I don't know how to get rid of this white type stuff on my tank. Is it from hard water or what. The water seems to evaporate out fairly quickly from my tank, and I have been doing water replacement cycles. I have tried scrubbing the sides of the tank with a pad, but to no luck. Its still there. I have 3 plecos in my tank along with 2 other fish for now. I'm just starting my tank out. Its a 30 gallon tank. What do I do??
2007-07-21 06:44:01 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
It is mineral deposits from when the water evaporates. It leaves behind all the metals in the water. All you have to do is wipe it off with a paper towel and some tank water. You can never get rid of the white lines unless you can miraculously keep 100% pure water (impossible).
Also, 3 Plecos is way too many for a 30 gallon tank. Plecos each get about 2 feet long, return all the Plecos (all of them). Plecos are extremely messy fish that cause more algae than they can eat. No algae eating fish is really worh it. When you vacuum the gravel, just use a clean toothbrush or a tank scrubbing pad.
Nosoop4u
2007-07-21 06:47:01 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
try all the things other posters have mentioned and if none work.Try ....
On a glass tank try the good old (new not rusty!lol) razor blade.
On an acrylic tank a PLASTIC pancake flipper is about the only thing that won't scratch the tank!
Do you have hard water in your area? if you do and it is evaporating that fast I would look into why! Evaporation is normal but I wouldn't think it would leave a calcium deposit unless it's really hard! In that case you should think about using RO water NOT tap! Either way you should try the RO water better for the tank~ You can buy RO from most GOOD fish stores these days or you can even get your own RO unit and make your own water when you need it! I think this is going to be the only way to rid yourself of the calcium deposits.. using hard water your just adding more to your tank that you'll have to deal with later!
Take the Pleco Back and slap the idiot who sold them to you! 3 in a WAY to much! Pleco if you haven't seen them in a public aquarium can get up to 2-3 FEET in a short time!
hope that helps..
2007-07-24 21:28:25 · answer #2 · answered by Ramoth41 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If this is on the outside of the tank you can use a new sponge (without any soap) and a mixture of vinegar and water.
The white is calcium deposits and indicates that you have pretty hard water.
If this is inside the tank you can remove it with an algae pad and tank water. Simply wet the glass and give a good scrubbing.
As was mentioned 3 plecos are too many for a 30 gallon, and if these are common pleco's even one will be tight in a 30 gallon tank.
2007-07-21 14:14:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
This can be from hard water, in which case it can be removed by using vineger to dissolve the deposits, or using vinegar and salt as a scrub (remove the fish and empty the tank first, obviously!). If the pH of the water is high, however, there's a chance the the glass is permanently etched (pitted) due to the higher pH. This can happen in cichlid and saltwater tanks, especially. There's no solution for permanent etching, other than flame polishing (literally remelting the surface of the glass to smooth out the imperfections), and this is a risky undertaking at best, and may cause the glass to crack.
2007-07-21 14:48:21 · answer #4 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The white stuff is calcium build up and using a little salt when scrubbing it may help break it up.
You didn't mention what kind of Plecos you have but if they are common Plecos then they are going to grow very fast and grow to be about 12" long. Your tank is not big enough for three of those. One could survive but 3 is too many.
2007-07-21 14:24:46 · answer #5 · answered by Dustinius 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try an algae pad and scrub it hard, And said above those plecos will get far too big for that tank, Return thme for somthing smaller.
2007-07-21 13:53:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I've found the easiest way to remove the mineral deposits from the glass is to get it nice and wet and then scrape it using the flat edge of a razor blade. As long as you don't scratch it with the corner, it will not damage the glass.
2007-07-21 14:23:28 · answer #7 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Whisper has a magnetic 2 piece scrubber that works great. One piece goes outside and the other goes inside. They're cheap and effective and you don't contaminate your fishes water by putting your hands in it. I think they might come in other names, but mine came with my filter.
2007-07-21 13:56:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
cover your tank (less evap.) and also top it off more frequently
and those rings will slowly loosen up to scrape off... keep it full the best you can (daily)
2007-07-21 14:42:50 · answer #9 · answered by the fish guy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋