Removing greasy film

[paulthegreat]

I bought a used 125gal that had some hard-foam textured background mounted in it with silicon I was able to remove the silicon with a scraper but there is a greasy film on the glass in the places where the silicon had been. I am looking for a safe way to remove it that will not leave any harmful residues. Any suggestions?

 

[tishygirl]

Baking soda and water, give it a good wash up... then use vinegar and water to remove the baking soda residue, should shine like new, and the vinegar will evaporate leaving it safe and clean.

 

[paulthegreat]

Baking soda and water did very little and vinager was no help, acetone was no help, mild chlorine solution did not make a dent and plain old elbow power with a white scrubbing sponge was of little use. Any other ideas out there?

 

[Fishist]

Try a razor blade, position it diagonally and push forward slowly and firmly.

 

[paulthegreat]

I do not have a razor blade handy but could get one in the morning. Sounds like it could be the answer since my scraper(ment for peeling wallpaper) seems to push the greasy glue-like stuff about. It does not lift the glop off the glass though, it just seems to smear it about.

 

[guppymonkey]

Razor blade should do it. Any if done correctly won't leave any marks on the tank. I usually don't advise those textured backgrounds, a lot of them are made of foam and are eaten by fish. Sometimes fish find a way behind the background and then die and rot back there and mess up the water conditions. AND (as you have realized) they are a pain in the ... to take off!

 

[paulthegreat]

Huge pain! I much prefer the external wallpaper type background! No cleaning necessary Got me a razor so we shall see how that goes.