Glass Cleaning

[Indy1]

I just bought a used aquarium (thanks Mike). The ouside of the glass is "stained", what can I use to get it clear again. I have tried scraping it with a razor with poor results.

[Indy1]

^^^^bump

[matt the fiddler]

i got one from him. vinegar and heavy soaking/ scrubbing.. papertowels or rags... soak with soaked paper towel fo r5 misn then scrub with it.. etc.

tested on a corner- did wonders

[Indy1]

Thanks matt

[Indy1]

My vinegar must be weak...geshhh this is hard stuff to remove.

[justgettinstarted]

try lime away... it comes in a green bottle at the super market and does wonders getting hard water stains off glass! make sure to rinse thoroughly after use and try not to breath the stuff cause it is pretty nasty... Phosphoric Acid i think works super!

[matt the fiddler]

is it reef safe? i know most the stains are on the outside.....

[justgettinstarted]

no def not reef safe, but with ample rinsing it shouldnt matter....

[Indy1]

let me just say CLR didn't touch the stains :eek2:

[matt the fiddler]

indy- i didn't try too hard, but i was able to get a fiar amount off wiht white vinegar. are you sure you are using the real stuff?

[Indy1]

Matt lol , I have tried everything, I have scrubbed with vinegar for hours the other night . And tonight, I tried CLR. I'm about to call it good, it is only a sump any way, I just wanted to be able to see in it.

[matt the fiddler]

:/ oh well

glad you got a good deal on it :-)

[justgettinstarted]

what do the stains looks like? color and etc... maybe i reccomend something else if i can guess what chemical is deposited on the glass!

i know something that would def work... but average person cant get the ingredients... ekual parts of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid makes something called aquaregia... which will pretty much dissolve anything except for glass or plastic... it will even dissolve gold...lol

[matt the fiddler]

sounds like it will dissolve your pluming, skin, gloves, and rags too..

lol mine....... looks like hard water deposits on the outside.. in streaks going down the tank.....

[Indy1]

Yep, stains are the same here.

[justgettinstarted]

i would give the lime away a try... the bottle is only $5 if not less and in 95% sure it should work for you... i got hard water stains on my glass living room table from spilling something and not cleaning it up and nothing would take it off... but a few sprays of this and that stuff was outta there!

[Indy1]

Isn't CLR the same thing? I have tried that and "The Works". Neither is touching the staining

[ejsimcox]

Originally posted by justgettinstarted
what do the stains looks like? color and etc... maybe i reccomend something else if i can guess what chemical is deposited on the glass!

i know something that would def work... but average person cant get the ingredients... ekual parts of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid makes something called aquaregia... which will pretty much dissolve anything except for glass or plastic... it will even dissolve gold...lol

Muriatic Acid (HCl) will probably work. It is sold as a cleaning agent in some hardware and industrial supply stores.

For use and handling info, please see:
http://www.oxychem.com/products/handbooks/hclhandb.pdf

Always heed safety warnings when working with acids.

You may have to re-seal the tank after you have cleaned it. I am not sure what it does to silicone.

Muriatic acid was used to lower PH in tanks before PH-lowering solutions were commercially available in the aquarium trade.

I hope this helps!
:)

[gwrulzmylife]

Eek! Didn't think it would be such a chore, yuck! A guy from Chicago who bought 3 gave me this advice: Often when ammonia doesnt work, I put vaseline on it. Let it sit for 4 -5 days, and that will get it off.
Another way is put it in warm water (not hot or it will crack or get
checks) and drop a couple of polidents in the water.

Reef safe? I don't know. You put polident on false teeth...

[matt the fiddler]

polidents ha ha ha i migh thave to try that - if mine is harder than i think it coudl be.. my tank isn't in town though.. up at the rents

[ejsimcox]

Originally posted by gwrulzmylife
Eek! Didn't think it would be such a chore, yuck!

The acid option is certainly not the easiest. I would consider it a last resort. I will be very suprised if Polident works, however, if you have already tried "The Works" and CLR. Indy1, let us know how the Polident works if you try it!

[Indy1]

LOL Polident, now that is some funny stuff.....:lol: