Refurbishing Old Tank- White Residue On Glass

[Lufbramatt]

hi everyone,

I'm in the process of sorting out an old tank that has been sitting in my garage for a little while. I noticed there was some cloudyness on the glass but assumed it was dust. Yesterday I gave the tank a good scrub out (there was quite a lot of brown grime left on the tank in the corners etc from the tanks previous inhabitants, so i mixed up a weak bleach solution and rinsed it out a lot afterwards), but after the tank was dried out the white residue still remains. I looks like wine glasses that have been through the dishwasher too many times.

I live in north kent, which has very hard water, so I'm assuming the white marks are a thin film of mineral deposits?

What is the best way to remove these, obvioulsy i cant scrub it too much as it will scratch the glass, and don't want to leave any residue in there that would harm the fish. I'm guessing that a mild acid such as vinegar might work ok?

any advice much appreciated!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Leaving vinegar to soak in my filter pump cavities for a couple of minutes certianly helps remove Southampton limescale, perhaps a good soak for half a day might work on your tank.

Have you got the option of putting some cheapy "Basics" vinegar in the bottom of your bath and then emersing the tank? You could then "clean the bath" at the same time, getting "brownie points" off your other half!

 

[Lufbramatt]

Leaving vinegar to soak in my filter pump cavities for a couple of minutes certianly helps remove Southampton limescale, perhaps a good soak for half a day might work on your tank.

Have you got the option of putting some cheapy "Basics" vinegar in the bottom of your bath and then emersing the tank? You could then "clean the bath" at the same time, getting "brownie points" off your other half!

thanks for the reply, looks like it should work ok then! I'll grab a bottle of cheapo vinegar on the way home and try it out. Don't think the tank will fit in my bath though, and wouldnt like to risk carrying it upstairs, as even without water it's quite heavy! hehe

It has a glass "bulkhead" near the top of the tank so i should be able to lie the tank on its side and cover each pane in turn with a shallow depth of vinegar and let it soak.

 

[Lufbramatt]

got in early from work this afternoon and took the tank outside (i hate the smell of vinegar) and left the tank on its front on a sheet of plywood covered with old towels to protect the glass, and emptied a bottle of cheap vinegar into it. Left for an hour or so but decided to empty it and bring it in incase theres a frost tonight, didnt want it cracking. Seems to have removed a fair bit of the white cloudy residue but think it could do with another couple of hours soaking. So far so good!