How do I clean the calcium off my active tank?

Question

Long story short; while cleaning my tank one day I had to leave in the middle of it. My 50 gallon wasn't filled back up after siphoning for a few days and now there's calcium build up of the inside of the glass. I tried scrubbing it with an hand aquarium brush but its not working. It currently is an active tank so how can I get rid of without removing all my fish?

You are never suppose to use hard chemicals on a fish tank. What about lemon juice; vinegar or something else a little more natural. What concentration should I use? How harmful would it be if some got in the tank water?

what exactly do you mean by scraper? I've already tries hand held brushes and stuff used for cleaning the tank but manual labor hasn't paid off.

Answer 1

Do not use CLR on a running fish tank unless you want a bunch of dead fish. Try a aquarium scraper, and make sure you get the right kind, there are different ones for acyclic or glass (because acrylic will scratch easy). Whatever you do, no chemicals, specially while the fish are in there. If you do it to an empty tank, I still don't like using chemicals, but you can if you clean it very very well before filling it, I just don't like the risk of loosing fish and having to start over.

Edit: Your right, no hard chemicals, and as far as lemon juice or any of that, I've heard vinegar, but I wouldn't get it in the water. It might not hurt the fish, but not to sure, try using a scraper first. And, like you already probably know, watch out for window cleaners, even on the outside glass, because the window cleaners contain ammonia and even a little can be toxic (like the over spray).

Edit 2: They have scrapers made for aquariums, the ones for glass are basicly a rasor blade attached to a handle. The ones for acrylic are made of plastic I think, I don't know, all my tanks are glass. But a scraper should work when a brush won't.

Answer 2

Anything you would do would almost require removing the fish.

Are you sure it's a calcium deposit? If it's a "crust", then calcium is a good possibility, and mild acids like vinegar and lemon juice can be used (but I would advise moving the fish so in case any gets into the water, it won't harm the fish with the pH change). You can also mix them with coarse salt to make a more effective scrubbing compound for the stubborn stuff. Just be sure to rinse well before you use the tank again.

But if what you're seeing is a cloudy "film" on the glass, this is more the result of having water that's a high pH. I've had this happen on saltwater tanks and cichlid tanks. It can also occur on tanks of neutral pH if some types of algae grow on the glass for too long a time. Silica (glass) acurally dissolves to a small degree in higher pH levels and the glass surface becomes pitted (etched). Unfortunately, you really can't do anything about this. Fortunately, it doesn't look as bad when there's water in the tank, but the glass still doesn't look quite as good as new.

Answer 3

I'm going to tell you the truth you don't want to hear: You can't do it cleanly. The fish are in the tank, you can't use anything strong. I've used CLR on a used tank without a problem, but naturally that was without fish and well rinsed. In your case the best you can do is try a natural acid like vinegar or citrus juice, and then work it off with the flat of a razor blade. It works, but you'll want to catch the scum before it gets into the water, which can be tricky.

Answer 4

A tank is a tank is a tank. convinced you should use the salt tank for clean water set up. merely because you do not use the overflow container does no longer mean didly. The salt residue merely washes out with a good rinse, yet more advantageous than in all probability you're seeing a calcium residue. also truly wiped clean with both vinigar or lemon juice and a scrub brush. if you have become plenty take it because there really is not any different diffences contained in the tank.

Answer 5

The only way to safely remove the calcium from your tank is to remove the fish and clean it with CLR. It can be found in your local grocery or hardware store and it works wonders. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Heard of the comercial, just CLR it. found in walmart or SAMs club

Answer 7

Try CLR it woked for me.