easiest way to clean acrylic tank

[peonleon2]

i recently bought a 100 gallon tank and im doing some work to the stand and canopy and i want to clean the acrylic tank to almost new, does anyone have any suggestiuons? as of right now all i did was use paper towels but would like to get alor of the other more stuck on stuff off.
thnaks.

 

[DonW]

Muratic acid then buff out all the scratches the paper towel put in it.

Don

 

[Brenden]

What is on it? If CA buildup use dilluted vinegar . (keep it wet)

 

[peonleon2]

there is like coraline algae and just some other stuck on stuff. i can get it off with my fingernail if i try hard enugh. i just thought there would be something easyer and not a poisionious chemical to use insde the tank

 

[jsmkmavity]

if you get ome paper towels wet with vinegar and plaster them on the walls of the tank is will disolve and clean very easily in a half hour or so.

 

[wrightme43]

Paper is not the wisest way in my opinion.
It ruins acrylic motorcycle shield, acrylic tanks. Try a microfiber cloth.
If its empty use vinager.
Mequiers aircraft grade plastic windshield cleaner and scratch remover works for small scratches. Lifegaurds scratch removal kit works for ................ Scratches. LOL
www.marinedepot.com
and www.chiefaircraft.com

 

[peonleon2]

so i tryed to use vinager and by the looks of it this will take me a long time get almost new looking.
any other suggestions?

 

[Sherman]

Seriously, muriatic acid. I use it ALL THE TIME. $7 for 2g at Home Depot, in the swimming pool area. Dilute it 10 parts water to 1 part MA. Use rubber gloves in a ventilated area. It'll make QUICK work of the coralline.

 

[Brenden]

There really is no easy way. If you do not like the vinegar approach you could fill the tank with water and use something like this to scrape it.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc..._Code=KENT-PROSCS&Category_Code=Algaecleaners

 

[DonW]

Seriously, muriatic acid. I use it ALL THE TIME. $7 for 2g at Home Depot, in the swimming pool area. Dilute it 10 parts water to 1 part MA. Use rubber gloves in a ventilated area. It'll make QUICK work of the coralline.

Yup, I wasnt joking. I will clean it up in minutes rather than days. Remember acid goes in water, water does not go in acid.

Don

 

[Brenden]

Any special instruction on removal? Want to make sure muriatic acid does stick around and harm livestock later.

 

[peonleon2]

ill go to home depot tomorrow after work and pick some up and some rubber gloves. but i live in seattle so i hope they have it, since there isnt that many pools around seattle`

 

[DonW]

ill go to home depot tomorrow after work and pick some up and some rubber gloves. but i live in seattle so i hope they have it, since there isnt that many pools around seattle`

Try the paint section.

Don

 

[btuck]

I used Mother's Mag cleaner in combination with a cloth and hand sander to get the scratches out of my acrylic tank. Worked like a charm.

 

[Sherman]

Any special instruction on removal? Want to make sure muriatic acid does stick around and harm livestock later.

I run my powerheads in a bucket filled with 4:1 (water:MA) solution every now and then. I keep them in there for just a couple minutes, and all the coralline wipes off like nothing at all. They look brand new again, just like NIB. Afterward, I rinse the powerheads under the kitchen faucet for a minute to rinse them off, then fill the sink with water, and run the powerhead in there for a few minutes. It would probably be a good idea to run them in some RO/DI afterward, but I never do, 'cause I'm lazy. So after the sink run, they're back in the tank for me.

I do this same thing with the Kent float valve that holds back my kalk topoff, as well. The kalk buildup sizzles off in a matter of seconds, then I run it over to the sink and rinse it off and scrub it all with a wash cloth.

On the occasion I clean my HOB skimmer (AquaC Remora), I set the skimmer on the edge of the bucket of acid, and drop the feed pump down into the solution. Because of all the nooks and crannies in this skimmer, I make sure and rinse it out especially well, though.

Muriatic acid is one of those things I keep as "standard stock" all the time now.

 

[DonW]

Baking soda is a neutralzer. Always good to have on hand when playing with acid even if its just 30%.

Don

 

[Sherman]

Oh, Don! You're taking away all the fun!!

I feel like I'm at work (construction)....

"Safety First!"
"Your kids expect you home at the end of each day, and so do we!"
"Safety is no accident"

Ha! Safety is BORING!!




Ok, fine. Good point, Don.

 

[Brenden]

Hey Sherman, Do you still have all your fingers?

 

[Sherman]

Yes, but I'm only showing you one of them. LOL!

 

[Brenden]

Hey Thanks for the compliment. I think you are number one too.