Best way to clean residue off old glass tanks?

landmineyouth · Oct 15, 2011

Anyone else have any advice? Seems vinegar isnt as effective as you all have predicted, or maybe it will take SEVERAL gallons when soaking in water for it to have any effect...

skjl47 · Oct 15, 2011

Hello; The vinegar is good for common types of deposits found in a tank. The deposit may be of some type that will not be softened by vinegar. If the razor blades do not remove it, is it possible that the places on the glass are not deposits but some sort of haze, etching or fine scratches of the glass itself and not a surface deposit at all???

Chefken · Oct 15, 2011

Use the vinegar full strength directly on the surface with a non scrathing scrubbie. Should remove any deposits....if its thick then the razor.

Dan F · Oct 15, 2011

As Chefken said, you don't dilute the vinegar. A blue Scotch-Brite sponge/scrubby soaked in vinegar will take off most deposits. You can use Lime-Away or muriatic acid if you want something stronger, but these require gloves and safety glasses.

landmineyouth · Oct 16, 2011

skjl47 said:
Hello; The vinegar is good for common types of deposits found in a tank. The deposit may be of some type that will not be softened by vinegar. If the razor blades do not remove it, is it possible that the places on the glass are not deposits but some sort of haze, etching or fine scratches of the glass itself and not a surface deposit at all???

A haze seems likely.. in that case, what to do if scrubbing directly with vinegar does not work?

landmineyouth · Oct 16, 2011

Dan F said:
As Chefken said, you don't dilute the vinegar. A blue Scotch-Brite sponge/scrubby soaked in vinegar will take off most deposits. You can use Lime-Away or muriatic acid if you want something stronger, but these require gloves and safety glasses.

Thanks

skjl47 · Oct 16, 2011

landmineyouth said:
A haze seems likely.. in that case, what to do if scrubbing directly with vinegar does not work?

Hello; If the glass is compromised I do not know of any way to fix it. Glass can be polished, but it seems unlikely that you can get the sort of results you want. It may well turn out that by the time you invested in the needed equipment, the cost will be greater than a new piece of glass. If it is some sort of very shallow etching or surface haze, you might have a shot. If it is any depth at all I do not see how the damage can be polished out without creating uneven thickness across the pane of glass. All that being said, I have never tried to polish glass and it may well be possible. Perhaps someone else has some experience with clearing up surface damaged glass. Sorry for the negative post.

landmineyouth · Oct 18, 2011

skjl47 said:
Hello; If the glass is compromised I do not know of any way to fix it. Glass can be polished, but it seems unlikely that you can get the sort of results you want. It may well turn out that by the time you invested in the needed equipment, the cost will be greater than a new piece of glass. If it is some sort of very shallow etching or surface haze, you might have a shot. If it is any depth at all I do not see how the damage can be polished out without creating uneven thickness across the pane of glass. All that being said, I have never tried to polish glass and it may well be possible. Perhaps someone else has some experience with clearing up surface damaged glass. Sorry for the negative post.

No need for apologies, very informative! Most of the haze and scratches on this tank dissipate when filled with water so I suppose it will be a whole lot of trouble for not much of a difference in glass clarity, which is just what I needed to know, so thank you!

skjl47 · Oct 18, 2011

landmineyouth said:
No need for apologies, very informative! Most of the haze and scratches on this tank dissipate when filled with water so I suppose it will be a whole lot of trouble for not much of a difference in glass clarity, which is just what I needed to know, so thank you!

Hello; I have noted this on some tanks with scratches over time. The scratches become less visible with water in the tank. You may get some additional reduction in the visibility of the scratches by changing the position of the lighting, mainly so that the light does not hit directly on the front glass?

landmineyouth · Oct 26, 2011


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Best way to clean residue off old glass tanks?

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