Limescale

[BedScien]

I have a recurring and fairly severe problem with limescale.

As far as I understand limescale is actually harmless and I do believe that because my fish is healthy but its really starting to get irritating.

Most of the tank is just patchy but the top half of the front of my tank is mostly covered in thick limescale which i cannot see through at all.

I have difficulty getting my equipment to suction cup to the tank walls. Particularly my heater. I'm fairly sure this is due to the limescale.

You would be right at this point to sneer 'cry me a river' but the problem, while not dangerous, gets really tedious after a while.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice

[BedScien]

I'm thinking in particular about some filter media which could help concentrate the bulk limescale to one particular point. I don't want to mess around with the water chemistry as my fish seems healthy as it is but if i could just keep the stuff under control then I would be pleased

[RTR]

Hard water and high evaporation rates produce mineral deposits on the glass at and above the water line. Those deposits are extremely difficult to clear.

1. Avoidance:
-Don't use airstones or filter returns which produce water spray at and above the water surface.
-Keep most of the tank's top covered with properly fitted cover glasses. Those covers should not of course be air tight. Some air exchange is necessary for oxygen uptake and CO2 release.
-Avoid top rimless tanks like the plague. These are quite striking showpieces, bur require approximately 5-10x the upkeep of top-rimmed and covered tanks - unless your room humidity is saturated at all times, which is unhealthy for your house and for you.

2. Long-term effects:
Monitor your water hardnesses (KH and GH) and/or total dissolved solids (TDS) routinely and keep as permanent records for review at least monthly. If hardness and/or TDS is increasing over time, you need to increase water partial percentages until those figures are stable over the years the tank is in operation. The net sum of slowly increasing TDS and/or hardnesses is "Old Tank Syndrome (OTS)". OTS is far more common than most folks realize. It is the long-term effect of under-care of a tank. Old, established fish in such tanks adapt slowly and thus survive. In OTS new fish tend to have difficulty adapting quickly and may die. Fish in general may show reduced activity as the water parameters shift outside their adaptation range.

3. Correcting OTS:
- Do more water changes, but if the tank is in OTS, do not start with large water partial exchanges. The large changes can osmotically shock the existing fish and microbes and even cause death. That is frequently called "pH shock" but it is not. It is osmotic shock, but stress or death is the same, whatever you label it.
-Increase the frequency of water partials first, then slowly increase the volume as the tank water comes closer in TDS/DH/KH to the source water. Once they match, set a new water change schedule which will keep the TDS close to the source water's profile.

HTH

[BedScien]

Thanks very much RTR!
I just got done reading one of your articles about snail breeding
Do you know of a safe way to remove a mass of thick hard limescale without draining the tank? i normally move my fish to a spare tank and use some vinegar but now i know that that is not a gr8 idea

[RTR]

To me, scale is relatively much more easily avoided than cured. I am one of those lazy folks who replace tanks rather than doing the massive labor of cleaning them. I blame my laziness on my poor vision, but that is a feeble excuse, it really is laziness. Scale clearing is laborious and if you try to rush it you are more likely to scratch the glass. So I spend money rather than time and muscle power. I give the old tanks to the LFS to clean if they have staff time and they can give them away wit herps if needed, or I give them to Goodwill if the LFS has sufficient stocks of used tanks.

Cranky old men also become self-indulgent. We take advantage of ever opportunity...