Is CLR safe to clean an old aquarium glass?

[alien98]

I am setting up my 75 gal. tank and has been sitting up for years. It was a FW tank before.I want to know if CLR is safe to clean it with?I hope it doesn,t bond to the silicone yet it is corrosive.Thanks for your help,Alien98:strooper:

[TGBrown]

Not sure about CLR. I know pure white vinegar does well. Just be sure to rinse it well after using vinegar.

[rshimek]

Sorry, but I don't know the acronym.

What is CLR?

[TGBrown]

CLR (pronounced "CLEAR" is short for a commercial product that you see on infomercials alot. It is short for Calcium, Lime, and Rust remover.

[NicoleC]

Since CLR is very toxic and even deadly to humans, I would venture to say it should be nowhere near a fishtank!

White vinegar or a weak bleach solution (or both, but not together and rinse well between) is the way to go.

Doc, the ingredients are: Water, Glycolic, Sulfamic, Citric Acids, Surfactants

[rshimek]

Hi Nicole,

<b><font class="nf" color="deeppink">THANKS!!!</b></font> for the information. CLR would be good for the bathtub or commode, but I wouldn't use on a tank.

If you want to get the tank sparkling.... and safe to use.

Do this outside or in a VERY well ventilated place..

Fill your ol' 75 about 3/4 full of hot water. Pour in a gallon of muriatic acid. Fill the rest of the way with water. Drop in a power head and plug it in. Let it rip for about 2-3 hours. Drain it (it won't hurt septic systems).

Rinse well with fresh water, fill and drain at least twice.

Fill 3/4 of the way with hot water. Add 2 gallons of chlorine bleach (use the unflavored kind). Fill the rest of the way with water. Drop in the power head and let it rip for 2-3 hours.

Rinse well with fresh water, fill and drain at least twice. Add dechlorinator each time.

Upon completion of this, your tank will clean, sparkling and decontaminated from any potential metals or organic material contamination.

Be Careful! Both the bleach and the acid are corrosive (wear old clothes and gloves).

DO NOT MIX THE BLEACH AND ACID - IF YOU DO, IT WILL GENERATE CHLORINE GAS. THIS CAN RUIN YOUR DAY... MONTH... LIFE

Have fun.... :D

[alien98]

I can't believe you would suggest Muratic acid over CLR .I have always thought muratic acid to be way more potent.You can use CLR calcium,lime and rust remover in your coffee pot.So it is safe for humans if you dilute it 1part CLR and 8 parts water.My only concern was the silicone yet muratic acid is what concrete is cleaned with.I believe that is very volatile stuff. Thanks for your suggestion though.

[rshimek]

Hi,

CLR contains surfactants, these are effectively soaps. Soaps are not reef aquarium safe, they leave films and dissolve the animal membranes.

Dilute muriatic is perfectly safe in aquaria - and in your coffee pot. It is simply HCl gas dissolved in water. Certainly, it is volatile. That is why I suggested you do the procedure in a well ventilated place.

Frankly, for marine animals it is far safer for the animals in your tank than is anything containing soaps or other surfactants. The procedure I described will not harm silicone, plastics, acrylic or powerheads, and it will remove all mineral and organic contamination from your tank.

[alien98]

Thank you for your help.You learn something new every day.Thanks again.One last ? Doc. Ron if those surfacants were used even soap for that matter if rinsed well enough it could be removed right? I mean it shouldn't bond to the silicone would it?

[rshimek]

Originally posted by alien98

Hi,

Thank you for your help.You learn something new every day.Thanks again.One last ? Doc. Ron if those surfacants were used even soap for that matter if rinsed well enough it could be removed right? I mean it shouldn't bond to the silicone would it?

The memory of soaps linger on. One of the rules of thumb in a marine laboratory where you want to raise delicate animals is that once a piece of glassware is washed with soap, it is discarded. It is simply not worth the trouble to try to clean it.

I generally consider soap in an aquarium to be as lethal and toxic as heavy metals.

In other words, you would have to decontaminate the tank (with the acid-bleach procedure I described) to be sure you removed the soaps. :D

[alien98]

Thank you Ron for your help. I am going to go see where I can purchase some Muratic acid.You said muratic acid and bleach . Do you have to do both ? If so this dechlorinator you said is that the same stuff as start right tank products?Thanks,Sean

[reeftechie]

muratic acid can be purchased at Lowes, Home Depot. Its cheap also. Used it to clean off my garage floor before I put a top coat on it.

RT

[DonJasper]

Originally posted by alien98
You said muratic acid and bleach . Do you have to do both ?

Well you really should do the muratic acid thing - 'cause copper is a common ingredient in FW medications. Even the left over traces of copper is Bad News. Unless you're absolutely positive that copper was never an ingredient to any potion that you may have used in the FW days.

Bleach is the least I'd do, if I could ever be convinced to reuse an aquarium. I did reuse a tank once - and cashed in my beginners luck (although I didn't realize it at the time). Had I not lucked out , I would be cursing my bro for talking me into the reef tank thing, and be spending my time/money doing something else. If you need convincing - do some searches for 'tank of death' on the forums and read the horror stories.

After the bleach I would keep rinsing it with water until I didn't smell bleach anymore - then do it once more for luck. (Building up my stock since I shot my wad on the used tank thing).

[alien98]

I just purchased the acid, it was cheap. I am going to run that through and rinse twice. I am not sure about the bleach though , wouldn't everything that was alive be dead from the acid? This tank was set up almost twenty years ago! I forgot to get the dechlorinator though.Some more info on the bleach thing would be nice.Thanks,Sean

[reeftechie]

Originally posted by alien98
This tank was set up almost twenty years ago! I forgot to get the dechlorinator though.


Check the seals real well bro, you will be able to do this when filling etc. be careful hate to see that many gallons on the floor.

RT

[alien98]

Very good point, your right I will. I am about to use the acid now.I still need to know what is the benefit of the clorox? I was hoping Ron would answer this. Any other advice on the clorox would be helpfull. I plan on doing the bleach tomorrow.Later,Sean

[alien98]

I have another ? for you Ron . Does baking soda neutralize muratic acid? I could use some to help clean my tank after using the acid.

[alien98]

I have 1 gal. of muratic in it now and the powerhead.I am going to run it for about 2 and a half hours.When you say fill it twice and drain, do you want me to leave the fresh water in for a certain amount of time or just drain?

[rshimek]

Hi Sean,

Baking soda will neutralize the acid, but you will need a LOT of it. Personally, I would just do the rinsing.

You don't need to let the water "sit" in the tank for any specific period, just a brief period. Basically you want to rinse out all acid and acid residues.

The bleach is a necessary step. Contrary to what you might assume, the acid will not remove everything. Organic residues are pretty resistant to most acids (it takes a longer, stronger acid bath to remove them). Bleach (bleach is basically concentrated lye in salt water) removes this stuff pretty rapidly. Then you want to remove the bleach residues much as you have already done with the acid residues.

Good luck!!

[alien98]

Thank you for all your help Ron. I already used the acid and this morning I will be doing the bleach. I still need to get some dechlorinator, That is at my LFS ? Same stuff for tap water right?Later,SEAN

[rshimek]

Hi Sean,

Yup, same stuff= good old standard dechlorinator. It is just a safety measure to get rid of any of the last traces of the bleach and acid.

[alien98]

I should have a decontamenated tank after today!Thanks for your help Ron! Have a great day! Later, Sean

[rshimek]

Hi Sean,

Good luck! Yes, indeedy, the tank should be good and clean. :D

[Jaffa]

Sorry to revive this old thread but...I just picked up a used 20H tank and it had hard water desposits on one side of the tank on the inside up top. I used Lime-Away to clean off the stains. Now I am worried about it. I have filled the tank with FW and I plan to empty it in the morning. Then I am going to soak it again with bleach solution. Then I am going to rinse it several times. Does this sound like a good plan to ensure no Lime-Away residue is left?

[alien98]

Hey Jaffa,that was 2 months ago when I did that.I have anenomes,butterfly pearl and angels everything is doing fine.Muratic cleans all the chemicals and the bleach handles any bacteria left on it.After everything I did I still could not remove some of the haze on the bottom of my tank.Good luck it took me a couple of days to clean right. Later

[Surf]

Dr. Shimek, a quick followup question.

Occaisonally I see used tanks for sale that have copper contamination. Do you have an opinion on wether the acid then caustic method you describe would decontaminate them?


TIA,

[rshimek]

Hi,

Sure, the acid/bleach method should decon them just fine. It was develeped to specifically remove heavy metal contaminatin.

[Macimage]

Hi Dr. Ron,

A quick question. Can this method be used safely on an acrylic tank? I see the thread title referenced a glass tank. Would I do anything differently?

Thanks!
Joyce

P.S. Also is it safe to clean skimmers, powerheads etc. with this method of muratic acid, bleach, & declorinator?

[rshimek]

Hi,

It should work fine for an acrylic tank. I have used it on skimmers, powerheads, heaters, etc.

[Macimage]

Thank you Dr. Ron for such a quick reply. I will go outside and start the process.

Joyce