Cleaning empty tank

[Voorhee]

hiya all!!

I just purchased a 65gal/stand/lighting all for 65$ its all in great shape..

well i got it home and started to clean it.. I used my kent algae scrapper and its removing the green algae.. (still scares me to use razor blade on glass ) but the clacium stains are a bugger to remove.. and when i remove the algae it leave behind a grayish stain like residue.. which is hard to remove like the water stains..

Any suggestion or help!!

Thanks all..

 

[Barday]

Congrats on a top bargain!

Anyway for get rid of the calcium stains rub it with either lemon or white spirit vinegar. Let it soak in for a bit then scrub. It worked well for me! Good luck!

 

[disasterfullife]

I have been in this same situation and to tell you the truth I still haven't gotten anything to work yet, but I have gained some ground. I have tried a number of things to remove hard water, calicum, and algae. Some of the suggestions I have been given and ideas of my own have been a SOS pad srubbing with coke a cola, CLR (Calicum Lime Rust) remover, and vinegar, but none of these have worked that well. I think the only thing left to do it try a razor blade. So Voorhee I suggest trying something strong like a vinager water solution and just make sure to rinse out your tank very very very well serveral times. Hope this helps, tell us if you make any progress. Oh yea, that is a steal for that tank, wish I could get that lucky.

 

[Voorhee]

the green algae comes off with the kent razor blade scrapper.. works great.. like i said scares me.. but the water stain is horrible.. all around the first inch at top of tank.. hmm.. do SOS pad scuff glass?

 

[Crystal]

yep, I am not a fan of the SOS pads, especially with the cleaner that is in them.
For my hard water stains, I used aquarium salt as an abrasive, and it worked great, without any chemicals to harm the fish!

 

[Voorhee]

i have instant oceansreef salt for my salt water tank... would that work?

also does it scratch the glass?

 

[Nisha]

What worked for me was to sponge down the sides of the tank with diluted vinegar and then scrub using aquarium salts and warm water. As long as the salt isn't too coarse it shouldn't scratch the glass. The warm water will dissolve it a bit too.
Not too sure whether oceanreef salt is the same as aquarium salt. Aquarium salt is pretty cheap though and it should be easily available.

 

[enchanted]

For the algae another thing to consider if Bleach. A 19:1 bleach solution (19 water/1 bleach) would make sure to kill the algae also.

 

[Crystal]

if you use bleach, you have to make sure to rinse it very very well.

 

[enchanted]

You do need to rinse well, but you can also pick up a chlorine test and if chlorine still shows after filling and adding dechlorinator, just add more dechlore.

 

[guppymonkey]

If you have bad calcium deposits try using a razor blade. Not the shaving ones but the ones that go in box cutters. I have used them to take care of calcium deposits and they always work great.