I used hard water for my tank up until now and it has a lovely coating of white crap on the interior walls. It is really tough to get off with a mere scrubber so the not-so-local FS guy said to use a razor blade to scrape it off. Is it safe to put a metal thing in there (obviously I won't be leaving it in there). It seems like things like razor blades have a coating of oil or something on them. Also, I would prefer to put it at the end of a long thing so I don't have to put my hand in there-my fingertips are cracking terribly due to the weather (I guess) and not only do I not want to put my cuts in there, I have lotion on my hands a lot of the time these days. Thanks!!
I need to scrape the inside of my tank
- Thread starter gale
- Start date
Do you have any idea what this white stuff is, or what caused it? Instead of using a razor, you can buy special blades on a stick from you fish shop which are designed for scraping stuff off the glass, perhaps if you dont want to get your hands in the water that would be the best option. So long as the razor blade was clean it shouldnt affect your water.
hope this helps
tom
hope this helps
tom
PorscheCAS
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my assumption is that the 'white stuff' is calcium deposits. for the most part, that's usually what makes water 'hard'
clutterydrawer
where is my mind?
As has been said, you can get a long scrapy stick thing from your lfs for scraping algae. I have one whihc i think is made by algarde which is actually designed so you can replace the plastic blade with a razor blade if you need to. 
Dubby
His legend will never die
I presume its above the water line. You can use a cloth dipped in vinegar and give it a wipe. The deposit should quickly peel off. Just make sure you reduce the level of the water so that you dont accidentally get too much vinegar into the water.
squidlips
Fish Fanatic
if you do get a bit in the water it wont hurt your fish but it will lower ph . so just check it when you are done.
Da_Oz
Fishaholic
There is no quick fix for this. The only way is to remove it by hand. Vinegar is not a good idea on a set up tank. How much is to much?? that would be my first ?. Next time you do a pwc just take the razor blade and cut it off not hard to do. Catch what you can and what you don't most will be picked up by the filter. And if your water is that hard not like a little more would hurt. I have very hard water here and I fight this every week in loads of tanks. This hobby takes work but IMO it is worth it.
Good , I'm glad that works for you .I was going to say, Lime Away , a product that should be used as a last resort .gale said:Thanks-I found a scraper that came with a razor blade at my LFS. It works like a charm.
c1tyfc
Fish Fanatic
I regularly use razor blades, quick, cheap and effective
FishDan
Fishaholic
Lime Away, or any cleaning chemical for that matter, should never be used in any case in an aquarium that is set up and has fish in it. These chemicals will get into the water and may harm or kill your fish. This type of product is safer to use on an empty aquarium, assuming you do an excellent job when you rinse. And riunse, and rinse. Really, this type of product is not a good idea for use in an aquarium. Razors are the way to go, and won't harm your fish (unless you are exceptionally careless and manage to nick one!)lucky62 said:
\Dan
~FairyAngelFish~
Fish Crazy
yuck i hate vinegar 
Lime/calcium buildup can be hard to remove ,and depending on the extent , the part about last resort would be taking everything out , a break down of the tank , maybe I should have said that , I really didn't think I had to [ knowing it is a chemical , myself that is ]Fish Dan said:
, guess I was wrong 
. Bleach and ammonia aren't good to use either , but people do .
Like danfish said , a thorough rinsing would follow this type of treatment
.Sorry , hope I didn't mislead anyone .
FishDan
Fishaholic
lucky62 said:Sometimes the newest of the new may not realize how bad these chamicals can be, so I just felt it was important to make the distinction in case someone got the idea to try using chemicals in a running tank. People do all kinds of things I would think defy common sense, but it happens all the time...Lime/calcium buildup can be hard to remove ,and depending on the extent , the part about last resort would be taking everything out , a break down of the tank , maybe I should have said that , I really didn't think I had to [ knowing it is a chemical , myself that is ]
Bleach and ammonia aren't good to use either , but people do .
Like danfish said , a thorough rinsing would follow this type of treatment
Sorry , hope I didn't mislead anyone .
\Dan
FishDan said:True Dan , sometimes I forget [ new/ young members / and the common sense part as well], thanks bringing the point about chemicals up .lucky62 said:Sometimes the newest of the new may not realize how bad these chemicals can be, so I just felt it was important to make the distinction in case someone got the idea to try using chemicals in a running tank. People do all kinds of things I would think defy common sense, but it happens all the time...Lime/calcium buildup can be hard to remove ,and depending on the extent , the part about last resort would be taking everything out , a break down of the tank , maybe I should have said that , I really didn't think I had to [ knowing it is a chemical , myself that is ]
Bleach and ammonia aren't good to use either , but people do .
Like danfish said , a thorough rinsing would follow this type of treatment
Sorry , hope I didn't mislead anyone .
\Dan
As a rule people should try simplest solutions [ elbo grease ] first for problems like this , like Gale has done
. The same goes for illnesses , for instance try changing water more frequently to see if there is improvement before medicating if possible .
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