Vineagar Cleaning

[Fish Ace]

I'm setting up a used 130G main tank and want to clean it. How much vineagar would be good? Once clean what's the best process to insure there is no vinegar residue left?

[thegrun]

Dump a gallon of vinegar into the tank and scrub away (be sure the scrubbing pad is suitable for glass or acrylic, whichever your tank is made of). You can dilute it 50/50 with water, but if there is a lot of built up deposits on the glass, straight vinegar will work better. When you are done, simply spray it down with a hose, wipe it down and let it air dry. If the tank is very dirty, you may need to change the vinegar (it will stop dissolving the encrusted algae when it is spent).

[gtptom]

A good rinse when you are done will take care of most of the residue, the rest shouldn't be a problem when you dillute it with 130 gallons of water.

You'll probably need quite a bit of vinegar as you clean.

[Chiefsurfer]

I used a nice "nylon mesh-covered" soft sponge. My tank was glass. My tank was a FW 55, and it has tons of dried algae and calcium/misc. elements all over it. Took like 4 hours, lots of elbow-grease, but only 1/2 a 1L bottle of vinegar. 2-3 good rinses of water got rid of any evidence of it ever being there. I only knew/deduced this because the water would "bead" down the glass differently with the first rinse when there was tons of vinegar on it. Once the water stopped changing it's beading characteristics, I knew it was all gone. I guess it is designated as a "bug sponge", however I found mine next to the mops in the supermarket.

http://thumb9.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/74564/74564,1201274740,1/stock-photo-a-specialty-bug-sponge-for-washing-cars-8855716.jpg

[spleify]

I like filling the tank up, add a gallon of vinegar and throw a powerhead or two in there and let it sit for a couple of days. Junk wipes right off.

[d3rryc]

+1 to spleify's recommendation.

[NirvanaFan]

You can always put the tank on it's side and use straight vinegar also.

[Phildean]

I use muratic acid with water way fast

[luther1200]

I like filling the tank up, add a gallon of vinegar and throw a powerhead or two in there and let it sit for a couple of days. Junk wipes right off.

Really, on a tank that size 1 gallon is enough? I would have thought it would take a lot. Good to know.

[Laddy]

I like filling the tank up, add a gallon of vinegar and throw a powerhead or two in there and let it sit for a couple of days. Junk wipes right off.

Yep, cleaned a whole lot of tanks this way........too much scrubbing and the wife thinks of more ways to put to use my extra energy :lol:

[Fish Ace]

Thansk for all the advice. Too late to put the tank on it's side, just completed all the plumbing.

[Big Country_IL]

If you can find a way to keep the vinegar/water sitting in it longer (days), the buildup comes out a lot easier as said above. I didn't believe it until I tried it...