What's the best way to remove.....

[dmbfreek]

What's the best and safest way to remove dried algae from an acrylic tank?

My sister-in-law has an acrylic 180 that she needs help cleaning. The thing has some pretty thick algae all over it and it's been sitting dry for about a week.

I tried some white vinegar and water and scrubbed with an acrylic safe aquarium scrubber and it didn't really do much good.

Anyone have any tips that might make this job a lot easier?

Thanks!

 

[Chichas01]

What if you let the vinegar soak in for a while? You could do one side at a time by laying the aquarium on the side you want the clean and then fill up with enough vinegar to just cover the surface evenly. It might take longer but might remove it quicker that elbow grease.

 

[DonW]

Muratic acid and water.

Don

 

[dmbfreek]

Muratic acid and water.

Don

Muriatic acid? Never thought of that, how is it to work with? I know that stuff is pretty dangeruos to handle.

How much water do I use with each part acid?

Thanks for the help by the way.

 

[colleen]

We helped a friend with his acrylic tank and he used the myratic acid full strength in a spray bottle, respraying the coraline every 10 minutes or so for a total of about 1/2 hour to an hour -- depending on how thick the coraline was.

It will eat away at concrete, so if you're working in the driveway like we were make sure you keep it hosed down while you're working.

 

[DonW]

Just fill the tank with water and a gallon of muratic acid with a power head. Go to bed and wake up to a clean tank. MA is only 30% at lowes so not real strong.
Don

 

[dmbfreek]

Well, I laid the thing on its face and poured a gallon of white vinegar in there and let it sit for about an hour and just as stated above the algae came right off with the scrape of a credit card. Thanks for the help guys!