Alexander's 80gal

Alexander

Reef enthusiast
I just got a 80 gallon fish tank (fresh water) from a friend. i will have all the fish gone by the morning and then i am ripping it all apart and turning it to a new reef tank. Currently there is some kind of build up on the top edges of the aquarium. Kinda like salt creep.... but its obviously not salt and its stuck on there pretty good. what is the best way to clean stuff like this without potentially harming my tank in the future like using cleaning chemicals. should i just try hot water and a razor blade or does anyone else have any great suggestions. thanks
 
Re: newest fish tank

It could very well be salt creep. I had some saltcreep when I had my FW up. There are salts to add to fresh water to help the fish. You could use hot water and a sponge if that dont work try vinager. Good luck and let us know if you get it off. If its salt creep it should come off with a little water.
 
Re: newest fish tank

hot water and a sponge was the first thing I tried and it did not come off like salt creep does. I'm not sure what it is but maybe ill try the vinegar
 
Re: newest fish tank

try vinegar (i would use that anyways to disinfect the tank) with a rough CLOTH (not steel wool) cleaning pad like what you use to scrub dishs with, i would recommend it be new to make sure your not adding soaps or poisons to your tank.
oh and also, i would try and find out if your friend dosed his tank with any supplements then check those supplements to see if they contain copper. I've read to many times about people inheriting tanks that were previously FW and got copper poisoning which kills inverts and corals i believe, theres really no way to get rid of copper once it's been introduced to a tank cause the system obsorbs it and slowly leaches it into the system.
 
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Re: newest fish tank

it could be calcium buildup if youre friend was using tap water. a mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle a razor should get it off. just be careful using the razor around any silicone. you dont want to cause a leak.
 
Re: newest fish tank

I agree with Fish,Its probably calcium build up from tap water.I'd use straight vinegar and a razer blade.
 
Re: newest fish tank

thanks guys ill give it a shot. btw no copper in the past I'm told. ugh I forgot how crappy it is emptying out the last part of a tank. that's what I'm currently doing
 
Re: newest fish tank

HAHA pretty nasty huh. Well think of it this way you could have a clean new tank but it would cost a hole alot more than free. Good luck with it and send some pics if you get the chance.
 
Re: newest fish tank

lol,Yeah,I hate that last couple of inches myself.Nasty rock,nasty water.That should be a part of the dirty jobs show,lol
 
Re: newest fish tank

lol,Yeah,I hate that last couple of inches myself.Nasty rock,nasty water.That should be a part of the dirty jobs show,lol
rofl yeah it sucked. andit stunk. for some reason it stunk real bad. prob cause it was fresh water and full of poop. but it sucked. I'm so glad, I got it all ready to roll ill make a post about it with before during and after pics for sure. I can't now cause I'm posting from my treo
 
Re: newest fish tank

it's calcium buildup. i have it when i had a FW tank. Vinegar should do the trick.
 
Re: newest fish tank

well it is a little overdue from the time where i said that i would post pics, but in my defense the infamous LR crash happened sometime between when i said i would post pics and when i got home. so now i am getting around to it. enjoy!

here is the tank when i recieved it. Kitchen table converted stand, crappy freshwater setup, Dirty, you get the idea.

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Vinegar on the TERRIBLE calcium deposits

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suiting up for paint! I gotta have a Black tank, and while im at it i might as well paint the back glass.

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AHHH yes looking much better

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oh yeah sand and water

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Now for some Rockwork (more to be added later)

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And always the essential wind down after some hard work

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Ill update as i get more, sadly im out of spending money at this point.
 
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