Can't remove tank haze

[Eddie]

Man, for the life of me, I cannot remove the haze on a 30 gallon somebody gave me. I tried the normal vinegar soak and scrubbed with salt/vinegar on a scrubby. I read Hydrogen Peroxide, tried that too, no luck. Anybody got a secret to removing the haze. The glass is super hazey on all sides. Not hard deposits, but just a cloudy haze.


Thanks

Eddie

[David Rose]

How 'bout denatured alcohol?

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Muriatic Acid usually works well

-Ryan

[Eddie]

Thanks guys, I'll have to try those. Not sure how the heck I'll get muriatic acid in Japan though. :o

[frenchie100]

Hi Eddie!:D:D

I used muriatic acid too and it worked great. Also goes by the more common name of hydrochloric acid (HCl).

I actually poisoned myself while using it and got a massive migraine from it. It wasn't fun. I was using it for an extended period of time and although I had all the windows open, I guess that wasn't enough. :(

Hope all is well with you and the fam! :):)

Take care,
Julie :)

[Eddie]

Hi Eddie!:D:D

I used muriatic acid too and it worked great. Also goes by the more common name of hydrochloric acid (HCl).

I actually poisoned myself while using it and got a massive migraine from it. It wasn't fun. I was using it for an extended period of time and although I had all the windows open, I guess that wasn't enough. :(

Hope all is well with you and the fam! :):)

Take care,
Julie :)

Thanks Julie! I'll have to look for some of that stuff.

Hope you and fam are doing great too!

Eddie

[bs6749]

Just make sure that you DON'T MIX MURIATIC ACID WITH BLEACH OR POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE. If you do you will form toxic Cl2 gas and can die quickly from inhalation.

I'd get some of the scrubbie pads designed for use on aquarium glass and some HCl, some rubber gloves, and a respirator. If you add the price of these all up though you have to wonder if it's really worth cleaning. I'm not sure how much a new 30g tank goes for in Japan though.

Why not see how pure ammonia does?

[frenchie100]

Just make sure that you DON'T MIX MURIATIC ACID WITH BLEACH OR POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE. If you do you will form toxic Cl2 gas and can die quickly from inhalation.

I'd get some of the scrubbie pads designed for use on aquarium glass and some HCl, some rubber gloves, and a respirator. If you add the price of these all up though you have to wonder if it's really worth cleaning. I'm not sure how much a new 30g tank goes for in Japan though.

Why not see how pure ammonia does?

Oh my gosh!!! I used muriatic acid to clean off all the messy brown deposit the PP had left in my tank! Ouch!!!!

That would explain why I poisoned myself! That's what I get for messing with too many chemicals!!!

[bs6749]

Yeah, you basically made "mustard gas" as seen in WWI and could have killed yourself!

[rickztahone]

Eddie, have you filled this tank up? i know i use to have a 29T that was super hazy but when it had water you couldn't tell at all.

[Eddie]

Thanks peeps, no mustard gas making at my joint! LOL. Good thing you are okay Julie, that would have sucked!

When its filled its still noticeable but not as bad. I may just say F it as it going to just be another breeder anyways.

Thanks all!

Eddie

[Jhhnn]

Try a hardware store for muriatic acid. Using the stuff is definitely an outdoor activity, requiring rubber gloves and safety glasses at a minimum. We have a flagstone patio with a dry sump underneath as part of our yard drainage system, which is where I use the stuff on tanks. I wet the patio before I start, keep the hose handy. Pour some on a horizontal surface, step back, push it around at the end of a 3' stick with a white scotchbrite scrubby- rinse, rotate, repeat until I've done all the surfaces, then hose down the area really well.

Sometimes the glass has actually been etched- the back inside of my 75gal is like that. It's a long story, starting from the proposition that if a deal seems too good to be true, well, yeh... I'm sure you know the rest...

[seanyuki]

Hi Eddie.....I think this is muriatic acid in Japanese....塩酸

do you have muriatic acid for sale?........=販売のための塩酸がある ?

[zamboniMan]

If you use muratic acid you get Cl2 evaporation anyway (thats the smell and the poison). Dilute it and slowly raise the concentration until you get the job done. It doesn't usually take concentrated acid. This stuff is commonly sold in hardware stores for tile cleaning in outdoor applications.

[moik]

They use Muratic acid as chemical for swimming pools,jacuzzi,etc. ,,might find it there..Also try to find a ready mix concrete place,they use it for cleaning and etching masonary products...I use a ton of it yearly at work in the concrete/masonary trades..

[David Rose]

I'm resealing the used 125G that I just picked up. It has some black scuff marks, a slight haze, no apparent scratches so I've been researching various ways to clean it up. I did remove the majority of the silicone and the denatured alcohol did a nice job cleaning the glass, residual silicone, and the black marks with a lot of elbow grease on the few spots that I tried it on. It looks good, but I've decided to try some Turtlewax "Rubbing Compound" ($4) that was recommended by a local auto body parts supply store. They've had customers that used it remove scratches and stains on glass successfully. I'm going to try it on a sample piece of glass I have and will let you know how it works using my electric car wax buffer.

Yes, I know the chemicals won't be good for fish; however, it seems the much easier/safer/fun approach to take with a good washing with something more fish friendly and rinsing to follow. Will see when I test it tomorrow.

[zamboniMan]

They use Muratic acid as chemical for swimming pools,jacuzzi,etc. ,

This is much more dilute that the ones at the concrete store.

[bs6749]

And also remember to add acid to water but not water to acid when diluting!

[Eddie]

Thanks for all the tips folks!

David, I actually tried that as I read on a salt tank forum that Heavy Duty Rubbing compound will remove it. No chance, this stuff is unreal haze. I think the person had a salt tank OUTSIDE. This thing is destroyed, might not be worth keeping. I got it for free so, not a big deal. I'll probably just clean it really good and figure out something to do with it. :(

Take care all,

Eddie

[David Rose]

Oh my...the damage must be deep. I've spent the last day and half researching and there are gazillions of products out there, but who know if they really work. Youtube was kind of fun to watch the demos. There are a number of products out there that have various grits of compounds or pads that you use with a drill mounted pad. The Janvil products might be an option, but buying only the compounds may or may not be worth it. I'm considering it just because I've managed to scratch the insides of all of my tanks due to the sand substrate that gets trapped in my magnetic algae remover. Should have been more careful I suppose. There are only a few scratches, but I figured if they would work for my project a haze shouldn't be any more difficult.

"The rub", pardon the pun, seems like it would take a couple of hours and doing the inside of an aquarium may be a huge pain. Back pain that is. :p

http://www.janvil.com/glass_revive.htm

[bs6749]

Eddie, this is just a thought that came to my mind and it may or may not work. Have you ever seen a clay bar that is used for removing minor rust and tar from car paint? I have a feeling this may work, and best of all the clay shouldn't change the water at all. You have to get the clay bar wet and I'd mist the sides of the tank as well. With some time and a little elbow grease I'd bet that the clay bar would remove the haze.

[Darrell Ward]

All you need is really, really fine sandpaper, the kind auto body shops use on cars for finish work, and between coats of paint. I forget the "grit", but with a little water and elbow grease, scratches and other crud will polish right off. You can get it at most auto parts stores that carry painting supplies.

[Jhhnn]

At some point or another, it's not worth the effort involved, considering the price of tanks and the value of one's time.

Even a badly hazed tank would make a dandy sump for a wet/dry system, and could be used for raising live food outdoors, particularly someplace like Okinawa, where it'll never freeze... probably some other creative uses for it, just the way it is...

[Eddie]

Thanks for the tips folks. If you guys are anything like me, determination and perseverance are my strong points........I AM GONNA GET THIS HAZE OUT! :D LOL I'll be working on it again this afternoon.

Take care,

Eddie

[scuba guy]

Thanks for the tips folks. If you guys are anything like me, determination and perseverance are my strong points........I AM GONNA GET THIS HAZE OUT! :D LOL I'll be working on it again this afternoon.

Take care,

Eddie

Eddie - you might try a different approach. Seems to me the glass is finely scratched - ever so slightly - causing the haze. Acid, cleaning, etc. won't get rid of it because there is nothing to get rid of ... This is most often caused by cleaning the glass with mild abrasives like steel wook (like I used to do on my old Aquariums).

Try using a compound polish for cars - especially the one for polishing clear coat (not just rubbing compound, but the polish). I am sure you can get that in Japan. Polish the area vigorously and let "haze" (no pun intended) and polish off. If this gets rid of the haze on the glass - then you've got it. Once done - you can clean the polish off with detergent and water.

Let me know if this works.

[Darrell Ward]

All you need is really, really fine sandpaper, the kind auto body shops use on cars for finish work, and between coats of paint. I forget the "grit", but with a little water and elbow grease, scratches and other crud will polish right off. You can get it at most auto parts stores that carry painting supplies.

It's 1200-2000 grit sandpaper that's recommended for polishing glass. I looked it up. If it's good enough for watchmakers to polish out scratches on expensive watch crystals, it's good enough to remove crud from a tank's glass. Wet sanded of course.

[Cakes]

Have you used a razor blade on it yet?

[Disgirl]

I just read this thread for the first time. I have an angelfish tank, over 20 yrs old, in use constantly, and the glass top has this terrible haze. No scraping, razor blades, vinegar, lime and rust remover, or anything else I tried ever touched it. Maybe I will try the car rubbing compound, we even have some. Does anyone know what this haze is? If minerals from the water I would think they would be scraped or dissolved away.
Barb:)

[Eddie]

Scraping with a razor blade definitely didnt work. Its a stain in the glass, not a coating. Still havent made a dent in it. Its all good, I'll just find another use for it, not gonna keep fish in it. ;)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Eddie

[Ed13]

If a muriatic acid solution and a razor blade don't work then it's probably thousands of minute scratches. You can restore those scratches with the appropiate compound(a specific glass application), sanding and technique(kinda hard on an assembled tank), but by the time you are done you might have as well bought a new tank. It would only be worth it for a large custom tank in my opinion.

Have you tried bleach yet?

[Eddie]

If a muriatic acid solution and a razor blade don't work then it's probably thousands of minute scratches. You can restore those scratches with the appropiate compound(a specific glass application), sanding and technique(kinda hard on an assembled tank), but by the time you are done you might have as well bought a new tank. It would only be worth it for a large custom tank in my opinion.

Have you tried bleach yet?

Everything man....everything. Its not scratched at all, its stained. Looks like a haze or cloud in the glass. I tried a glass compound also, no go. :(

Eddie

[Darrell Ward]

I just read this thread for the first time. I have an angelfish tank, over 20 yrs old, in use constantly, and the glass top has this terrible haze. No scraping, razor blades, vinegar, lime and rust remover, or anything else I tried ever touched it. Maybe I will try the car rubbing compound, we even have some. Does anyone know what this haze is? If minerals from the water I would think they would be scraped or dissolved away.
Barb:)

Like I said above 1200-2000 grit sandpaper, wet sanded will remove the mineral stains, but no one listens to me. What you guys fail to realize is this stuff is so fine, it will actually polish glass. Jewelers use this stuff, you don't see scratched up jewelry at the jewelry store, do you?

[Ed13]

Like I said above 1200-2000 grit sandpaper, wet sanded will remove the mineral stains, but no one listens to me. What you guys fail to realize is this stuff is so fine, it will actually polish glass. Jewelers use this stuff, you don't see scratched up jewelry at the jewelry store, do you?I hear ya man, and I agree too. Stained or fine scratches(think frosted glass) if chemicals won't take care of it, then sanding is the way to go. Compound and fine grit sanding. But is it worth it in this case? Eddie will have to decide that one. Because I'm pretty sure it's a whole lot of work to restore it to an acceptable condition.

[Eddie]

Yeah, I dont need it anyways. I just picked up a 50 to replace the wife's 29 gallon and now I am using her 29 as a breeder. :D

Eddie

[Disgirl]

Like I said above 1200-2000 grit sandpaper, wet sanded will remove the mineral stains, but no one listens to me. What you guys fail to realize is this stuff is so fine, it will actually polish glass. Jewelers use this stuff, you don't see scratched up jewelry at the jewelry store, do you?

OK Darrell, I am going to try the sandpaper :D Thanks for the info!
Barb

[David Rose]

LOL... I heard you Darrell. I'm actually going to try it on my tank as well as soon as I can get the sandpaper. I'll keep you all posted. I've just been busy with fry and masking off the tank to reseal.

[discussmith]

The glass is etched. That is why you can't clean it. The sand paper or glass polishing rouge is your only solution. I have a couple of 55's that did that. It had something to do with hard water deposits and an algae combination that ate into the glass surface.

[Jhhnn]

At my job, a transit agency maintenance shop, we've tried almost everything imaginable to polish glass, remove scratches. It's been a largely pointless endeavor. Glass is much harder than jewelry metals, other than platinum. It's also an issue of optics- what would appear to be a brilliantly smooth surface on gold or silver is hazy with glass, because we're looking through it rather than at it.

Yeh, sure, a lot of haze can be removed with huge amounts of manpower and electric buffing means, but until you're talking about a huge piece of plate glass, it's just not worth it.

Even if the haze and scratches are successfully removed, the glass will give a distorted image to some degree or another.

30gal tank? If muriatic acid won't remove the haze, save yourself a lot of time and frustration- live with it or pitch it, your choice.