Etched on/in water stains

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Sinister-Kisses

Sinister-Kisses

Aimara
MFK Member
Jan 19, 2022
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BC, Canada
Just picked up a second hand 55gal over the weekend, and while the seams are in good shape the seller neglected to mention what a friggen MESS the tank itself was. Looks like it's been sitting in storage for a good long while - caked on dirt, tons of dust, tons of cobwebs, and hard water stains on the glass. I went to work cleaning it up yesterday and while it's 90% better, turns out some of those hard water stains are actually etched into/onto the glass at this point. What I was expecting to be a quick fix with a razor blade like usual, has instead turned out to be totally unaffected by trying to scrape off with the blade.

Is there anything that will remove these etched in stains? Obviously, they look a lot worse when the tank is empty than when it's full of water, but it's not ideal. Part of me is tempted to just say screw it and get a different tank that is in better shape...but if there's a semi-easy solution I could try to salvage this one instead, I'd prefer that.
 
FJB said:
Vinegar and no scratching pads work very well, but even then it is work when carbonate deposits are thick and old. Stronger acids work as well but are messier to use.
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This ^ works well, although it's still a bit of a PITA. I've had the best success by laying the tank front-face-down on the basement floor, putting a layer of paper towels covering the entire inside face, and then pouring on enough vinegar to saturate the towels. Let it sit like that for at least a couple hours, making sure it doesn't dry out. The crusty stuff is much easier to remove then, but it's still work.

I always do the front side first; that way, when I get fed up and decide not to bother cleaning any other panels, at least the most important one is done. :)
 
I've used the vinegar trick before. I've also used a bathroom cleaner called CLR that was anonymously reported to be aquarium safe and an xlnt remover of calcium by some random guy on the internet years ago.

My experience was that both worked but not particularly well and the CLR made me nervous about whatever chem residue it might leave behind so that caused an OCD level 9 cleaning post usage that I'd prefer to avoid in the future. The way that seemed to work best for me was to lean the tank on its side and flood the inner pane with 1/8-1/4" depth of vinegar and let it soak. It stank plenty and it took a couple days on each pane but it came out ok and taught me to avoid a similar problem in the future. Good luck.
 
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Thanks...quick question about the vinegar though. jjohnwm mentioned the "crusty stuff" is much easier to remove after soaking...but what I'm dealing with isn't crusty. The glass itself feels smooth to the touch, but it's filmy and white. Is the glass too far gone to be fixed then at that point?
 
Sinister-Kisses said:
Thanks...quick question about the vinegar though. jjohnwm mentioned the "crusty stuff" is much easier to remove after soaking...but what I'm dealing with isn't crusty. The glass itself feels smooth to the touch, but it's filmy and white. Is the glass too far gone to be fixed then at that point?
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That tank will probably never be a beauty queen but it'll only take about two bucks worth of vinegar to find out how nice it can be. There's a fine line between display tank and sump.
 
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Well it's not meant to be either. It's not going to be set up in a place to be a display...but I have some serious OCD issues and if it's foggy it'll piss me off lol. I'll drown it in vinegar and see I guess!
 
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I've read the same thing about CLR; I use the product a fair bit for other purposes but never felt comfortable trusting it for aquarium use.

I am always dealing with the end results of air-stone-splash, very hard water and...the kiss of death...reduced water levels in a couple tanks. My little 30-ish gallon turtle tank is in my den, one of only two tanks I have upstairs in my home. That irritating carbonate "fog" begins to accumulate the day after I finish cleaning it; I literally spend as much or more time working on that tank as I do on all my others combined. The glass feels smooth...until you compare it to actual clean glass, then you can feel the stuff. The tank remains in use and occupied throughout, so no chemicals, no vinegar, nothing...just razor blades. Ugh.

There are days that I almost wish I didn't like that turtle as much as I do. :)
 
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