bucket overnight.

I rinsed everything very thoroughly with the hose, and ran lots of our alkaline water down into the sump for several days, too...

That's when I found out that the affected back vertical corner had separated completely, and that the little sea creatures had burrowed under the silicone seal everywhere... I did fix it, but the time and effort as compared to a new tank really wasn't worth it... especially since I had to fab a new overflow box, too...

Tearing the thing apart enough to fix it, I discovered that it had been made in February of 1992...

I'll be a lot pickier wrt the next used aquarium I buy, and I won't even go look if the owner won't agree to filling it with water, no matter what the price...

Edit- 3' dowel, not 3" dowel...

[bs6749]

Muriatic acid is what I would recommend if the tank doesn't have any fish in it and you want to clean it. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid (HCl) and it's a very strong acid as already mentioned. It will take care of lime deposits in no time. What's more is that it can be very safe to use if you rinse with a dechlorinator such as Prime when you are finished. Don't be afraid to use too much dechlorinator since the muriatic acid is concentrated and you may need to use as much asd 10 times (or more) the recommended doseage to remove the Cl- ions. Rinsing thoroughly with water should take care of most of the acid however. I'd do that first and then use the dechlorinator.

[NicoleRC]

I had a terrible time cleaning lime deposits off my current 90 gallon tank when I first got it. It had been used as a reef tank previously and there was also coraline algae on the glass. After trying vinegar with no result other than making myself smell like a salad, I eventually discovered that a good glass scraper fitted with a razorblade works the best. You can scrape it right off. If you can soak it first in vinegar it scrapes a little easier. Make sure to have extra blades though as they dull quickly. I got mine in the paint section at Walmart, I think it's used for scraping paint off glass.

Hope that helps,
Nicole

[Roxanne]

Elbow grease:D

[Chad Hughes]

I had a terrible time cleaning lime deposits off my current 90 gallon tank when I first got it. It had been used as a reef tank previously and there was also coraline algae on the glass. After trying vinegar with no result other than making myself smell like a salad, I eventually discovered that a good glass scraper fitted with a razorblade works the best. You can scrape it right off. If you can soak it first in vinegar it scrapes a little easier. Make sure to have extra blades though as they dull quickly. I got mine in the paint section at Walmart, I think it's used for scraping paint off glass.

Hope that helps,
Nicole

I use razor blades all the time. Works great and you don't have to worry about doing something that you'll regret by using acids.


Elbow grease:D

You'll need some of Rox's elbow grease as well! ;)

Best wishes!

[Jhhnn]

I forgot to mention that this kind of tool can help, particularly on the plastic rims of aquaria where blades want to dig in, tear up the surface-

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=3495&familyName=Bahco+%2F+Sandvik+Ergo+Scraper+650

The tool works by pulling, and the carbide blades last decently well. That's just an example (a good one)- different makes and models are widely available anywhere paint or woodworking supplies are sold.

[silent_thunder]

I forgot to mention that this kind of tool can help, particularly on the plastic rims of aquaria where blades want to dig in, tear up the surface-

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=3495&familyName=Bahco+%2F+Sandvik+Ergo+Scraper+650

The tool works by pulling, and the carbide blades last decently well. That's just an example (a good one)- different makes and models are widely available anywhere paint or woodworking supplies are sold.


WHat a great too Jhhnn...

I think I need one =L=

Thx

D