Hand-me-down Tank

[arbatey]

My bfs mom is giving me this 20 gal tank she has. I just cleaned it out, however there are just a few spots that are on the tank.

I am posting this because my bf has got me all worried that these spots with kill my fish.
I have cleaned the entire tank and just could not get the remaining things off completely.
Will it be okay to use this tank even though the spots will not come off
What should I do?

Thanks All,
Amy

http/i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/arbatey/DSC00667.jpg

 

[Ethos]

I got a free tank like that.
If you fill it with water and your gravel, you can use an algae scraper with a water vac and clean it off pretty simply.

 

[arbatey]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[IovaykInD]

It might be a calcium build up of some sort. I have it in some free tanks that I got, they never came off. I still use the tank, but not as a display tank because it looks pretty unsightly. I might come off for a while with water and cleaning, but it will come back after some time.

 

[Ethos]

Sure.
And if it doesn't come off, you might need to use bleech.
After all the gravel was out of course.
In fact, if you've already tried with water once, I might advise you just use bleech.

 

[soritan]

Vinegar usually gets it off pretty easily. Or a razor blade, but I'd advise you use the vinegar, it's simpler.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

be careful with what you use to clean it. there are a lot of household cleaners that can leave behind nasty residues if you don't rinse well. bleach is ok because you can get rid of it with declorinator and lots of rinsing. avoid stuff like windex or lysol.

however, i suggest you give vinegar and elbow grease a try before resorting to bleach.

 

[CBTF]

Yeah. To me that looks like a harmless build up of calcium or some mineral. No worries. Do your best to get it off but after that, just enjoy the tank.

 

[TammyLiz]

I agree. It must be mineral buildup. My parents have very hard well water and when I lived with them my tanks all got that along the top. It accumulates on the glass at the water line as the water evaporates. Very hard to get off. Some of it may come off with a razor blade. It won't harm your fish, though. Just make sure your razor doesn't have any nicks in it because you may end up scratching your glass. I have done that before.