what is the best way to clean an aquarium?

Question

just bought an old but big fish tank. its not glass, its PVC i think but looks like there loads of white calcificating marks inside. like limescales. simple water and soap aint doing the trick! any suggestion? something that's fish friendly

Answer 1

Vinegar and warm water are your best bets. You can try a scraper, but get one made for an acrylic tank - these scratch very easily if they're not glass.

Rinse well, whatever you use, so you get all traces of soap out of the tank.

Answer 2

If you go to the pet store there is this product that reduces the amount of green, lime and white calcificating marks in the tank. Be careful of how much and what soap you use, I accidently almost killed my fish from scrubbing with soap. The product I mentioned can sometimes kill the smell as well. When I asked the people at the pet store they also said to keep a small amount of water from the old tank (no idea why) but you may want to do that, and make sure that the water is not scorching hot or freezing, it should be about room temperature. Good luck with your fishy!

Answer 3

Try the other remedies suggested by previous answerers but I think you may find that trying to clean a plastic tank in the condition you describe may be a waste of your time. Plastic is a very soft material when compared to glass and has probably become scratched in many places and will prove impossible to restore. A glass tank will almost certainly be a better option. Best of luck.

Answer 4

Soap has already contaminated the tank. Even if you rinse it again and a gain, you run the risk of contamination staying behind, albeit a small risk it you were rinse it 10-20 times, but still a risk.
Now you have to get the deposits off. "Under normal situations, I'd say don't worry about them. I wipe mine, but I still have them.
The only thing safe is elbow grease. I'd say a single edged razor that is made from plastic instead of metal. There is also a thing called the lil' chisler that is a neat plastic scraper.
http://www.zzpdecals.com/accessories.html

Answer 5

I would scrape it off with a paint scraper, or a flat edged razor knife, which is like a paint scraper, only with a very sharp edge. That usually works best for me when trying to remove calcifications from glass.

Answer 6

get some water treatment from pet shop , but firdt empty 1 third of the tank water then top up

Answer 7

Evacuate the fish with precaution! You must supervise them at all times.

Answer 8

use a little vinegar in water and wipe it out

Answer 9

Don't put it in the dishwasher! I did last week and it melted!