CLR removal

bsmiddleton · 07/12/2016, 03:07 PM

New to the forum. I'm working with a 75 gallon FOWLR. I thought I could use CLR bath and kitchen cleaner to remove some serious calcium as I just bought the tank. It says biodegradable and the lady on the phone said its all natural just rinse with water. So I did. Then I tried one fish. It died within hours. I did the google search and the search on here after the fact. Oddly I have read yes and no answers for its use. Regardless, it has already happened. I have some sand and (probably dead) rock in the aquarium.
Is there anything I can use to clean the CLR (Canadian product stands for Calcium Lime Rust) out of the aquarium or do I toss the tank? It has lauramine oxide in it and contains no alcohol, phosphates, ammonia or bleach. Oddly I'm thinking alcohol or bleach to clean the aquarium. Should the sand and rock be tossed as well or is there anything I can do to save any of this?
thanks
Scott

Timfish · 07/12/2016, 06:16 PM

Need a lot more info. What did you use to remove the CLR residue for one. (Citric acid is biodegradable and is pretty safe under normal conditions for humans but it will kill fish unless very very dilute.) What did you do to cycle the aquarium before adding fish? New saltwater is very caustic and adding fish right away without doing anything to establish an ecosystem would certainly kill any fish

Reef Frog · 07/12/2016, 10:39 PM

How old is the tank, how long has it been cycled? CLR should be safe if all residue was removed. Fish die for all kinds of reasons. The death may not and is probably not related unless you left residue.

azjohnny · 07/13/2016, 05:01 AM

To clean calcium all you need is vinegar

bsmiddleton · 07/14/2016, 07:08 AM

Vinegar wasn't cutting it. It looked like the previous owner had never cleaned it. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol then rinsed it out well. I used live sand and rock from my other tank. There was water in it for only a few days so that may have done it I guess but everything tested good on normal tests.
I thought CLR contained surfactants which are basically soaps which would leave a residue. If this is the case, how could I remove them? Is my live rock toast?
thanks

Timfish · 07/14/2016, 07:28 AM

Are your current water parameters still ok? It's quite possible you fish died from the system being too new than from the CLR. So I'd say it's a judgement call on whether to continue as is, do a 100% water change or scrap the sand and rock and start over. Personally, if the water parameters are still ok I would just run a bunch of carbon a few days (make sure it's a quality brand to avoid the HLLE issue with carbon dust) and if water still checks out ok then add something and see how things go.

bsmiddleton · 07/14/2016, 08:48 AM

I dumped the water. The rock is cycling and the sand is only partially wet.

bsmiddleton · 07/14/2016, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timfish

Are your current water parameters still ok? It's quite possible you fish died from the system being too new than from the CLR. So I'd say it's a judgement call on whether to continue as is, do a 100% water change or scrap the sand and rock and start over. Personally, if the water parameters are still ok I would just run a bunch of carbon a few days (make sure it's a quality brand to avoid the HLLE issue with carbon dust) and if water still checks out ok then add something and see how things go.

What is "HLLE"?

azjohnny · 07/14/2016, 01:43 PM

Head and Lateral Line Erosion

07/12/2016, 03:07 PM	#1
bsmiddleton Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 14	CLR removal New to the forum. I'm working with a 75 gallon FOWLR. I thought I could use CLR bath and kitchen cleaner to remove some serious calcium as I just bought the tank. It says biodegradable and the lady on the phone said its all natural just rinse with water. So I did. Then I tried one fish. It died within hours. I did the google search and the search on here after the fact. Oddly I have read yes and no answers for its use. Regardless, it has already happened. I have some sand and (probably dead) rock in the aquarium. Is there anything I can use to clean the CLR (Canadian product stands for Calcium Lime Rust) out of the aquarium or do I toss the tank? It has lauramine oxide in it and contains no alcohol, phosphates, ammonia or bleach. Oddly I'm thinking alcohol or bleach to clean the aquarium. Should the sand and rock be tossed as well or is there anything I can do to save any of this? thanks Scott

07/12/2016, 06:16 PM	#2
Timfish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,985	Need a lot more info. What did you use to remove the CLR residue for one. (Citric acid is biodegradable and is pretty safe under normal conditions for humans but it will kill fish unless very very dilute.) What did you do to cycle the aquarium before adding fish? New saltwater is very caustic and adding fish right away without doing anything to establish an ecosystem would certainly kill any fish __________________ "Our crystal clear aquaria come nowhere close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs" Charles Delbeek

07/14/2016, 07:28 AM	#6
Timfish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,985	Are your current water parameters still ok? It's quite possible you fish died from the system being too new than from the CLR. So I'd say it's a judgement call on whether to continue as is, do a 100% water change or scrap the sand and rock and start over. Personally, if the water parameters are still ok I would just run a bunch of carbon a few days (make sure it's a quality brand to avoid the HLLE issue with carbon dust) and if water still checks out ok then add something and see how things go. __________________ "Our crystal clear aquaria come nowhere close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs" Charles Delbeek

07/12/2016, 10:39 PM	#3
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	How old is the tank, how long has it been cycled? CLR should be safe if all residue was removed. Fish die for all kinds of reasons. The death may not and is probably not related unless you left residue.

07/13/2016, 05:01 AM	#4
azjohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Gold Canyon Posts: 2,914	To clean calcium all you need is vinegar

07/14/2016, 07:08 AM	#5
bsmiddleton Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 14	Vinegar wasn't cutting it. It looked like the previous owner had never cleaned it. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol then rinsed it out well. I used live sand and rock from my other tank. There was water in it for only a few days so that may have done it I guess but everything tested good on normal tests. I thought CLR contained surfactants which are basically soaps which would leave a residue. If this is the case, how could I remove them? Is my live rock toast? thanks

07/14/2016, 08:48 AM	#7
bsmiddleton Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 14	I dumped the water. The rock is cycling and the sand is only partially wet.

07/14/2016, 01:43 PM	#9
azjohnny Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Gold Canyon Posts: 2,914	Head and Lateral Line Erosion