Was free at side of road, a fluval spec 5. Any handy tips to get rid of the hard water stains without damage to glass?

[Aptasia]

Hi everybody!  

I picked this tank fluval 5 gallon up at side of road and could use some handy tips as to how to restore it back to a working order.

It has bad hard water stains that I am worried I will scratch up the glass scrubbing off. 

Pump and lights seem to work and are original to the tank, but light is quite weak and I want to use it to grow out plants. What is a good plant light to replace it for this small tank? 

Thank you

 

[Tony s]

Vinegar will dissolve the calcium 

Could also use unscented magic eraser 

[Tanked]

Nice curb find!

vinegar will dissolve most of the minerals.  fill the tank, with a strong vinegar/water solution, and let sit for a few hours.  The deposits will soften and can be scrubbed off. 

[Potterygal]

Hope the vinegar works! My 5 yr Fluval spec 5 gal has gotten outside deposits at corners. Is this worrisome as far as leaks in future or just cosmetic and cleanable does anyone think?? Our water is hard 300 and  Kh very low. PH runs on the low side 6.8 -7.

could this be significant factor ? I’m really trying to grasp the water parameter issues  and also have a 10gl I’m cycling at the moment.  Its readings are reading softer GH75, 7 pH, KH 40+. 
Thank you. 

[Aptasia]

On 6/3/2024 at 10:25 AM, Tanked said:

Nice curb find!

vinegar will dissolve most of the minerals.  fill the tank, with a strong vinegar/water solution, and let sit for a few hours.  The deposits will soften and can be scrubbed off. 

Would half and half do or a higher percentage of white vinegar? 

[Aptasia]

On 6/3/2024 at 10:24 AM, Tony s said:

Vinegar will dissolve the calcium 

Could also use unscented magic eraser 

I've never used magic eraser before, I guess if unscented also safe to use in aquarium that has fish & shrimp? Got some Green spot algea that is hard to get off of curved bowfront glass with magnet or plastic card.

[Tony s]

 

On 6/3/2024 at 11:23 AM, Aptasia said:

if unscented also safe to use in aquarium that has fish & shrimp

shrimp i don't know. but it works great for everything else. including algae

[Tony s]

On 6/3/2024 at 11:23 AM, Aptasia said:

I've never used magic eraser before

the sponge cleaners that coop sells are basically the same as the magic eraser also. yeah, we learn all kinds of weird tricks here. I would've never thought that in a million years, then @Guppysnail mentioned it.

[Tanked]

On 6/3/2024 at 11:18 AM, Aptasia said:

Would half and half do or a higher percentage of white vinegar? 

Half and half should be fine. 

I've never used the magic eraser.  I usually use the green kitchen pads, or the white (buffing) 3M pad if you happen to have them.  You don't have to press real hard.  If the crust doesn't come off, just wait a while longer.   Your local paint store may also have a plastic putty knife for the tuff stuff.

I don't know how you got crust on the outside corner. Looking at your picture, my best guess is condensation running off the lid. One of my tanks will occasionally build a calcium deposit on top of one of the lids, 2 " above the water level.   

All you can do is leak test when you are done cleaning.  Fill the tank as you always do, and after making sure the outside is as dry as you can. wait a day, then press a piece of toilet paper against the joint once or twice a day.  If there is any moisture the TP should find it.

[jwcarlson]

I don't know that I would fill the entire tank with a vinegar solution because that's a lot of vinegar.  I would take straight vinegar and dump it in the bottom.  Take paper towels, wet them in the vinegar, and then slap them on the sides where the deposits are located.  You can also just continually "baste" the deposits with vinegar.  Cleaning away what you can as you go.  The vinegar will dissolve it, but it also seems to soften up the bigger stuff and make it easier to get it off the glass/plastic.

I do agree that magic erasers (melamine foam) do a great job of cleaning glass.  

Edited June 3 by jwcarlson

[Aptasia]

On 6/3/2024 at 1:55 PM, jwcarlson said:

I don't know that I would fill the entire tank with a vinegar solution because that's a lot of vinegar.  I would take straight vinegar and dump it in the bottom.  Take paper towels, wet them in the vinegar, and then slap them on the sides where the deposits are located.  You can also just continually "baste" the deposits with vinegar.  Cleaning away what you can as you go.  The vinegar will dissolve it, but it also seems to soften up the bigger stuff and make it easier to get it off the glass/plastic.

I do agree that magic erasers (melamine foam) do a great job of cleaning glass.  

Good advice, I much appreciate it 👍 

[quikv6]

Vinegar should work, but if you need to go a notch stronger, you can use Bar Keepers Friend in powder form, with hot water and a sponge/magic eraser. Just be sure to rinse very, very well afterwards.

[Tanked]

Multitasking is not without its drawbacks. 

I had to read @jwcarlson's post a third time before the brain fully engaged.  Stronger is faster, but I didn't mean to imply that you should use a 50% vinegar solution in your aquarium.  I use vinegar for some other smaller descaling procedures where half and half equals a couple of ounces.  Sorry about that.

[Lonkley]

Start with vinegar. Then rinse, try an original magic sponge. Anything stubborn use a Razer 

On 6/3/2024 at 8:56 AM, Tony s said:

 

shrimp i don't know. but it works great for everything else. including algae

I use the co-op version and they don't care