Help For Hard Water Stains That Look More Like Fogged Glass

[bonniejeanb]

Help! How do I clean fogged glass?

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I need help trying to figure out how to clean severely fogged aquarium glass!

I received a free 40 gallon half-hexagonal fish tank complete set up, from a lady on Freecycle. It is totally emptied out right now and dry. It has bad hard water deposits (or so I thought it was hard water deposits) all over the interior glass, so I attempted to use various methods to clean, such as vinegar, lemon juice, and even PH DOWN (which is what the guy at Petco recommended.) I have even used the no-no stuff such as CLR and Lime Away. Problem is, nothing works!

The glass is very smooth to the touch, (only etched near the bottom where the gravel was,) and it has the appearance of heavily fogged glass. Is there anything I can use to get rid of the fogginess? And what could be causing this? Over time can hard water deposits actually fog the glass to the point there is no recovery possible? I really want to get this tank up and running, and be able to see the fishies! HELP!

 

[waterdrop]

There may not be much hope for it but you should also try the "Hardware and DIY" section and the "Tropical Discussion" section to reach a wider audience of experts for the more obscure problem.

 

[raptorrex]

well as it is empty, try any propriety brand of lime scale remover, i would keep it off the silicone though. coffee grinds are great for cleaning glass, though if they are tough enough for lime scale, remains to be seen. acidic water also removes it so would a mix of vinegar and water help, or even old stale white wine. in short anything acidic will do the trick, its just finding the right one.
do you a deal: you test the vinegar and ill do the wine test, sound fair? lol




ps. caution should be used at all times when using acidic products, where silicone sealant is present. especially things containing ascetic acid, vinegar, wine, well basically, anything that smells like vinegar. they are all safe to use, just be cautious around your silicone.

 

[Spishkey]

i tried every limescale remover under the sun to get rid of calcified water marks on a tank and none worked.

then a little old woman down the road told me to try a lemon. yes a lemon. sliced in half and rubbed on the glass, leave for a while and wipe off.


and you know what? it blooming worked!!!!!!

 

[rhostog]

Does it still look fogged when you fill it with water?

Have you left it to soak in the acid? If you put a few layers of kitchen paper over the glass, then pour lemon juice or vinegar onto the paper, that keeps the liquid in contact with the glass for longer. I think Spishkey's lemon technique would work in the same way. Bottled limescale removers are usually stronger than lemon or vinegar, but they can go off over time.

If it's not coming off with acid, then sounds like it's not just limescale from hard water. Do you think it might actually be scratched? There are some suggestions in this topic here:

[topic="135225"]Scratched Glass[/topic]

 

[bonniejeanb]

Does it still look fogged when you fill it with water?

Have you left it to soak in the acid? If you put a few layers of kitchen paper over the glass, then pour lemon juice or vinegar onto the paper, that keeps the liquid in contact with the glass for longer. I think Spishkey's lemon technique would work in the same way. Bottled limescale removers are usually stronger than lemon or vinegar, but they can go off over time.

If it's not coming off with acid, then sounds like it's not just limescale from hard water. Do you think it might actually be scratched? There are some suggestions in this topic here:

[topic="135225"]Scratched Glass[/topic]

Thanks, all, for your help so far!

The tank is not scratched on the inside; it is actually very smooth when I run my fingers over it. What the fogginess resembles is the same as how double paned windows get fogged over time. This tank is not double paned, but that is the best way I can describe the appearance. When the tank is filled with water it still looks fogged, but not as bad as when empty. I did try the vinegar and lemon juice soaked on a rag and left on the glass for several hours, which I think helped some, but still left this white fog all around.

This is such a nice tank set-up I don't want to give up just yet. I have heard of people using Sno-Bol toilet cleaner and also Comet. Anyone ever used these and had them work? I have already spent about $20 in vinegar, lemon juice, gloves, etc., and really don't want to spend any more until I can find something that might do the trick.

Thanks again.

 

[waterdrop]

Its beginning to be clear (whoops, foggy ) why it was free...

 

[bonniejeanb]

i tried every limescale remover under the sun to get rid of calcified water marks on a tank and none worked.

then a little old woman down the road told me to try a lemon. yes a lemon. sliced in half and rubbed on the glass, leave for a while and wipe off.


and you know what? it blooming worked!!!!!!

Wow, I wish I would have known this trick sooner! Living here in Florida, we have a lemon tree in our backyard! After having used the bottled lemon juice concentrate with no luck, I didn't give lemon much more thought.

But after reading your post, I said, what the heck, I'll try it. It won't cost me anything and I just need to go to the back yard to pick one. And I cut it in half and started rubbing it on the glass like you said--- and the fogginess started to go away! Yee haw! Some areas will need several applications, but I am cautiously optimistic! Thanks so much for this tip!

 

[wendywc]

Since you've already used other chemicals, try muriatic acid. One part muriatic acid to two parts water as a solution, usually. Then rinse it out thoroughly, rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse...

 

[Spishkey]

i tried every limescale remover under the sun to get rid of calcified water marks on a tank and none worked.

then a little old woman down the road told me to try a lemon. yes a lemon. sliced in half and rubbed on the glass, leave for a while and wipe off.


and you know what? it blooming worked!!!!!!

Wow, I wish I would have known this trick sooner! Living here in Florida, we have a lemon tree in our backyard! After having used the bottled lemon juice concentrate with no luck, I didn't give lemon much more thought.

But after reading your post, I said, what the heck, I'll try it. It won't cost me anything and I just need to go to the back yard to pick one. And I cut it in half and started rubbing it on the glass like you said--- and the fogginess started to go away! Yee haw! Some areas will need several applications, but I am cautiously optimistic! Thanks so much for this tip!

wish i would have known it sooner too, the amount of money i spent on chemicals, then a bloomin 20p lemon does the trick works in the shower, in the bath, on taps etc fantastic stuff!

 

[waterdrop]

Wow, that amazing, did you test it too Splishkey?? If its true then this is a great piece of lore to share. Anything from the supermarket would be much easier than strong chems that must be specially found I would think...

[ makes me wonder about the "lemon in coke" thing , my local pizza joint always sticks a wedge of lemon in a diet coke (or whatever coke/pepsi I assume) and I happen to think it tastes great.. so when the Coke people came out with a product with lemon flavored coke already mixed, I tried it. It tasted horrible. I tasted the real thing again and it still tasted great.... I decided that there must be something significant in REAL, fresh lemons that makes the difference.. ha,ha, I'd now like to think its the stuff that cleans glass!! ]

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Spishkey]

Wow, that amazing, did you test it too Splishkey?? If its true then this is a great piece of lore to share. Anything from the supermarket would be much easier than strong chems that must be specially found I would think...

[ makes me wonder about the "lemon in coke" thing , my local pizza joint always sticks a wedge of lemon in a diet coke (or whatever coke/pepsi I assume) and I happen to think it tastes great.. so when the Coke people came out with a product with lemon flavored coke already mixed, I tried it. It tasted horrible. I tasted the real thing again and it still tasted great.... I decided that there must be something significant in REAL, fresh lemons that makes the difference.. ha,ha, I'd now like to think its the stuff that cleans glass!! ]

~~waterdrop~~

yeah i tested it out as soon as the little lady told me about it! nearly kicked myself, who would have thought it, a lemon!

it took a bit of doing, repeating the process a few times for heavy build up, but it worked a treat!
i should of taken before and after pics, you wouldnt quite believe what a mess the tank was in and how it looks after. i dont know how safe it is if any lemon got in the tank but i should imagine its safer than heavy chemicals

spread the word my friends! it worked for me

 

[nosoup4you]

If the lemon doesn't cut it, try a razor blade, but make sure that the glass is wet (perhaps your lemon solution) or it WILL scratch.