converting old aquarium lime deposit issues

[kulamauiman]

Aloha everyone,
I got my hands on an old 55 gallon aquarium and planning to use as a nice display terrarium. However, was previously used for Rift lake chiclids and has lots of obvious lime deposits. Any good way to remove them? I am trying vinegar and purified water. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Mahalo,
MTF

[Brian Barnes]

Aloha! I would try a little bit of lime removing solution on a rag or paper towel, such as "Lime-Away" or something of that nature, then wash with soap and water, then rinse VERY well with pure water...Lime stains can be pretty tough to remove completely, depending on the thickness of the deposit...
Happy Growing,
Brian.

[stevestewart]

Using a single edged razor blade will help get some of the mineral deposits off of glass as well.
I have used products like the ones previously mentioned by you and Brian, left them on the glass overnight and then used the razor blade to remove the cleaner. Be sure to rinse the glass completely when you are finished.

Lime and Calcium etch glass over time so you may have difficulty getting "new" looking glass.

Take care,
Steven Stewart

[ahortman]

You could also use cool bleach water to clean the tank. Just let the tank dry out (in the sun, if possible) completely after a thorough rinsing. Bleach evaporates with water and doesn't leave any residue like most soaps and detergents. I always used bleach with my fish and reptiles and had no problems.

Those big tanks are a pain to lug around and clean, aren't they? But always good finds.

Angela

[kulamauiman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Put them to use and set the tank up. Started some sundew seeds on the 10th of march and could see some starting to sprout last night. I will try to document the project for my records and if anyone wants to see I can post.

Mahalo,
MTF

[brokken]

Mar 1, 2008 16:52:25 GMT ahortman said:

You could also use cool bleach water to clean the tank. Just let the tank dry out (in the sun, if possible) completely after a thorough rinsing. Bleach evaporates with water and doesn't leave any residue like most soaps and detergents. I always used bleach with my fish and reptiles and had no problems.

Those big tanks are a pain to lug around and clean, aren't they? But always good finds.

Angela

Not sure about Bleach NOT leaving a residue. I believe most bleaches use sodium hypochlorite and though it decomposes over time, it still leaves salt behind:
2 NaOCl -> O2 + 2 NaCl. I'm not saying that it's not a good cleaner for removing lime, but I'd have to dispute the part about not leaving residue.

[kby]

Mar 24, 2008 19:17:56 GMT brokken said:

Mar 1, 2008 16:52:25 GMT ahortman said:

You could also use cool bleach water to clean the tank. Just let the tank dry out (in the sun, if possible) completely after a thorough rinsing. Bleach evaporates with water and doesn't leave any residue like most soaps and detergents. I always used bleach with my fish and reptiles and had no problems.

Those big tanks are a pain to lug around and clean, aren't they? But always good finds.

Angela

I agree, plus most bleaches have soap/detergent in them anyway. I think the vineagar is the best; you can get glacial acetic if you go for the really strong stuff, and warm it (but be careful) lime-away and coffee pot cleaners are fancier organic acids, but I don't think they'll necessarily do much better. HCl (most readily available as pool acid, or Naval Jelly at least as I last remember it) can also work but you need to be even more careful with that (protective clothing, goggles, and the like; should do that with the warm vinegar or glacial acetic too).-kby


Not sure about Bleach NOT leaving a residue. I believe most bleaches use sodium hypochlorite and though it decomposes over time, it still leaves salt behind:
2 NaOCl -> O2 + 2 NaCl. I'm not saying that it's not a good cleaner for removing lime, but I'd have to dispute the part about not leaving residue.

[Randy Zerr]

Cool, a chemistry discussion! Probably too late to throw in my $.02? Lime-a-way is dilute hydrochloric acid, so is toilet bowl cleaner, hydrochloric is the best for dissolving carbonate build up (lime). Vinegar is acetic acid, typically about 3% and will work but is slow. The hydrochloric acid from the pool supply or most hardware stores, usually called "Muriatic Acid" is typically 33% hydrochloric acid and is powerful stuff but it's cheap and goes a long way. Not recommended if you haven't experimented with dilution of acids for household use. Naval Jelly contains phosphoric acid which will not readily dissolve carbonates and is designed for neutralizing rust as it converts thin iron oxide layer to iron phosphate which is insoluble and shields the steel below from further oxidation. I mix about 1 part hydrochloric acid to 9 parts water for lime cleanup along with just a plastic scrubby and a rubber glove, eye protection and ventilation. Bleach is just a solution of calcium or sodium hypochlorite and actually is slightly alkaline and wont readily dissolve lime. More importantly, if a person starts cleaning with bleach and it is not working... A lot of people have done this... never mix an acid of any kind with bleach to "strengthen" it. You will get a chemical reaction resulting in pure chlorine gas that will injure or kill anything around, including plants.
After the Lime-away a good rinsing and air dry and it should be good as hydrochloric acid will completely evaporate.
I wonder if anyone has experimented with acidifying water for growing Utrics, etc.?

[kby]

Apr 29, 2008 5:38:02 GMT Randy Zerr said:

Cool, a chemistry discussion! Probably too late to throw in my $.02? Lime-a-way is dilute hydrochloric acid, so is toilet bowl cleaner, hydrochloric is the best for dissolving carbonate build up (lime). Vinegar is acetic acid, typically about 3% and will work but is slow. The hydrochloric acid from the pool supply or most hardware stores, usually called "Muriatic Acid" is typically 33% hydrochloric acid and is powerful stuff but it's cheap and goes a long way. Not recommended if you haven't experimented with dilution of acids for household use. Naval Jelly contains phosphoric acid which will not readily dissolve carbonates and is designed for neutralizing rust as it converts thin iron oxide layer to iron phosphate which is insoluble and shields the steel below from further oxidation. I mix about 1 part hydrochloric acid to 9 parts water for lime cleanup along with just a plastic scrubby and a rubber glove, eye protection and ventilation. Bleach is just a solution of calcium or sodium hypochlorite and actually is slightly alkaline and wont readily dissolve lime. More importantly, if a person starts cleaning with bleach and it is not working... A lot of people have done this... never mix an acid of any kind with bleach to "strengthen" it. You will get a chemical reaction resulting in pure chlorine gas that will injure or kill anything around, including plants.
After the Lime-away a good rinsing and air dry and it should be good as hydrochloric acid will completely evaporate.
I wonder if anyone has experimented with acidifying water for growing Utrics, etc.?

Stating the composition of lime-a-way i probably OK as it is a particular brand (although compositions can change over time so reading the label is good). "Toilet bowl cleaner" is kinda generic and could mean any one of a number of things; you have to read the label for that. I thought long ago naval jelly was als HCl but I may be remembering that wrong or it could be different now; haven't looked at a bottle for a while.

A lot of coffee pot cleaners are an organic acid similar to acetic, but again you need to read the label.-kby