Thanks for sharing. I go with the easier way by using a lemon cut in half and rub on the deposits. It clears the hard water stains nicely and cheaper.
First of all I have to state that this is not a product endorsement or advertisement, I just wanted to share something interesting with my fellow AQers, hehe.
I was running my 3ft without a chiller for about 7 months, cooling it with 3x 80mm 12v DC Fans, the evaporation rate was killer, I was topping up about 25 Liters of water every 4 - 5 days.
Over time a serious amount of deposits collected around the top of the tank, I'll show you the horrifying picture.
Before.jpg
Eventually it got so bad I decommed the tank and transferred its occupants into several other smaller tanks.
I managed to find this sponge at a provision store, and I proceeded to attack the problem with diluted white vinegar, it wasn't really working, and it was incredibly tedious.
sponge.jpg
I decided to try something I had around for cleaning my marine tank. A cleaning product called Rowa Ezeclean, its used mainly for removing coralline algae buildup in marine tanks / equipment.
ezeclean.jpg
I believe its an organo-phosphoric acid, and I couldn't find any information on its toxicity online, but I decided to give it a go any way. I've used it many times on my marine tank equipment (not while its in the tank of course) and didn't have issues with it.
Quite amazing how well it worked, I had to remove the hood to clean it properly, but it was cutting through the lime deposits very rapidly, about an hour later.
After.jpg
So yeah I'd say it was pretty effective. I very thoroughly rinsed and cleaned out the tank afterwards, just playing around with some rocks in there for now, but haven't decided when to start cycling it yet, I still need to plumb in my chiller.
I've not seen anyone else try this and the product isn't sold for this purpose either, so try at your own risk, heh
Thanks for sharing. I go with the easier way by using a lemon cut in half and rub on the deposits. It clears the hard water stains nicely and cheaper.
Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing guys. This is what the forum is about.
This thread is getting a sticky.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Thank for sharing, I will be recover a old tank soon, this info come in handy.
silane
Not sure what Rowa Ezeclean is but will it scratch to the glass?
no it won't scratch or damage glass, acrylic or other plastics, I've tried on all surfaces.
Its not an abrasive, but its an organic acid based solvent as far as I've been able to figure.
It comes in dry form, looks like sugar crystals. instructions are to dissolve 12 teaspoons of it in 1 liter of water. Should be able to make at least 6 - 10 liters from one jar, if I recall correctly it was less than $20.
I used less than 200ml to clean the 3 footer for rough estimate, so this stuff goes a long way.
Last edited by bossteck; 27th Nov 2009 at 20:17. Reason: coded pricing
Read on another forum about Melamine Foam which is a piece of foam found at Daiso. The guy was restoring an old tank and it seemed to work quite well.
Suckerfish no eat poo poo.
On a side note, that is the same stuff found in milk powder during the China Milk Powder Scandal. :-p
You can get Melamine Foam at most super markets. I've tried it, but it did not completely remove the tougher water stains and lime deposits.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
I have used vinegar with quite a bit of success. And think its much safer compared to any chemical based solution. The maximum it might do is reduce the ph by a bit (Its basically dilute acetic acid).
any one tried using car wax ?
I don't think they're suitable for use in aquariums. Unless you know for sure, the ingredients in the car wax are fish-safe, don't use it.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Melamine foam is generally regarded as safe to use in a running tank.
Many of the marine tank keepers have discovered this type of foam recently also, especially those using acrylic tanks.
They've been using it for a few months to clean tanks that have calcium deposits and coralline algae growth.
I picked some up at Daiso last weekend, will report back when I've had a chance to use it.
If you've never tried scrubbing coralline algae before, it can be incredibly tough to get out, sometimes even scraping hard with an old credit card won't get all of it off.
They use melamine sponge in these cases, because you cannot use stuff like Ezeclean and vinegar or lemons in a running tank.
I remember reading on some melamine foam packaging that it is not suitable for aquarium use. Was wondering why.
How does the packaging looks like for the Melamine foam
Nicholas
Newbie en el cichlid enano
I recently tried Melamine foam on one of my old tanks, didn't work.
After that, I tried 'pasting' vinegar soaked kitchen towel, didn't work.
But I have to qualify my experience by saying that the tank is only half-filled, and the lime deposits have been left dry for a very very long period.
- eric
If you want to try some Eze-Clean can drop me a PM, If you're in Paya Lebar area, quite close to me, I can give you some to go try on your tank
At Daiso in Vivo city there is an entire rack devoted to displaying Melamine foam, in all shapes and sizes, about 30 different packagings.
But it will state melamine foam on the packs. Also it is bright white and looks like normal sponge in the package.
That's a kind offer, but I think I would need a bottle of my own given my tank's condition.
Cheers mate!
- eric
Melamine foam are best used for acrylic tank.
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any side effects of using melamine foam?
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