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omg how to clean

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  Reefing Madness 
#1 ·
well last night i drained all the water and removed all plants and gravel from my planted freshwater tank, removed all filters, heaters, lights, ect.. cleaning it up and getting it ready for my future saltwater setup(so excited). and omg how to clean this crap. covered in hard water/calcium deposits. any suggestion on what to use.. fixin to try our steam mop lol. not that i am a complet newb, but have never had one this bad befor...
 
#2 ·
My 40 gallon was badly covered in calcium and such as well. First I just rinsed it down with a hose and scrubbed of any looser calcium deposits with a soft-ish sponge. Then I used a ton of industrial CLR and scrubbed and rinsed it at least 5-6 times over two to three days, leaving some of the CLR to run down the sides and catch in a few inches of water at the bottom between days. Then I rinsed it extremely well and carefully, I think I hosed it down and filled it with water 6 times and used a different sponge to scrub it during each rinse. Be sure to use those powdered gloves, as CLR that strong will eat off your skin. And to emphasize... rinse very carefully... any leftover CLR will certainly kill any fish.
 
#4 ·
Well, my 40 gallon has been up and running now for a few weeks, and I've had no problems. Just so long as you feel like you've sufficiently rinsed all the CLR off, I'm willing to bet the tank is safe.
 
#8 ·
Genius, o.o wish I had known to use vinegar instead.
 
#12 ·
I never had any problem with glass (all my tanks have been glass), but acrylic may be different. The key is to delute whatever chemical your using with water, dry it with some papertowels and allow any leftover residue to complete evaporate.
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But, chemicals, copper not being a chemical per say, but copper stays in the glass, you can't let that evaporate. Thats why I was asking. Just curious, I'm not saying your wrong.
 
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