Tank cleaning

matiLanza · 03/18/2012, 11:57 PM

Hey everyone just need some quick knowledge, tanks ready to be moved to It's new home but it has been sitting at my mechanic shop in the office but it has dust and I'm scared maybe a little grease film.. What can I feel the tank with and all the pluming to clean it ? Vinegar and what ratio..anything cheaper becaus it's a 72g plus a 20g sump

Ron Reefman · 03/19/2012, 01:46 AM

You can get a large bottle of vinegar at a wholesale store pretty cheap. And you aren't going to fill the tank, just put some in and take a clean rag or sponge and use it to wash or wipe down the aquarium. Don't make a huge deal out of it. Just don't use soap, and if you do, wash it again with vinegar and rinse it off completely.

.OptimusPrime. · 03/19/2012, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

You can get a large bottle of vinegar at a wholesale store pretty cheap. And you aren't going to fill the tank, just put some in and take a clean rag or sponge and use it to wash or wipe down the aquarium. Don't make a huge deal out of it. Just don't use soap, and if you do, wash it again with vinegar and rinse it off completely.

+1 on what Ron said. Cleaned my tank with vinegar and water. Let it soak overnight then razor bladed anything that was caked on the glass. Came off pretty easy.

matiLanza · 03/19/2012, 03:18 PM

yeah but to soak such a large tank is hard, ill need at leas 10 gallons, i was thinking of filling it and running the whole system with vinegar water or muratic acid anyone ? lol overnight or so

Icedtc · 03/19/2012, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matiLanza

yeah but to soak such a large tank is hard, ill need at leas 10 gallons, i was thinking of filling it and running the whole system with vinegar water or muratic acid anyone ? lol overnight or so

Might be overkill. I got a 92 gallon that was in rough shape too. I used about half a gallon of vinegar and scrubbed with a light brush and rags. Just take your time with it but I don't think you'll need 10 gallons of vinegar. Just get 1 or 2 and it's dirt cheap. Like 2 bucks a gallon.

philosophile · 03/19/2012, 03:25 PM

Like the first reply said, just rinse down, no need to soak. If you have motor grease on it though.... you might want to use a soapy rinse first, before the vinegar wipe down.

Peter T · 03/19/2012, 03:32 PM

I think you can get by as stated above by others. Just use a clean rag or sponge liberally soaked with vinegar and wipe your tank down. Any hard build-up will come off pretty easily if you let the vinegar sit and soak for a few minutes and come back and apply some pressure with your rag/sponge.

If you really want to go the route of filling your system with vinegar, you will end up spending way more time and energy to fill the tank and emptying it. Plus you will still most likely end up having to scrub areas with lots of build up with a sponge or rag.

However, I do run pumps and powerheads with a vinegar solution on a small scale to clean my pumps and powerheads bi-annually. I use a 5 gallon bucket with 50/50 solution of vinegar and RO/DI water.

matiLanza · 03/20/2012, 10:55 AM

Thanks everyone for the help, i got all the build up off before storage so thats not a problem i guess just a good rinse and wipe down will get the dirty off.

Browserz · 03/20/2012, 11:52 AM

I just used pure vinegar and rinsed with water afterwards. spray bottle and a clean microfiber

very cheap to clean old tanks

Meshmez · 03/20/2012, 12:01 PM

even if you wanted to fill the tank with a diluted solution it wouldnt be that expensive. White Vinegar is around $1-2/Gallon at the supermarket... your quote of 10 gallons would only run you $10-20, though they might look at you kinda funny... But i agree, you should be able to just use a little and wipe it down then rinse the tanks out completely.

Exotic Reef. · 03/20/2012, 01:31 PM

And if you don't is it possible that your tank water turn gray????????

03/18/2012, 11:57 PM	#1
matiLanza Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: miami Posts: 218	Tank cleaning Hey everyone just need some quick knowledge, tanks ready to be moved to It's new home but it has been sitting at my mechanic shop in the office but it has dust and I'm scared maybe a little grease film.. What can I feel the tank with and all the pluming to clean it ? Vinegar and what ratio..anything cheaper becaus it's a 72g plus a 20g sump

03/19/2012, 01:46 AM	#2
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	You can get a large bottle of vinegar at a wholesale store pretty cheap. And you aren't going to fill the tank, just put some in and take a clean rag or sponge and use it to wash or wipe down the aquarium. Don't make a huge deal out of it. Just don't use soap, and if you do, wash it again with vinegar and rinse it off completely. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

03/19/2012, 03:25 PM	#6
philosophile Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,149	Like the first reply said, just rinse down, no need to soak. If you have motor grease on it though.... you might want to use a soapy rinse first, before the vinegar wipe down. __________________ 90 gallon mixed reef XPS1000SSS skimmer, 2 radions gen 1, tunze osmolator w/ kalk dispenser, 70 lbs pukani, mp40w x2; 1 tomini, 1 clown 2 mandarins. Vinegar dosing, and micro bubble scrubbing.

03/19/2012, 03:32 PM	#7
Peter T Gallantly Forward Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 563	I think you can get by as stated above by others. Just use a clean rag or sponge liberally soaked with vinegar and wipe your tank down. Any hard build-up will come off pretty easily if you let the vinegar sit and soak for a few minutes and come back and apply some pressure with your rag/sponge. If you really want to go the route of filling your system with vinegar, you will end up spending way more time and energy to fill the tank and emptying it. Plus you will still most likely end up having to scrub areas with lots of build up with a sponge or rag. However, I do run pumps and powerheads with a vinegar solution on a small scale to clean my pumps and powerheads bi-annually. I use a 5 gallon bucket with 50/50 solution of vinegar and RO/DI water. __________________ Foolproof systems do not take into account the ingenuity of fools - Gene Brown Current Tank Info: 24g Nano reef tank, 40b reef tank. Both fully stocked reef tank housing stomatopods (mantis shrimp)

03/19/2012, 03:18 PM	#4
matiLanza Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: miami Posts: 218	yeah but to soak such a large tank is hard, ill need at leas 10 gallons, i was thinking of filling it and running the whole system with vinegar water or muratic acid anyone ? lol overnight or so

03/20/2012, 10:55 AM	#8
matiLanza Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: miami Posts: 218	Thanks everyone for the help, i got all the build up off before storage so thats not a problem i guess just a good rinse and wipe down will get the dirty off.

03/20/2012, 11:52 AM	#9
Browserz Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 88	I just used pure vinegar and rinsed with water afterwards. spray bottle and a clean microfiber very cheap to clean old tanks

03/20/2012, 12:01 PM	#10
Meshmez Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,030	even if you wanted to fill the tank with a diluted solution it wouldnt be that expensive. White Vinegar is around $1-2/Gallon at the supermarket... your quote of 10 gallons would only run you $10-20, though they might look at you kinda funny... But i agree, you should be able to just use a little and wipe it down then rinse the tanks out completely.

03/20/2012, 01:31 PM	#11
Exotic Reef. Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NEW YORK Posts: 119	And if you don't is it possible that your tank water turn gray????????