How to clean glass?

7 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


mzhantsche
 
Posts: 115
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:27 am

How to clean glass?

by mzhantsche

I have an old fish tank im setting up and i want to get the glass real cleanwithout using harsh cleaners that might harm the fish. But i do want it to be very clean. any ideas?


Kingys_dog
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:57 pm

by Kingys_dog

is the tank empty of cycling at the moment ?


christofrontosa
 
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 10:41 pm

by christofrontosa

elbow grease.


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

Vinegar, razor, scour and elbow grease.

Put the straight vinegar over the interior glass and leave for a bit (dont let it dry out) the scour gently, use the razor blade on areas that are more difficult. Rinse and let dry. Look for any areas that didnt come clean and redo if needed.

Once you've got it clean, rinse rinse rinse, fill will declorinated water, then throw this water, tank should now be prefectly safe to use.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

or you can fill the tank with boiling water, let sit for half an hour, siphon it all out a window...then apply the vinegar and dechlorinated water

the thing you want to avoid are ammonia based products, for the residue left behind may wreck havoc with future inhabitants

can you explain exactly what kind of grit or dirt is inside the tank...this will help


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

Be careful filling a tank with boiling water, they can crack, on another forum a fellow fishkeeper found this out the hard way.

Also if you put vinegar in, be sure to rinse it out well, it can mess with tank parameters. Using declorinater in the tank fill will negate any vinegar residue that maybe in the tank


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

even a half hour? you may be right alasse - I never cleaned a scummy tank (always buy new) but you may be right, it could wreck havoc with the silicone cement that bonds the glass panes...but I thought for only a half hour just to loosen up the scum

then again, I do not know exactly what type of dirt it is (reason I asked for the type of dirt/scum)

so if you like, scratch the idea of the boiling water...do not use any chemical that leaves residue behind, and again, tell us what type of scum is it (if it's just dust, then a good rinse will be fine....if it's scum so thick that it needs to be scrubbed - as long as it is not acrylic - use an abrasive cleaner but not one that will leave residue behind that may kill the fish unless you run the filtration system for about a week without any living inhabitants in it, and then add the fish etc

so tell me/us, what type of scum is it (it will help us narrow down what should be done), thanks

How to clean glass?

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