The Puffer Forum

I acquired an old tank that I want to clean up. It has alot of hard water stains and calcium deposits. The glass has really bad hard water lines. Any tips on cleaning besides vinegar/baking soda? It's a glass aquarium with plastic rim. All parts including the lid have like a hard crust. I might just end end up scrapping the lid and going with glass versa tops. Even the light strip is gross though!

Go with the glass lids...

I'm not suggesting you do it, cause it can cause problems... But I've used a small part of bleach with water to clean tanks before. IT IS CRUCIAL that you rinse, rinse and rinse again. I'd even let it sit out in the sun to dry, then rinse it out 2 more times.

i have hard water now and it makes the walls of my turtle tanks very crusty where the filter return hits the glass.

i wish there was some easy way to get rid of it, but i'm afraid to use any kind of commercial remover products on any pet homes and equipment, as they seem very toxic. so, i've had the best luck with just vinegar, patience, and a razor blade scraper like the one below.

apply the vinegar with a spray bottle or a small bowl and a soap free sponge or cotton cloth for convenience as you work. sometimes i warm up the vinegar a bit first, but not sure it makes a real difference.....

good luck. i'll be happy if anyone else posts a quicker way too! bleach is safe to use as long as you rinse, dry and dechlorinate afterwards, but it doesn't do anything to dissolve hard-water stains......

I'm thinking maybe lemons and salt....salt is a natural abrasive...

Soak newspaper in vinegar & leave on the surfaces overnight.

Ahhhh...I will try that!

the vinegar worked on my tank when I first got it. Not 100% but good enough.

Pufferpunk wrote:Soak newspaper in vinegar & leave on the surfaces overnight.

hey i just had to "renew" or replace a spray bar for major hard water crust. wrapped it in paper towels and left with the end in a pitcher of cider vinegar for wick effect (wet it all first w/vinegar and also had lill' crusty parts in the pitcher bottom)...2 days on and they look like new! thanks jen

Pufferpunk wrote:Soak newspaper in vinegar & leave on the surfaces overnight.

thanks for that! i was wondering how to remove crusty stuff (the easiest way) from the back of my 20g hood.