Second-Hand Tank

[This Old Spouse]

I just received a 15g tank that once housed a turtle. It was filthy, but now I've gotten most of the crud off. Now, how do I get the glass to sparkle without using any cleaners? Is vinegar acceptable?

 

[lilfishie]

you can use bleach at 1 part bleach - 9-10 parts water then rinsed very well

 

[Tizer]

elbow grease

 

[This Old Spouse]

elbow grease

oh, really?

I've got that method down. I've razored off the majority of the crud, and scrubbed the glass inside and out with a scrubbie,but was wondering if any of the experts out there have any tricks up their sleeves for getting the glass crystal clear and removing the dull haze.

 

[waterdrop]

On older ones, haze is sometimes impossible but you can try a little pool of vinegar which you then rub with the inside surface of a large piece of lime or lemon peel, simply get comfortable with the tank on its side and rub a section for a long period of time (see if it seems to be helping before you go on doing the whole thing.) There are also people who put on protective clothing and use more dangerous acids - I don't remember the details (muriatic? oh, just the old name for hydrochloric, no wonder its so dangerous, ugh.) WD

 

[Aqua Tom]

On older ones, haze is sometimes impossible but you can try a little pool of vinegar which you then rub with the inside surface of a large piece of lime or lemon peel, simply get comfortable with the tank on its side and rub a section for a long period of time (see if it seems to be helping before you go on doing the whole thing.) There are also people who put on protective clothing and use more dangerous acids - I don't remember the details (muriatic? oh, just the old name for hydrochloric, no wonder its so dangerous, ugh.) WD

Not worth the risk to yourself to start playing with industrial acids.

I love the citrus fruit idea WD.


Tom

 

[This Old Spouse]

I just tried some vinegar which didn't seem to make a dent in it, but I'll try the lemon peel trick and see how that does.

 

[waterdrop]

You use the peel to rub the vinegar against the glass and elbow grease is definately a part of it. But be forewarned, some old tanks should just be chucked - tanks are actually usually one of the cheaper bits of hardware...

 

[This Old Spouse]

You use the peel to rub the vinegar against the glass and elbow grease is definately a part of it. But be forewarned, some old tanks should just be chucked - tanks are actually usually one of the cheaper bits of hardware...

I understand the technique ... I had used the vinegar before I read the lemon peel post.

This isn't so much the tank as the glass on the hood where the light sits. It's so cloudy I'm afraid I'm going to have a tank that's too dark. The light setup I really want is too expensive for me right now, so I'll probably just end up using what I have.

Do you think I can use a stronger light? Right now it's a 15W.

 

[waterdrop]

15 watts on a 15G puts you at 1w/g of course and that's fine. That's right at the beginning of the 1-2w/g low-light-technique range. The easiest start is to match that light with low-light plants such as java ferns, swords, anubias, java moss, crypts and some others. For me, reduced EI and liquid carbon has worked well with 1w/g. I've found that growth at this light level is very slow, as would be expected.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Joshwainwright]

How about trying to clean the glass with pure ammonia?

 

[This Old Spouse]

How about trying to clean the glass with pure ammonia?

I wondered if that would be acceptable. I suppose a good rinse with hot water afterward would remove any traces, right?

 

[Joshwainwright]

It should do, yes. And although ammonia is harmful to fish, if the slightest was left behind it shouldn't cause a problem.

 

[waterdrop]

How about trying to clean the glass with pure ammonia?

As a weak base (or sometimes it can act as an extremely weak acid,) ammonia seems unlikely to do anything effective with lime/calcium deposits. I think this is why you usually see acids such as citric acid or vinegar suggested. I think there is also a time factor: most people don't have the patience to allow pools of vinegar to just sit there on the surface that has become encrusted. I don't know, I'm not any kind of expert on this.. wouldn't it be interesting to hear from some geologist.. perhaps the CaCO3 or whatever actually bonds and permanently marries up with the silicone of the glass or.. (hey, what is glass? I guess mostly SiO2, CaO, Na2O..? there might really be some reactions that allow the oxidized or non-translucent aspects of hard water deposits to become permanently chemically locked to the glass.. maybe?)

 

[Inchworm]

Keep in mind that if all there is on there now is thin film, it will not be as noticible once you fill the tank.