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15 years off and I start with this...


Dana

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Hi all. Well my first post, I have been reading for a short while with interest.

Although an intro, I have a question so please excuse my short novel...

My Father who passed 2 years ago was a tad obsessed with aquariums. He was a paraplegic so my weekends were pretty much consumed with water changes. Most kids get grounded, If I did anything wrong I was handed the smallest tube he could find and a 3 ltr bowl :)

I haven't touched a tank (aside from my 3 year old's 28 ltr) in over 15 years. I'm a single mum, work full time, study at night and have finally given in to the love of balance. I've picked up a cheap 5 year old AR980. The photo really doesn't show how bad it's current state is.

I've decided to give the DIY 3D background a shot after reading the older posts on the topic. I'll post some pics of my progress if not for your interest, then for your entertainment lol :)

My question is, although the tank will be cycled numerous times re chemicals, what's the best method to remove very old, dry and stubborn algae and calcium? It's everywhere. The people were lovely, but the tank has already been scratched in their attempt to tidy it up.

This will be a fairly time consuming project before I even entertain the idea of fish...Oh, which will be a community tank..(fingers crossed this image upload behaves...

6996013081_92f2903403.jpg

IMG_0798 by danaj2009, on Flickr

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Yes, certainly a project but I'm in no rush. Cleaning it properly without leaving residue is my main concern.

Might give the vinegar a go. There are also some baking soda recipies designed to clean build up out of washing machines, they might be a good idea. Although I did learn a while ago that mixing baking soda and vinegar is not a good idea :o

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Hi Dana, welcome aboard! :thup:

Found this article, hope it helps...

What can you use to safely clean the glass?

Vinegar.

There are a rare few commercial window glass cleaners made out of vinegar that do not contain ammonia, but they can be difficult to find and are costly. But why not make your own? You can make an excellent window glass cleaner from ½ cup of ordinary white vinegar dissolved in ½ gallon of distilled water. You can purchase clean, brand new spray bottles in the Big Box store, and you can add your home-made window cleaner to the brand new spray bottle. Mark this bottle for aquarium cleaning purposes, and your fish will be perfectly safe.

Well, wait a minute… you don’t have to confine use of your home-made spray to the aquarium. Actually, you’ll discover that your homemade glass cleaner works very nicely on all glass surfaces, including windows and mirrors. Once you use this homemade cleaner, you probably won’t want to buy expensive commercial glass cleaners again.

Last, how about those unsightly white deposits that accumulate on the cover of the aquarium, or on the black plastic trim? Well, your homemade vinegar glass cleaner works there as well, only you don’t want to spray it directly on the aquarium surfaces above the water. Instead, spray a little on a clean cloth and use that to wipe down the top of the aquarium. It will remove those white hard water deposits on the aquarium, restoring the cover to a like-new appearance.

Even if a couple of drops of your homemade vinegar spray should enter the water column, it won’t be toxic to your fish, and it won’t upset your water balance. Natural buffers in your water will very quickly neutralize the acetic acid in the vinegar, and no harm will come from it.

Keeping your aquarium clean and sparkling is easy and safe. And now you know how to do it without investing wads of money in expensive aquarium cleaning supplies

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Very handy article. Thanks so much :) I'll make a dent this weekend. Here's hoping it's sunny so I can fry the build up on the components.

I've had some plastics react to vinegar in the past so I might be cautious on that side. Wonder if Meths would help re the glass. Evaporates so a good clear should take the dye...?

Also interested to see how the in-hood filter goes. A bit pessimistic but we shall see. Will pick up a Fluval if I'm not happy with the result.

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The Aqua One built in filters have done the job just fine for me in the past.

I have tried vinegar, baking soda, commercial glass cleaner, all to no avail on my tank. I got told that if i could soak the glass in vinegar it might work, but I had no way of testing that.

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I tried using lemons ( cut and rub ) on the hard water deposits in my shower glass, and that didn't work. Gave in and used a commercial cleaning agent. Still hard work though. But if you keep a tank with slightly acidic water, the calcium carbonate will just dissolve in time; at least where it is in contact with the water.

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How about 1 part bleach to 10 parts water? I have used this for my tanks and tank ornaments etc for 20 odd years and have had no probs.

I have a ar850 that I bought second hand that was a salt water tank. Bleach mix got rid off all the built up calcium.

Good luck :)

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Right...vinegar isn't working, neither is lemon. Fairly sure the baking soda laughed at me. Toothbrush wore out after 20 mins LOL. Calcium gently chipping off the outer framework but this isn't an option for the glass.

So, can we use any chemical cleaners in any way that is safe? Between sorting the tank, background etc it will probably be a couple of months before I introduce fish. I'm patient.

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I came across a very knowledgeable person at Bunnings this afternoon who was very aware of chemical residue and evaporation times etc.

We went through about 7-8 different options and we both agreed that CLR is probably the best option. Should be ok as long as it is flushed over a period of time, and given the chance to stand inbetween each flush. Should be fine as long as the filter isn't involved.

I'll give it a go and post a pic of the result.

They also have a few broken sheets of 80mm poly that they're willing to sell for cheap :)

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I I used a couple of layers of masking tape to cover one side of the blade to make it safe.

:facepalm:

if you have the misfortune to accidentally place pressure on the sharp edge, that safety masking tape aint gonna do bugger-all to curb the blades new found enthusiasm for your delicate flesh...

Use a piece of metal the right length (tin lid works good, just be careful cutting), folded over the edge you don't want blood on, and then some masking tape to hold the blade in... you can purchase/find/beg/steal/borrow specific units for this task, but the method above does the same thing...

good luck and happy finger-counting...

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