Cleaning a fish tank

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 11/18/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: Fishlopnik

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Well the glass part. We were recently given this fish tank and it wasn’t exactly ‘clean’, so I’ve been wiping it down and cleaning it. What’s left is the glass part, and I’m guessing the water used before was hard, because there are splotches all over.

I tried glass cleaner to no avail, and I’m gonna try a white vinegar and water solution next, but is there anything else I should try? Anything is appreciated, thanks.

Anima > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 08:15

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What do you mean with splotches?

For me the abrasive side of a kitchen sponge used to work quite well to get build up gunk/calc of the glass.

jariten1781 > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 08:17

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Kerosene (not joking). It's what I use on shower glass and it's amazing at getting stuff off that nothing else can. The Pro-style Goof-off (not the stuff that comes in a plastic bottle that's placed against goo-gone) is a kerosene based spray or you can just put pure stuff on a rag and go at it.

zeontestpilot > Anima 11/18/2015 at 08:23

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It’s hard to define. They are randomly placed, white, semi-opaque blobs that’s on the glass. I thought some elbow grease might work, but it did nothing.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 08:35

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When all else fails, I’ve had good luck with glass stovetop cleaner.

You need to be really careful and do a long water test after aggressively cleaning an aquarium. It’s fairly easy to disrupt the silicone joints between the glass and end up with a leak.

A friend of mine used to build custom aquariums. He stopped when he failed to get the glass perfectly clean on a build and one of the joints sprung a leak. The water ran down a wall and into the breaker box in the basement. It cost him a couple thousand to get an electrician in there to sort out the mess.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/18/2015 at 08:41

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Maybe I'll get it clean just enough then.....

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 09:05

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The glass is the least expensive part when it comes to small aquariums. That looks like a 20-high. You can get a new one for $50. No wasted time or money scrubbing something that will never be perfectly clear again.

The filters, top, and light can easily run over $100. I’d focus on getting those parts cleaned up.

Make sure you give it a lot of time with water circulating before trying to add fish after using harsh cleaners. Since you are starting from scratch, the aquarium will have to cycle properly before adding any sensitive fish. Start with live-bearers like guppies or platys. They can handle the stress of a new tank. Add others later.

When I worked at a pet store, this woman came in several weeks in a row with dead fish. It took a while to figure out the problem. Turns out she was cleaning the aquarium weekly (bad idea) by removing the fish, draining the aquarium, placing the entire aquarium in the tub, then cleaning it out, gravel and all, with bleach. She’d then rinse it out, put it back on the stand, fill it with water, then add the fish. No chlorine remover. No water conditioner. No temperature stabilization. No time to acclimatize the fish. She just dropped them in.

They’d be dead within the hour.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/18/2015 at 09:18

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Well, since it was all free, we’re using it. It’s the only reason we have it. I planned on heavily rinsing it out to remove the majority of the chemicals I’m using. I doubt they like the flavor of glass cleaner....

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 09:39

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Just take it slow. Set it up and let it run for a week before thinking about adding fish.

When setting up new, I always removed the carbon from the filter for the first month. Activated carbon is too efficient and will disrupt the nitrogen cycle. Keep running it without a filter for a month to complete the nitrogen cycle.

The industry would like you to buy new filter pads every couple of weeks. I treat them like K&N filters - rinse them out once a month to remove debris and put them back into place. They will develop a rich ecosystem that does a great job of keeping the water clear and the chemicals balanced. If you do want to replace the filter pads, do it one at a time. This keeps from restarting the nitrogen cycle.

I had one aquarium that ran with nothing but water changes for a couple of years using this method. Then I went out of town and my roommate decided to feed my fish....

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 09:39

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use a razer blade. You may need to replace it a few times before everything is scraped off.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/18/2015 at 09:52

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You never fed them?

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 11/18/2015 at 10:07

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Once that aquarium was established and in balance, feeding wasn’t necessary. The biota was rich and contained plenty of food. The trick was to make sure that there weren’t too many fish, they were the right species, and there was plenty of light.

When the roommate fed them, the influx of nutrients caused a massive algal bloom that killed everything.

It’s the same thing that happens in any water body that gets nutrient loaded.

Here’s an excellent example. Drainage is coming in from the upper-left and upper-right. The green pond is receiving all the overflow from the other ponds. Drainage continues toward the bottom of the photo where there is a bayou. The last pond is nutrient loaded and is full of algae. I’d bet it is from too much fertilizer on the lawn at that McMansion.