Any ideas on how to clean a fish tank?
@Christmas2006 (1661)
United States
October 19, 2010 2:27pm CST
I have a 30 gallon I think fish tank. I have it all emptied out and cleaned but there is a 'scale' deposit on it. Lime? not sure and I can't get it cleaned off. Does anyone have any suggestions? My solution was to squirt some lime remover on it but didn't know if it would hurt the glass seals on the sides? I know I have to really clean it after I did that but was more worried about the like rubber caulking that seems to put the sides together. Any way any help you can give me would be great.
3 people like this
11 responses
@strawberrychocodahi (4818)
• Philippines
20 Oct 10
My husband used to clean our tank once a week and he just uses a soap sud and wipe it using a sponge. He carefully places all the pebble stones in one basin and clean it too with water and liquid dish wash, of course it should be just a soak, and wash it off real good with water.
You just make sure that there will be no residue when you clean your tank and put anti chlorine in the water before placing your fishes. We do have plecos but does not help much with removing the slime off your glass.
It is still better to clean the tank regularly so that you won't get those slimy grime and scale deposit on the sides. The glass seal will tear down if you used the tank immediately without drying it out first. But if you want security, you can ask someone from the fish shop if they also do resealing of tanks so that there will be no leaks.
1 person likes this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
Thank you for your response. I don't have the slime, I discovered if I keep the tank out of direct sunlight that eliminates a lot of that. We have so many windows in the house that it was real hard to find a place to put it. What I have is the scale deposit and finding it very hard to get off. I have a little bit across the front, part of a water line, and a spot in the back that I can't get off and decided that they are just staying. It isn't no where near as bad as it was. Thanks for your help. I never thought of asking at the pet shop if they could reseal the tank but it is only a clear silicone glue so if the glass didnt break any one could do it as long as it was waterproof. Just never thought of it. thanks.
1 person likes this
@monsterfishlover (222)
• Philippines
20 Oct 10
If you're cleaning a tank just to be used for the first time then it is recommended to wash it all but not with soap or detergent.
But if you're cleaning a tank with existing fish on it, it is only recommended to clean it by partial not removing all of the water. Why? because of the temperature and water quality (water PH).
Partial cleaning of water has many ways depend on what type of fish you have.
For me, i have a spotted gar and a clown knife fish in a 450gal tank. I usually change 20% of the water every 2weeks. Some recommend 20% in just a week but as for my experience my tank is so big that even in 2 weeks the fish bio load doesn't seems to be visible at all.
So i recommend for you since it is just a 30gal tank 20-30% water changes per week is the best.
About the solution you've been using, it will not hurt the glass seals just make sure to clean it thoroughly.
1 person likes this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
This is a tank that I have had for years. My daughter got it for me a long time ago for my birthday. But I haven't had any fish in it for about 5 years now I think. I want to restart and need to get the lime deposit cleaned off of it. My husband helped me last night and we sprayed it all out good and drained it. I was going to take it to church and fill it and let it run for a day or two before I add any fish to it so it would set and run the water through the filter. I am hoping that will clean anything else out of it that there might be. No expensive fish here. I will only have gold fish and then later an algae eater. I do'nt do well with expensive fish. Gold fish once I get them situated seem to do good for me. Thank you for your response.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160994)
• United States
19 Oct 10
Like everyone else, I will say vinegar. You can use a Scotchbrite pad with it. Or salt with vinegar. I bet the kids will like the fish tank and they are supposed to be very calming. Good for everyone. You could get a pleicostomus or algae eater to help with the algae.
1 person likes this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I will add the salt because I have had it on my counter on the side soaking in the vinegar since the first response and I am still scrubbing with the pad as you have suggested. Still have the deposit. Although some has come off.
The kids love the fish tank. I have done it many times over the years of teaching and it is a favorite. Especially for the kids that don';t have the tank at home. I have to wait on the algae eater until the tank gets established for awhile. I really would like to be able to get it up and running tomorrow or the next day. Hope so anyway. Thanks for your response.
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I have never owned a fish tank but if u know someone who has one or a store that sells them they might could help u if someone on mylot can't.
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
19 Oct 10
Oh you are missing out on a lot of pleasures on not having a fish tank. They are really quite intertaining. It amazes me howthey know when you walk into a room and will 'run' to the front of the tank like they want attention.....or food! I put ceramic decorations in my tank for the seasons. One year, I told my kids to clean the house so we could put up the Christmas tree and they informed me that Christmas is more then a tree and they didn't clean house so we never put a tree up. I put lights around my fish tank (much smaller then) and got ceramic Christmas trees and put in the tank. Then I put the Christmas presents in front of the fish tank....for some reason the next year they cleaned the house with out being told, I came home and they said "We cleaned house, can we put the tree up?"
I could probley buy stuff at the pet shop I didn't want to drive up there right now to get it, I have to go to get a new filter system for it. But I was hoping to have it all set up then go. Was hoping to do it Thursday after our fellowship at church. It is going in my Sunday School room for the kids. Thank you for your response.
2 people like this
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
20 Oct 10
I'm liking this mental image I'm getting of the festively decorated fishtank!
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Oct 10
im thinking maybe soak a few seconds with vinegar then rinse off well. vinegar is a very good cleaner for accumilated scum of all sorts. i would surely try this because its pretty safe for most everything you have. 
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I was wondering about the vinegar. Wasn't sure if it would work but I have that so will give it a try. I don't have any fish in it right now. But I wanted to take it and set it up at church in my Sunday School room for the kids. Thought since I am now in a dark room I would give it a try. Maybe the algae wouldn't be to bad. Thanks for your response.
1 person likes this
@imphavok (320)
• Canada
20 Oct 10
I find using a good scrubby pad with some sea salt on it is a huge help. Sea salt is far coarser than normal salt and does a good job getting off the Scale. Sea salt is also safe for your fish, unlike many cleaners. Good luck! Have a great night!
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
Right now I don't have any fish. I just want to get it cleaned up so I can get some for my Sunday School class. I have it cleaned. Just working on the lid now and used toilet bowl cleaner on that. I can clean it off good and the fish won't be on the lid and it own't be in the water. Thank you for your response.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (72271)
• United States
20 Oct 10
I got that around the top of my fish tank but only where the water wasent touching all the time. As the water evaporated it left a deposit on the glass. I just took something abrasive like a scrubber for dishes and scraped it off. I hated cleaning my fish tanks.
@incredibleDNA (1742)
• Philippines
20 Oct 10
The proper way to clean a fish tank is to use a gravel-vac and gently suck up debris from the bottom until you've removed about 20% of the water. You don't have to remove the fish during this time. You should change 10-20% weekly anyway to keep nitrates and contaminants low. Only replace water with treated water that is very close to the same temperature as the tank. I very rarely "clean" my filter, just rinse it out in the bucket of waste water from the gravel-vac. The *good* bacteria live in the rocks, on the walls, and in the gravel.
If there is algae on the walls of the tank, or even if there is not, you can you scrub/scrape the insides down with *special* tank sponges.
Use only a clean cloth damped with clear water (no soaps or sprays) to wipe down the outside of the tank.
@coarcangelF (54)
• Philippines
20 Oct 10
..oh..just simply clean it,..just use cleaner of your fish tank..then simply do your part..its just simple your just making it worse..just be simple..hehe
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
Hi. You are right I am making this much harder then it really is. Except that I don't want to damage the adhesive that puts the sides to gether and cause a leak. Or have the pressure of the water cause it to break. 30 gallons of water with fish swimming on the floor isn't my idea of fun to clean up. Thank you for your response.
1 person likes this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
I have scrubbed all afternoon to get this off. Thank you for your response.
@Pinkie2011 (64)
• United States
20 Oct 10
It could be algea or whatever fish give off.Have you tried ummmmmmm lets see, algea remover or bam or whatever kind of glass cleaner there is?Thats all i can think of at the moment.Sorry.
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
20 Oct 10
Thanks Pinkie for your response. I wish it was algae. That washed right out. No its like a lime build up. I have had it soaking in the vinegar all afternoon and it is almost all gone so I think whats left I can live with. Right now I am soaking the lid in toilet bowl cleaner. One section of the lid cleaned real easy, now I am working on the back part. Thanks for your responses.
1 person likes this
