My 40 gallon has been setup for about a week and a half and now that i can clearly see that where i fill up the water in the tank, theres a clearly a cloudy line all around of dirt at the top of the water( dont really know what to call it), but it needs to be cleaned.
i hope you know what im talking about.
i would like to know whats the solution to clean this? if i scrub it with a brush the dirty stuff will just go to to the tank and that will ruin the water...
thank you for your time!
2007-04-19 14:37:00 · 5 answers · asked by Moore55 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
im talking about where the water and the tank wall touch, the tank wall has that cloudy look above the waterline on the tank wall.
2007-04-19 14:43:23 · update #1
Could be a couple of things. Hard water was already mentioned - if there's a lot of calcium or other minerals in the water, this will leave a distinct line where you fill the tank. If you catch it early enough, you should be able to wipe it off. If it builds up, you'll have to scrape it off. If it builds up too much, move the animals to a temporary spot, empty the tank and use a little vinegar to remove the deposits.
It could come from a protein "foam" that collects and dries along the water line. If you ever notice white "bubbles" along the sides, this is the result after they dry. Just wet and wipe it off. This will happen if you go to long between water changes.
If your water pH is high, this will tend to etch the glass at the water line. This is permanent, so it's best to avoid. Take a sample of your water to yout pet store and ask them to test the pH for you. If it's near 8 or above, it would be best to lower it a little - down to around 7 if you can. This will also benefit your RES - if the pH is too high in their water, you run the risk of bacterial shell rot. At 7, the rosys shouldn't be too upset either, as long as the change is gradual.
The easiest way to do this is by either using distilled water (expensive), reverse osmosis water (self-serve at some supermarkets, WalMart has it for $0.25/gallon if you by their refillable container), or putting a little peat in a mesh bag and putting it inside your filter or using driftwood - these last methods will also turn your water slightly brown. Can't give you a good estimate of how much you'd need to use - this will depend on the pH and buffering capacity of the water you have - the higher the pH the more you'll need to use.
If you need to start playing with th pH, I'd suggest investing in a test kit and monitoring the pH yourself. You're going to need to try to keep it fairly stable for the fish - the RES won't care unless you get into extreme ranges.
2007-04-19 16:41:08 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just scrub it with any fish tank cleaning sponge you use... One of those hard plastic scrubby things work great. Just make sure you rinse it really well before hand to make sure there are no chemicals. Yes, it can go in the water, because you should be changing 1/3 of the water every week. It will either settle, or float. If it floats, you can put a peice of paper towel on the top of the water, then when you take it off it will be 'stuck' to the towel...
2007-04-19 15:14:07 · answer #2 · answered by zahes madchen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the minerals and such in your tap water that deposit on the glass as the water evaporates. You should be able to just take a white paper towel (avoid colors since they could bleed) dip it in the aquarium and wipe off the line.
2007-04-19 14:49:56 · answer #3 · answered by annika_grace 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sears save Vac, yep, had certainly one of them. might song around choosing up airborne dirt and dirt and expelling all of it over the save. grew to become it right into a confetti blower for parades spewing out shredded paper because of the fact the drift glided by potential of.
2016-10-12 23:55:41 · answer #4 · answered by garretson 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have the same problem, I just wipe it once in a while when i looks really bad. Good Luk!
2007-04-19 14:44:34 · answer #5 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋