Hard water spots/stains removal impossible?

[brent245]

I bought a used 20g extra high tank the was used as terrarium, is has heavy water stains all over the inside. I've tried everything.

1. Vinegar did nothing
2. Hydrocloric acid did nothing
3. Razor blades did nothing
4. Heavy duty rubbing compound on an orbital polisher did nothing.
?
I'm out of ideas. Anyone got any others?

At 24" tall it would make an awesome DIY trickle tower sump I guess.

 

[nzafi]

How long and how much did you use of the above? I have extreme hardwater in my area and battle with hard water stains. I found that vinegar worked well. What it came down to was how much I diluted it and how long I soaked it for?

For example, did you try doing a 50/50 vinegar and water mix and leave it soaking for 24 hours? White vinegar is so cheap I would just buy a ton, do the mix and fill up the 20g and let it sit for bit.

 

[brent245]

I soaked it in a vinegar solution for only about 30 mins and tried to scrape with a razor and got nothing to come off. I then drained it and sprayed it with about a 70% vinegar 30% water solution and scrubbed but it made no difference. I spent about 3 hours messing with it, after I tried the rubbing compound I gave up on it.

 

[nzafi]

In all honesty, I would fill it and let it sit over night. I had a ton of build up on my 3 AC110s. I took them off my tank, did a 4:1 ratio mix of white vinegar and just let them sit over night. The next day all I had to do was rinse them off.

 

[Pycnotic]

I use Barman's friend, works great. You have to make sure you get the natural ingredients one it won't have any harmful chemicals. It shouldn't be used on acrylic but I know a few people that have used it without issue. Just make sure you rinse the tank well.

 

[The Mother Confessor]

AS A LAST RESORT:

I used a generic limescale remover bathroom spray from the supermarket. It was my light unit ans flaps that were covered, so I was able to rinse them for a long, long time.

That is a last resort, just take sure you rinse VERY thoroughly. Maybe use Seachem Prime afterwards at a strong concentration and leave it full for 48 hours. Maybe test with a cheap fish just to make sure it's safe.

I have used it before without any problems, but do test with a cheap fish because I would hate to be responsible for you losing your fish. My water is so hard that it's off the scale on testing kits, so I have to do this occasionally.

 

[Drstrangelove]

I'm confused.

I've seen dozens of trickle towers that are neither transparent nor translucent. And...this is a sump. Why is it a problem if it has water stains?

 

[tomojsg]

your best friend when it comes to cleaning tanks. ive cleaned tanks with hard water
stains thats been sitting outside getting rained on and etc and made it looks like new.
wet, apply, let it sit for a bit and scrub/scrape with razor.

 

[monkeybike]

Surprised that straight pool acid (hcl) didn't take it off

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Any idea what you can use to clean the water spots off of an already running tank with fish in it?




It's not very noticeable when looking straight into the glass but when down on the floor looking up it is very noticeable.