Sweetpickles Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) I have fresh water sponge growing in my hob reservoir in my 36 gal. I was going to turn my heat down in my tank a degree or two and spotted this brown crusty burnt looking substance on my heater! Could this be fresh water sponge burnt to a crisp? How can I get this off? The heater is working fine. Seems to be no visible damage anywhere on the heater. I do have it growing on my heater in the 20 gal but it is does not look like this! We have a snow storm coming and the closest place for me to get a new heater is lfs 15 miles (no big deal but $$$) Another pic shows the bracket it was sitting in. The dark spot on heater was i side the holder. Edited January 11 by Sweetpickles More Information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Looks like some stuff grown on it. I suppose it could be a sponge? I would try cleaning it off with a razor blade if it's crispy/crusty. Is it still soft at all? If so you might be able to brush it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpickles Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 3:58 PM, jwcarlson said: Looks like some stuff grown on it. I suppose it could be a sponge? I would try cleaning it off with a razor blade if it's crispy/crusty. Is it still soft at all? If so you might be able to brush it. It was like cement. I decided to soak it in vinegar water. Hopefully no harm to heater. I can scrape it off with fingernail in thinner areas. Where it is thick I will prob have to let it soak a while. Thank you for responding. I will look for a razor blade. I don't have any for my tanks as this tank is acrylic. I have been trying to figure out what I will use to scrape it off with. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 @Sweetpickles is the glass damaged? localized issues like that (hot spots) which block the flow could damage the heater. In one of the photos it almost looks like melted plastic, but I just wanted to ask / verify that the heater itself was structurally sound (externally) from what you could tell. On 1/11/2024 at 1:20 PM, Sweetpickles said: I don't have any for my tanks as this tank is acrylic. they have ones designed for acrylic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpickles Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 4:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said: @Sweetpickles is the glass damaged? localized issues like that (hot spots) which block the flow could damage the heater. In one of the photos it almost looks like melted plastic, but I just wanted to ask / verify that the heater itself was structurally sound (externally) from what you could tell. they have ones designed for acrylic. So far it looks fine. I havnt gotten all the crud off yet. On 1/11/2024 at 4:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said: @Sweetpickles is the glass damaged? localized issues like that (hot spots) which block the flow could damage the heater. In one of the photos it almost looks like melted plastic, but I just wanted to ask / verify that the heater itself was structurally sound (externally) from what you could tell. they have ones designed for acrylic. I will have to look for the razor for acrylic! Thanks. The more I chip away at this the more I see that the heater is looking brand new again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) I can't tell if it's metal or glass. If it's metal you might be able to scrub off some of it with a scotchbrite pad, but it's likely to scratch the metal a bit. Scotchbrite would also work for glass. Edited January 11 by jwcarlson 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpickles Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 5:17 PM, jwcarlson said: I can't tell if it's metal or glass. If it's metal you might be able to scrub off some of it with a scotchbrite pad, but it's likely to scratch the metal a bit. Scotchbrite would also work for glass. I did use a scotchbrite! Thank you!! And a kitchen too bc I couldn't find a razor. Good as new!! Whew! I was worried about fire, electrocution ect. Thank you all!! Good as new!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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