Disinfecting Acrylic Tank

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi everyone,

I have an eclipse 3-gallon acrylic tank that was housing my guppies. Right this second the guppies are being acclimated/floating in a larger tank. So, in the 3-gallon, I'll be putting my female betta in (she's currently living in a 2-gallon heated bowl).

Question is, what's the best way to clean acrylic? Should I just run vinegar and water through the filter and then wipe down the sides in and out? I've been EXTREMELY careful with the surfaces to avoid scratches, yet non-the-less, there are tons of scratches - I'll probably never get another acrylic tank. I am thinking of using toilet paper as it's the sofest thing I can think of (lol).

Anyway, thoughts on cleaning? I'll be putting all new gravel and stuff in after I clean out the tank.

Thanks.

 

[JustFrozen]

dont abandon acrylic just yet. the thing about acrylic and scratches is that:

1. you almost never see the scratches when there's water in the tank
2. the scratches can be buffed out, unlike glass

for my acrylic tank, i just used a wet paper towel and tap water, but then again it was mostly clean to begin with and i wasnt extremely concerned with avoiding scratches. i personally wouldnt use tp because it would likely leave too many bits around everywhere, and for the same reason i probably wouldnt even use paper towels again.

i would think any soft towel would work, perhaps a standard wash cloth. If you're really worried, you can buy cleaner/pads specifically made for acrylic tanks.

 

[loraxchick]

bleachwater (two caps per gallon) and an old cut up tshirt or terrytowel. rinse it well under hot tap first to remove any grit to avoid scratches. dip the rag in the bleachwater,scrub,rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse and then wipe it dry with a similar dry rag. fill it up and double the dechlor. should be good to go. if it is dry (you could even let it airdry if you are worried) no worries about chlorine from the bleach. could even give it a final rinse in very heavily dechlorinated water after you wipe it out dry.
bleach kills everything!!! best thing to use for disinfection. vinegar is more for removing waterspots/mineral deposits than as a real disinfectant.
cheers