What is a good way to clean calcium/lime from an aquarium?
By jillmalitz
@jillmalitz (5131)
United States
July 11, 2008 9:28am CST
My husband just bought a used 55 gallon aquarium. Why he wanted one that big is beyond me. But I do enjoy our little one and it would be nice to have a bigger one so we can have more fish. The problem with the one he just bought is that I guess the previous owners did not take very good care of it. There is a lot of calcium or lime deposits all over the parts of it. Some is on the glass but most is on the plastic parts like the pumps and the tops and the edges. I have tried dish soap, glass cleaner and clorox cleaner. I have rubbed and tried to scrape this stuff off . When it is wet it looks like it is gone but as soon as it drys it looks like nothing was done. Is there anything that will clean this gunk off?
2 responses
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
27 Feb 09
I realize that this is late but you should NEVER NEVER use soap in an aquarium where you wish to keep ;your fish alive. It will get in their gills and suffocate them. A good way to get rid of calcium deposits (when the tank is empty ) is to use vinegar and baking soda. You can either put vinegar on a clean paper towel and let it set on the mineral deposits for a while and then use baking soda in another paper towel to use like an abrasive. You night have to let the vinegar soak for a few hours or longer. Or you can use chlorine bleach (make sure that it is pure bleach with out additives) and let it soak for a while, try to not let it get on the silicon too much. After wards rinse the tank out completely and when filling the tank make sure to put in enough anti chlorine to completely get rid of the chlorine or at least let it evaporate for a few days.
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
27 Feb 09
Thanks for your suggestions. Ultimately what you suggested is what I did. What I didn't like was the "elbowwork" I had to do on this second hand tank. Oh well, that is what I get for trying to help out the husband. Thanks for your response.
@piasabird (1737)
• United States
11 Jul 08
I would try something called CLR or another product named Limeaway.
Good luck!
@bmorehouse1 (1028)
• United States
11 Jul 08
I agree, CLR or Limeaway are both good products to try. We used to have a large aquarium and I had to clean it now and then. After emptying the aquarium I used the Limeaway on the glass. I never tried it on any of the plastic parts. You have to make sure that you get it all rinsed off, so that when you fill the aqaurium back up, there is no residue in the water that could kill the fish! Good luck!
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
11 Jul 08
Thanks. I was thinking of those two products. I wondered if they would do the trick. I sure dont want to spend hours trying to clean it like I did yesterday. We are going to take our time with it cause I need to clean the whole thing including all the tubes and filters and pumps. We won't be putting any fish in it until we can get it all cleaned up and safe to put the fish in.
