Cleaning The Outside Of A Tank

[Erised]

A friend of mine has had a marine setup for a while now. The tank and fish are fine, the only problem is that the outside of the glass has developed a mysterious cloudyness over it that seems to re-appear even after cleaning. He has no clue what has caused this and is getting quite fed up with it. He's tried cleaning it with the normal things like water, soap etc ... now he's been recommended trying some white spirit on a cloth to clean the outside of the tank. I've heard of people using bleach before and wondered whether or not this would be acceptable? I'm slightly worried about maybe the fumes causing damage like paint fumes can do.

Any input on this will be appreciated.

 

[timmystood]

Jesus No! I happen to have a bottle of white spirit in front of me Elise... no questions asked!!
I quote from the bottle... Toxic to aquatic organisms. May cause long term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Then next to where it says toxic, irritant, corrosive, harmful and flammable it says 'will harm the environment' and then there's a little drawing of a dead tree and a dead fish.... be careful!!

Not recommened!! Who on Earth said that would work?

 

[Erised]

Jesus No! I happen to have a bottle of white spirit in front of me Elise... no questions asked!!
I quote from the bottle... Toxic to aquatic organisms. May cause long term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Then next to where it says toxic, irritant, corrosive, harmful and flammable it says 'will harm the environment' and then there's a little drawing of a dead tree and a dead fish.... be careful!!

Not recommened!! Who on Earth said that would work?

Thanks for the quick responds Tim, though afraid it's already too late. Been having some internet problems this evening and it seems I posted this question too late already. He's already gone ahead with it and tried it. The glass did clean nicely, and the fish aren't showing any signs of problems yet. I hope it will last, but I guess we won't find out for another couple of days. As to who gave him the advice, I have no clue! I assume it was one of his other friends that musn't have checked out the bottle before giving the advice!

 

[timmystood]

Hopefully he'll get lucky and none of it will get into the tank as it could ruin an expensive marine tank very fast.
Tell him to wash the glass with water, RO Water if he has it straight away! I know he wants a clean tank... but what's a clean tank with no fish?

EDIT - could have tried vinegar instead of white spirit --- it just seems common sense not to use it to me!

 

[ikon]

how would using it on the outside glass affect the livestock on the other side? glass is impermeable...do you think the fumes would concentrate in the water or something?

 

[SkiFletch]

how would using it on the outside glass affect the livestock on the other side? glass is impermeable...do you think the fumes would concentrate in the water or something?

Vapors from various toxic chemicals can have a negative effect on marine livestock. Hence you should never use spray glass cleaners near your tank.

Elise, whats on the glass is likely salt creep that has been spread over the glass. Typically distilled water on a paper towel is a good first step to removing the bulk of the cloudy stuff. If that doesnt work, try a little vinegar on a paper towel. If you still have streaks, get a clean/dry bath towel or dishrag and basically scrub the surface, works wonders

 

[rhysiboy]

i stick by a dry dishclothe and use circular motions. Also requires a bit of elbow grease

 

[timmystood]

how would using it on the outside glass affect the livestock on the other side? glass is impermeable...do you think the fumes would concentrate in the water or something?

Vapors from various toxic chemicals can have a negative effect on marine livestock. Hence you should never use spray glass cleaners near your tank.

Elise, whats on the glass is likely salt creep that has been spread over the glass. Typically distilled water on a paper towel is a good first step to removing the bulk of the cloudy stuff. If that doesnt work, try a little vinegar on a paper towel. If you still have streaks, get a clean/dry bath towel or dishrag and basically scrub the surface, works wonders

Exactly! I can't believe someone would advise white spirit! I really hope it wasn't an LFS!
How's it going Elise... any dead fish yet?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

we just use a normal glass cleaner like you'd use for mirrors or windows. facing away from the tank spray it onto the cloth not the glass so no danger of contaminating the tank.

gets of salt no problems

 

[The-Wolf]

the best way to clean a tank is to use water from a tropical (fresh) tank and newspaper
for stubbon limescale and other water marks, like salt, use a scraper such as Tetratecs GS45 scraper
or Algardes Scraper & Planter

 

[SkiFletch]

Huh, never thought of scraping my salt streaks, I'll have to try that

 

[Mr.September15]

I have always used windex. I just make sure the hood is closed and all the tools for the tank is out of the way.

 

[Erised]

Vapors from various toxic chemicals can have a negative effect on marine livestock. Hence you should never use spray glass cleaners near your tank.

Elise, whats on the glass is likely salt creep that has been spread over the glass. Typically distilled water on a paper towel is a good first step to removing the bulk of the cloudy stuff. If that doesnt work, try a little vinegar on a paper towel. If you still have streaks, get a clean/dry bath towel or dishrag and basically scrub the surface, works wonders

It turns out that the 'cloudyness' did come back again, so looks like he took the risk for nothing. He's tried distilled water already and it didn't have much effect. Tbh, from what I've read it takes a fair bit of scrubbing to get it off, so he might simply not have tried long enough. I'll definatly pass on the vinegar idea though! Thanks

Exactly! I can't believe someone would advise white spirit! I really hope it wasn't an LFS!
How's it going Elise... any dead fish yet?

No dead fish as off yet, keeping my fingers crossed all worked out ok =)

 

[PeterM]

White Spirit... to clean the outside of the tank...

Well, it certainly will clean the tank! Pouring salt on an open wound will make it likely to heal faster too, and removing someones heart is a sure way to ensure they never die of a heart attack... point being you will reach you goal but there will likely be... complications.

Try warm water and a sponge with elbow grease. Failing that vinegar and newspaper will do a nice job. A warm solution of bicarbonate of soda will work too and probably wont do your fish much harm, except probably give them gas *burp*

 

[GrantyBoy]

I would get in contact with a local glass company and see what they would recommend