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Keeping the top of the tank clean in hard water area.

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gwharton

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Hi all,

I've just got a new Juwell RIO 125 and I'm looking for advice on keeping the top of the tank clean during weekly maintenance.

GH is 300ppm, 25 celcius. Guppies, tetra, catfish, angelfish, gourami and an excitable rainbow shark.

My current tank is very crusty around the top, on the underside of the lid etc. I want to keep my new tank clean and not let it get like my old one.

So, any hints, tips and tricks for keeping it clean, whilst not posing a risk to the fish. The flaps and light unit can come off for cleaning but I'd like to keep the top lip of the tank clean.

Would wiping alone on a weekly basis keep it clean, or am I looking at some chemicals needed. If so, what is fish safe.

what do others do?

Cheers

Graham Wharton
 
Hey, my tapwater's GH is 253ppm, so I know exactly what you're going through!

For the glass, I use a clean stanley blade to carefully scrape the waterline marks after wetting them with a paper towel, then wiping them away with a paper towel. Doing this during weekly maintenance is enough to keep on top of it.

Anything else that can be removed, like with the lid, I'd only clean with vinegar, which is very effective. I wouldn't use any chemicals on anything tank wise, too risky to accidentally contaminate the tank even by touching something coated in chemicals before putting your hand in the water.
 
I'm determined not to let my new tank get like this.
PXL_20220201_115421472.jpg


I'd like it to stay looking like this. Cleaning the top will definitely be part of weekly schedule.
PXL_20220201_115505093.jpg
 
gwharton said:
I'm determined not to let my new tank get like this.
View attachment 153459

I'd like it to stay looking like this. Cleaning the top will definitely be part of weekly schedule.
View attachment 153460
Click to expand...
Beautiful tank!

I've only had second hand tanks so far, so just had to deal with lids and hoods that looked like the first pic! Oh, and that didn't really fit the tank they came with... so my OCD hasn't kicked in around the lids. At least it's not visible when the lids on the tank :)

But yeah, regular clearing off the crust around the waterline before it sets too solid makes it an easy job, and @FishBearer9845 is right, definitely be careful around the silicone! But always avoid chemicals on anything tank related. White vinegar is excellent at cleaning off this kind of thing on the hood/lights etc, just wipes away when done and evaporates off so you're not left with a vinegar smell.

Nice tank! What are your plans for it? Hope you make a journal thread as you set it up, so we can follow your progress! Always nice to see a new set up :)
 
Keeping the inside of the lid clean is nearly impossible, because water is constantly evaporating and being placed on the lid. The inside of the glass can be cleaned with a clean razor blade or a wet paper towel. If stay on top of you keep water top offs, then you will have less calcium deposit.
 
Just gonna keep it simple to start with. Black background, black gravel, big chunk of mopani root in the middle, bogwood scattered around. Some light coloured rocks to the rear. Very simple planting for now. 5 or 6 pots in the gravel just to get it established. May start growing moss and stuff on the mopani in time.

2 x female opaline gouramis
12 x endlers mixed male female, fry as live food
1 x 6 inch Mother and 1 x 4 inch daughter bristlenose catfish pair
7 x tiny ember tetras
3 x angelfish
1 x 5 inch rainbow shark (she may stay in my old tank if she is too boisterous.

That's probably on the overstocked side for a 120 so may leave some behind in my old tank. Will see how they get on in the new space.
 
gwharton said:
Just gonna keep it simple to start with. Black background, black gravel, big chunk of mopani root in the middle, bogwood scattered around. Some light coloured rocks to the rear. Very simple planting for now. 5 or 6 pots in the gravel just to get it established. May start growing moss and stuff on the mopani in time.

2 x female opaline gouramis
12 x endlers mixed male female, fry as live food
1 x 6 inch Mother and 1 x 4 inch daughter bristlenose catfish pair
7 x tiny ember tetras
3 x angelfish
1 x 5 inch rainbow shark (she may stay in my old tank if she is too boisterous.

That's probably on the overstocked side for a 120 so may leave some behind in my old tank. Will see how they get on in the new space.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert when it comes to stocking, haven't personally kept any of those fish yet besides Endlers! I'd be a bit concerned for the embers with the angelfish though, but maybe I'm wrong? Sounds as though you already have them together without issue?

But mainly responding about the plants - I suggest taking them out of the pots and sticking them straight in the substrate. Pots restrain the roots from really spreading out, so taking them out of the pots and gently peeling off the rockwool and letting them really establish themselves will help them grow better and get really rooted in there! :)
 
Plain white vinegar, on a regular basis, will prevent buildup on glass lids, top AND bottom.

Remove from tank, and rinse well after cleaning with the vinegar.
 
Yeah, the Angels are only young and arent very big so don't seem to trouble the endlers. I think they have their own troubles with the Rainbow Shark as she doesn't seem to like the gouramis or the angels. Hoping that a little more room in the new tank might help, otherwise I may have to split them.
 
gwharton said:
Just gonna keep it simple to start with. Black background, black gravel, big chunk of mopani root in the middle, bogwood scattered around. Some light coloured rocks to the rear. Very simple planting for now. 5 or 6 pots in the gravel just to get it established. May start growing moss and stuff on the mopani in time.

2 x female opaline gouramis
12 x endlers mixed male female, fry as live food
1 x 6 inch Mother and 1 x 4 inch daughter bristlenose catfish pair
7 x tiny ember tetras
3 x angelfish
1 x 5 inch rainbow shark (she may stay in my old tank if she is too boisterous.

That's probably on the overstocked side for a 120 so may leave some behind in my old tank. Will see how they get on in the new space.
Click to expand...
This is a mixture of soft and hard water fish, not a good idea.

And the opaline (three spot) gouramis are hugely aggressive, and could quite possibly harass the rest of the fish to death...I've seen it happen
 
The opaline gouramis were a recent addition last week. They seem to be fairly agressive against each other, but sofar havent shown any interest in the rest of the tank.

I'll take a look at the hard/soft as I'm going to run two tanks, but our water supply is very hard, so maintaining a soft tank may be quite hard without an RO setup (kerching, ebay).

I'll probably end up splitting the fish between the two tanks.
 
Keep a close eye on them....I lost several fish from the aggression of a single three-spot...it was a rescue, and I too didn't notice it's bullying until it was too late...much of the harassment probably happened at night, when I wasn't watching the tank
 
Use a single sided razorblade to scrape the stuff off, then rinse it, dry it, ad put it in a container with some white vinegar. Leave it to soak for a few hours, or overnight if possible, then rinse and put back on the tank.

You can also use acid like phosphoric acid in things like CLR Clear.
 
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