Tropical Fish Aquariums & Equip Marine Fish & Marine Inverts Cichlids Malawi Tanganyikan Cichlids
Wanted Discus Goldfish, Koi & Ponds Retailers & Services ALL ADS By County
|
Viewed: 390 -- Replies: 17 | ||||||||
PM | All Topics | General | Cichlids | Marine | Coldwater | Tanks/Equipment | Diseases | Members | |||||||||
| Posted | CLEANING OLD TANKS |
| 16-01-2008 22:13 by IAN.P |
WHATS THE BEST WAY OF CLEANING OLD TANKS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN USED FOR SOME TIME AND GOT LIME SCALE ON GLASS |
| 16-01-2008 22:41 by robert.pope |
question if they have been kept dry is the sillicon still any good?
not sure what you could use ro remove the limescale 
does the limescale still show when the tank is full of water? |
| 16-01-2008 22:51 by Oscar52 |
product called liquid hammer its a concrete remover but its excellant
but also expensive elbow grease is cheaper and does the job |
| 16-01-2008 23:11 by telboy |
you could try vinegar + warm water, fill the tank wioth warm water add the vinegar, leave for a few hours,give it a good scrub with a scourer[not metal],or use a stanley blade to get stubborn scale off, empty rinse, once clean rinse thoroughly, if you want to sterilise tanks use miltons baby bleach but make sure you rinse well
|
| 16-01-2008 23:59 by mwilde |
Always controversial but I use bleach.
Just make sure you rinse it REALLY well. And before anyone jumps on my back – this is what I have always used and I have never had any problems – as long as its rinsed properly. |
| 17-01-2008 00:00 by mwilde |
Obviously at your risk.
Probably best not to stick your prized discus or something in it first. |
| 17-01-2008 00:30 by robert.pope |
Mwilde i agree its a good way to clean a old tank .....i have used this myself
|
| 17-01-2008 00:34 by Fry Lover |
there's only controversary with bleach if you dont know what your doing.
I bleached all my Malawi Ocean Rock overnight, worked a treat. Things to bear in mind and i dont mind being corrected, but it works for me 1. Use a 5 to 10% solution, so if 5% doesnt do a lot, go back with 10%, therefore 5 or 10% bleach, 90 or 95% water 2. This is obvious, but rinse well and rinse again and again and again, i find a powerful shower head will help 3. Dechlorinator removes bleach, not sure how much you have to use, but i use triple dose after the main rinse 4. And this is just to completely kick the a$$ of the bleach lol, Bleach residue will become no more when it is dried out in some kind of sunlight. Now i know the weather isnt good, but leave tanks by window or rocks on window ledge (inside) and let them stand for 24-48 hrs, you are completely covered. I think it even works in day light, but sun works quicker. Point 4 isnt needed for safety if you do points 1-3 correct In fact i would say using bleach is more dangerous the humans than fish if done proper, i.e. possible splillage, mixing with other chemicals by accident, children around |
| 17-01-2008 00:38 by Fry Lover |
EDIT: dechlorinator will deal with very small levels of bleach, obviously not a big bucket of Domestos
And i am not sure what it converts the bleach into, probably something not great, buyt certainly something less dangerous to fish But really, by taking into account a 10% bleach solution and a shed load fo rinsing, the third dtep (dechlor) is just a precaution. Failing all that, the POPE could bless your tank, then your covered, bleach or no bleach |
| 17-01-2008 00:50 by Fry Lover |
blimey i didnt read the thread from start
i wouldnt waste my time bleaching an old tank, not thats its not safe, just WHY? Just give it a rinse down in hot(ish) water, a good scrub with something that wont scratch the glass, get any dust out or particles and leave to dry. The hoover can also help here. Then if still not happy try a more heavy handed approach. Unless you've had the decorators in, or sprayed a load of fly killer recently, or have any other reason to suspect chemical contamination of the tank, normal washing with warm almost hot water should be ok, and thats what i would do, and actually i can be quite paranoid and obsessive so thats saying something! I've never seen silicone compromised or damaged like this. I am not talking boiling water. Window cleaner's fine on the outside if the top is covered and there's no obvious route in to the tank. ALSO, a little tip, in case you do end up giving it a good old strip down and wash, run it for a day or so with nothing more than tap water and newly purchased activated carbon in a filter, then throw carbon straight in bin. Dont leave in for more than 48 hours. If you use Carbon, dont do what Eddie Murphy did..... anyone catch that joke? |
| 17-01-2008 09:33 by Woz |
what i use on all my glass is a good strong magnetic cleaner(the ones with the razor blades on them)...excellent for the glass but you might struggle to get completely onto the corners of your tank |
| 17-01-2008 11:23 by keith t |
i used something like mr muscle limescale remover, worked a treat. Just gace it a *** good rinse afterwards. Dont forget glass isnt porous so if throughly rinsed it should be fine, ive never had any problems |
| 17-01-2008 11:47 by dave the wath |
lemon juice,salt & elbow grease |
| 17-01-2008 21:21 by big cats |
astonish (sorry if anyone else has said this but to hell with reading this lot) usually a white paste works really well non toxic and rinses, p.s some bleaches are made not to rinse so take care |
| 19-01-2008 15:29 by Jake Casson |
Cilit bang, great stuff |
| 19-01-2008 17:01 by Ed |
Pressure washer. |
| 19-01-2008 19:55 by perky |
Just bin it and buy a new tank... |
| 20-01-2008 00:39 by robert.pope |
PERKY you and your throw away generation! its a glass tank not a takeaway carton |
 |
|
NEW REPLIES ARE NOW CLOSED ON THIS FORUM
We invite you to join the NEW Aquarist Classifieds Fishkeeping Forum HERE
Your contributions to this forum are greatly appreciated.
This forum will be retained in archive status for reference.
Adverts
Previous
Fish Biz
Sitemap
Links
All
Sponsor
Clubs
Webmaster
Our Sponsors
ShopAds
Visits
Enquire About Banners
| ||||
