The journal of my new tank (suggested by someone on the thread)

[Aquavulpes8]

Got a second hand tank of a freind when they found out I was back in the fish keeping hobby he offered it said it was just taking up space in his shed and he couldn't get anyone to take it they didnt want to clean it (it's a big job) and they didnt trust the electrics in the lid (built in light). So I took it and now am getting really invested with fish again (I love it ? and am so excited to get this tank up and running)

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yay! Love following people's journal threads. Do you know what to do to clean it? Make sure you don't use soap or chemicals, you can use salt, vinegar and even bleach, but don't use any other chemicals to clean it, since they could leave toxic residue that would poison your fish or inverts.

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Yay! Love following people's journal threads. Do you know what to do to clean it? Make sure you don't use soap or chemicals, you can use salt, vinegar and even bleach, but don't use any other chemicals to clean it, since they could leave toxic residue that would poison your fish or inverts.

Ok gonna try the vinegar the glass/whatever it is is really cloudy

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Ok gonna try the vinegar the glass/whatever it is is really cloudy

Also gone try a tooth brush for those hard to reach places (have nothing else to hand

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ok gonna try the vinegar the glass/whatever it is is really cloudy

Do you live in a hard water area by any chance? Like it's hard water marks? I live in a hard water area, I have to clean the waterline on all my tanks every week to deal with that build up, leaves really stubborn, hard to clean lines otherwise.

If you soak a paper towel in vinegar, place it over the marks and leave it there for an hour or so (and you'll probably have to plaster the whole tank in them), it'll soften the marks and make them easier to remove.
ETA: Obviously, only do this on an empty tank being refurbed, not one with fish in it! Just a note for anyone else who sees this...! lol)

If you have a stanley blade, you can hold it straight and scrape the marks off too. Ask for help from your parents if you're young.

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Do you live in a hard water area by any chance? Like it's hard water marks? I live in a hard water area, I have to clean the waterline on all my tanks every week to deal with that build up, leaves really stubborn, hard to clean lines otherwise.

If you soak a paper towel in vinegar, place it over the marks and leave it there for an hour or so (and you'll probably have to plaster the whole tank in them), it'll soften the marks and make them easier to remove.
ETA: Obviously, only do this on an empty tank being refurbed, not one with fish in it! Just a note for anyone else who sees this...! lol)

If you have a stanley blade, you can hold it straight and scrape the marks off too. Ask for help from your parents if you're young.

Thanks for the advice I'm not sure but it has been unused for a long time and I dont know if it was cleaned after being shut down so I will look into the hard water thing and get back to you

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Do you live in a hard water area by any chance? Like it's hard water marks? I live in a hard water area, I have to clean the waterline on all my tanks every week to deal with that build up, leaves really stubborn, hard to clean lines otherwise.

If you soak a paper towel in vinegar, place it over the marks and leave it there for an hour or so (and you'll probably have to plaster the whole tank in them), it'll soften the marks and make them easier to remove.
ETA: Obviously, only do this on an empty tank being refurbed, not one with fish in it! Just a note for anyone else who sees this...! lol)

If you have a stanley blade, you can hold it straight and scrape the marks off too. Ask for help from your parents if you're young.

Sorry I took a long time was doing other research but by the look of it no it seems to be soft water in my area but it does come from rivers and marsh lands so maybe

 

[Essjay]

You can find out the hardness by typing your postcode in here https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/advice-and-services/your-water/postcode-search/
That will take you to a page which lists your hardness in several units of measurement - you need the numbers for 'parts per million' and 'German degrees'
German degrees are the same as dH or dGH; that and parts per million (ppm) and the two units used in fish keeping and fish profiles will give a species requirement in one of them.

 

[Aquavulpes8]

You can find out the hardness by typing your postcode in here https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/advice-and-services/your-water/postcode-search/
That will take you to a page which lists your hardness in several units of measurement - you need the numbers for 'parts per million' and 'German degrees'
German degrees are the same as dH or dGH; that and parts per million (ppm) and the two units used in fish keeping and fish profiles will give a species requirement in one of them.

thanks for the link it is in fact soft water

 

[Essjay]

Do you have the numbers?

Though as water companies make it sound harder than it really is, 'soft' is good enough. Just avoid fish which must have hard or even middling water

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok gonna try the vinegar the glass/whatever it is is really cloudy

I can attest - the vinegar works wonders on glass with calcium deposits. (@AdoraBelle Dearheart suggested it to me when I first got my 20g long. )

 

[Aquavulpes8]

Do you have the numbers?

Though as water companies make it sound harder than it really is, 'soft' is good enough. Just avoid fish which must have hard or even middling water

Ok I will look into it more this hobby has alot more to it than I thought but I love science at school and this is science with even more fun because we get to have our cute little fish babies at the end

 

[Aquavulpes8]

I can attest - the vinegar works wonders on glass with calcium deposits. (@AdoraBelle Dearheart suggested it to me when I first got my 20g long. )

Wow that's crazy I've been talking to them for advice to their like a saint to new comers (your the best @AdoraBelle Dearheart)

 

[Aquavulpes8]

@essi looked up my water again it said it was a hardness level 19 mg/lca what is that in gh I cant seem to find anywhere to convert on google

 

[Aquavulpes8]

@essi looked up my water again it said it was a hardness level 19 mg/lca what is that in gh I cant seem to find anywhere to convert on google

@Essjay