cleaning second hand tank

Hi,

Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have aquired one,
and found that because the previous owner kept it only half full, the bottom
half of the tank is quite clean, but the top half has this white film-like
substance on it.

I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift. What would
be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?

Des.

|| Hi,
||
|| Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have
|| aquired one, and found that because the previous owner kept it only
|| half full, the bottom half of the tank is quite clean, but the top
|| half has this white film-like substance on it.
||
|| I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift.
|| What would be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?
||
|| Des.

Soap, water, elbow grease.... Scouring pad, if it's glass, and vinegar,
sometimes CLR can be effective... others will have more ideas too....

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
|| Hi,
||
|| Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have
|| aquired one, and found that because the previous owner kept it only
|| half full, the bottom half of the tank is quite clean, but the top
|| half has this white film-like substance on it.
||
|| I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift.
|| What would be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?
||
|| Des.

Soap, water, elbow grease.... Scouring pad, if it's glass, and vinegar,
sometimes CLR can be effective... others will have more ideas too....

If a razor blade or stanley knife blade isn't shifting it then it must be
thick, or your glass is badly etched.

A 10 to 1 dilution of hydrochloric acid, as above elbow grease, and some
gloves, don't splash it everywhere, but just make sure your cloth is damp
with the solution, not dripping and it should wipe off. Then rinse very very
very thoroughly.

Sounds drastic, but my first 'real' tank was second hand, and the water
round here without treating, is about as hard as it can get, hence I had a
similar problem.

cheers

A

empty completely fill up with 1 part bleach and 10 parts water let it sit for a
day
empty and rinse a few times. If scale marks are still visible run vinegar over
the marks
and let it sit for another day. Rub off (should have dissolved). Rinse tank
several
times until the smell of bleach and vingear have gone. Fill and put a double or
triple
dose of dechlorinator (that treats chloramine and heavy metals) and leave for a
day or
so and rinse and rinse. Basically be paranoid in getting rid of the bleach.

Thats what I would do anyway.

"Desmond Wong" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have aquired one,
and found that because the previous owner kept it only half full, the
bottom
half of the tank is quite clean, but the top half has this white film-like
substance on it.

I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift. What
would
be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?

Des.



I clean all my used tanks with bleach. For a 75 g, I add one cup of bleach
and fill the tank. I run a airstone in the tank overnight and drain and wipe
clean the next day. If it is algae of any kind on the glass it will come out
sparkling clean. If it is mineral deposits then you may have to use vinegar
or stronger solutions to try and eliminate it. Some simply cannot be
removed. I have a glass lid on a 55 hex that I have tried everything on and
nothing worked. I'm replacing the glass.

Rick

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
|| Hi,
||
|| Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have
|| aquired one, and found that because the previous owner kept it only
|| half full, the bottom half of the tank is quite clean, but the top
|| half has this white film-like substance on it.
||
|| I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift.
|| What would be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?
||
|| Des.

Soap, water, elbow grease.... Scouring pad, if it's glass, and vinegar,
sometimes CLR can be effective... others will have more ideas too....

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??



Don't ever use soap, ever, or any other detergents.

Harry

CLR worked great for me.

--
Craig Williams
_________________________________

www.Canadiancray.tk
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
|| Hi,
||
|| Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have
|| aquired one, and found that because the previous owner kept it only
|| half full, the bottom half of the tank is quite clean, but the top
|| half has this white film-like substance on it.
||
|| I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift.
|| What would be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?
||
|| Des.

Soap, water, elbow grease.... Scouring pad, if it's glass, and vinegar,
sometimes CLR can be effective... others will have more ideas too....

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

CLR+water... let it sit a day... then flush it good... I mean really
well.... then u can fill it up again with water and use some
dechlorinator.... let it sit another day.....rinse again and u r ready to
go... at least this is how it works for me

--

------Splitskull-----

"Desmond Wong" wrote in message
...
| Hi,
|
| Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have aquired one,
| and found that because the previous owner kept it only half full, the
bottom
| half of the tank is quite clean, but the top half has this white film-like
| substance on it.
|
| I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift. What
would
| be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?
|
| Des.
|
|

I have used rubbing alcohol for almost 35 years for cleaning tanks. Apply
with a cloth then rinse well. ALSO....non iodized salt works good
also....lightly dampened....Thanks
"Desmond Wong" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have aquired one,
and found that because the previous owner kept it only half full, the
bottom
half of the tank is quite clean, but the top half has this white film-like
substance on it.

I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift. What
would
be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?

Des.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 00:45:41 +1000, "Desmond Wong"
bubbled forth the following:

Hi,

Any ideas on the best way to clean a second hand tank? I have aquired one,
and found that because the previous owner kept it only half full, the bottom
half of the tank is quite clean, but the top half has this white film-like
substance on it.

I have tried using water and a razor blade, doesn't seem to lift. What would
be safe to use on it to rid this stuff?

Des.

I had a similar problem with an old MetaFrame 30 Long (44L x 14H x
13W) a friend gave me. Only 1/3 full of water for most of a year, the
top 2/3 of the tank was very crusty. Most of it scraped off with a
razor blade, but the last bit of film/cloudiness wouldn't go away.
Vinegar, CLR, hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid, nothing would remove
the film/cloudiness. There were also a few deep scratches where
gravel had been scraped up the side of the glass, and numerous faint
scratches, the kind that are visible, but can't be felt

I finally realized that the mineral deposits had actually etched the
glass. I went to the local rock shop, bought a small bag of cerium
oxide(have 90% left), an 8" leather polishing pad (I would recommend
felt rather than leather), and a tube of feathering disk adhesive to
stick the (trimmed) pad to a 5" backing plate for my electric drill.
About $15 total, $8 of that was for the tube of adhesive (big enough
to do a couple hundred tanks at least, but I can use for woodworking
projects, so it will get used).

Mix up a paste of the cerium oxide with water about the viscosity of
hot maple syrup, and polish away, keeping the surface wet with a spray
bottle. The cut off pieces of the pad can be wrapped around a stick or
used with a dremel tool to get in the corners.

It took about 45 minutes to remove the cloudiness from the 4 side
panels, as well as polishing out the small scratches, and another 20
minutes doing the outside glass and the stainless steel frame.

The deeper scratches didn't come out, but the edges were smoothed out
so they don't catch the light as much making them less visible. I
would need to start with a much coarser grinding compound to remove
them -- they weren't bad enough to spend the time grinding out, plus
it would weaken the glass more than just leaving them as is.

Rinse the tank very thoroughly, then wipe it down with damp paper
towels to remove the cerium oxide. I don't think it would be poisonous
to the fish, but it is a very fine powder that if left in the water
could irritate the fish's gills.

The end result? When the guy who gave me the tank saw it after I had
set it up, his first question was "How much did it cost to replace the
glass?" It actually came out better than I thought it would.

HTH

Jerry