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Hello all! It has been a while! I have not been on in a while. I have been quite busy over the past couple years. I got married, bought a house... etc. Anyway, I am pulling my tanks out of storage finally and I am ready to start them back up again. I need some help though. I ha a 25 gal tank that I am getting ready to set up. I scrubbed the heck out of it earlier because it had algae and crud all over the glass. Fortunately I was able to get most of that off. My problem is that where I was living before had really hard water and glass has a nice layer of calcium crusted on it. I can't seem to get it off the walls of the tank. I tried to see if I could scratch some off with my nail and is wouldn't budge. I do not know what to do to get rid of it because I don't want to put any chemicals in the tank because obviously thats not gonna fair too well for the fish. Suggestions anyone?!? Sorry for being so long winded this time. If anyone wants to see photos of what it looks like let me know. I will upload some if necessary.

Hi,
Perhaps the best way to remove the mineral buildup is to use
vinegar. Vinegar is a weak acid and it will dissolve and/or
soften the buildup.

Lay the tank on its' side and soak some clean rags in the
vinegar and then let them rest on the mineral build up for
a while, say, over night. Then the next day attack it with
a safety blade razor, or a plastic scrubby. When you get
one side clean, move on to the next, and so on.

When done rinse throughly then fill the tank with water and
let stand. Check the pH at the start, then 8-12 hours later
and again after another 8-12 hours. If the tank is throughly
rinsed, then the pH should not drop over time. If it does
then the vinegar is still present and you will either have
to rinse some more of neutralize the acid with some baking
soda.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Oh Frank, You are Wonderful! I am going to go soak some rags in vinegar right now! I don't know why that didn't dawn on me all ready!