# cleaning secondhand aquarium--white caked on stuff?



## Carassius (Mar 29, 2011)

what could that be? o_0 smells to high heavens.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

probably hard water deposits. Try a bit of vinegar on it (without fish or water of course) and it should dissove off. You could also try scraping it off with a razor if its a glass aquarium.


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## Carassius (Mar 29, 2011)

I trieed a razor and I didn't get much, but I've left it standing with a 10% bleach solution and occasional scrubbing and it seems to be doing well....I'll have to try vinegar on the stubborn remaining bits! Thanks!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Razor will only get the big stuff. Don't be surprised if you try near everything mentioned and still don't get there.

There was one thing that I thought of a while back when someone else was having this issue. And that was a car product called scratch-x mde by mcguires. It is a very light abrasive. Yes, I know the tank would have to be cleaned out very well afterward...but I really think it will work without all the elbow grease required. I have a spot on one of my tanks that I keep wanting to try it on, but keep forgetting. It also has fish in it, so hard to set that up.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

the mcguiers stuff you talk about may be only for plastics... so the abrasive may not be hard enough for glass.. But since i never tried it, its something to think about. Unless they came out with one recently for glass since i looked. and we are just looking to get the hard water off. 

Sometimes, the hard water has chemically etched the glass though. and its really hard to get it out. I was going to try some stuff on mine (since i have that problem) but never got around to it before i added water. You'd want to look for cerium powder to do so and you'll need some kind of buffer pad and dirll or something.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Distilled white vinegar and scraper are your best tools on hard water deposits. Let sit for a few minutes and should scrape off with ease.


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## 8878 (Apr 15, 2011)

I recently got a used salt water tank that had what you mentioned. I used a fork on the really hard stuff. Just watch the glass so you don't scratch it.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

James0816 said:


> Distilled white vinegar and scraper are your best tools on hard water deposits. Let sit for a few minutes and should scrape off with ease.


After cleaning the 210 with nothing but a knuckle brush, razor blade, and straight distilled white vinegar, I was able to get all the deposits off on the first pass, it takes time and dilligence but a wash rag soaked in vinegar is best used on the heavier stubborns ones. 

I use a brush to scrape the stuff up and make it even more porous.


Good Luck but vinegar,razors,brush and elbow grease is best to get this done.

Dont polish the inside glass, if you clean it the chemicals that filled in the scratches will leach out and leave you with tainted water and scratched glass.

If its that bad, take the tank to a glass shop and have them buff it with just the pad and no compounds.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So here's a good tip on how to go about it (for future reference if anyone may be interested).

Depending on the tank size, pretty much determines how much vinegar to use so I will only reference a 10g for an example.

- Start with empty tank .. well of course .. DUH
- Have a big towel or blanket that you can use to lay the tank on. Precaution.
- Pour in vinegar until it coats the bottom. You can cut it with water but I just like to use it straight up.
- Now, gently roll the tank forward on it's side to where the vinegar just reaches the lip of the tank. This is where the towel comes in so it will lay perfectly on it without damage. Careful as to not pour out any of the vinegar.
- Let that sit ~ 15 minutes. 
- Take your scraper and then scrape the glass clean. Should take very minimal effort. No troubled scraping (i.e elbow grease)
- Carefully rotate the tank to the next side and repeat.
- Do this untill all four sides and the bottom are done.
Rinse well when done.

I've done this on up to 55g tanks without issue. Just have to take your time when standing up the tank and tilting it to soak.

Also works good on filters too. You can run the filter on the tank filled with vinegar water.


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