Someone gave my wife and I a 55 gallon aquarium. It has terrible hard water stains on it around the top. I've been using vinegar and a razor blade and it's barely working. I scraped for 20 minutes on a 2x6 inch area and still haven't removed all the hard water stain in that small spot. Is there any better, easier, quicker way to remove it without scratching up the tank or making it harmful for fish? Thanks.
How to remove hard water stains?
- Thread starter aaronb
- Start date
If the stains are hard, white crusty stains, try laying the tank on its side and using clean washcloths soaked in warm vinegar. The warmth and vinegar should help to loosen the crust.
Once the hardwater gets into the glass itself, you can't get rid of it. Might want to try a stronger acid. (I used Hydrochloric acid to get rid of wine stains in some glasses before...but then again, that was some pretty potent stuff.)
I'll try the warm vinegar on a wash cloth. I had laid it on its side and propped it at an angle, so all the vinegar would pool up on the hard water stains. It helped quite a bit, but I broke all my razor blades scraping on it, so I'll have to get more later. Thanks.
If you are breaking razor blades just scraping a 2" x 6" area, something is definitely off.
Can you post a pic of the problem area?
Well I started working on the whole top area and broke the blades. I've started making good headway. Some of the hard water stains are so thick it's black like you get in a toilet from build up. I'm not home to take a picture though. It's actually the worst hard water stains I've seen in an aquarium.
Mix cheap vodka into the the vinegar or alternate soaking. I used to get this when I had a fresh water tank and the local water was really hard. What you have is a mix of hard water and organic build up. Vinegar will not eat the organics very effectively.
You can also use Muriatic acid to remove the build up.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_58558-78-GK...iatic+acid&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24
http://www.lowes.com/pd_58558-78-GK...iatic+acid&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24