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Unread 06/25/2011, 11:11 AM   #1
tinyfish
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White haze bonded to glass - how to remove?

I have had this used tank for years and never bothered to clean it up until recently. It has been used as a saltwater tank. There is a white haze above the sand line to the water line, pretty evenly dispersed.

I tried using Calcium Lime Rust Remover and a razor blade, that did nothing.

I tried using Muriatic Acid from the bottle, that did nothing.

The haze remains visible when underwater and seriously degrades the visual encounter.

Can this be fixed or do I toss the aquarium?


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Unread 06/25/2011, 12:09 PM   #2
HighlandReefer
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Sounds like a calcium carbonate film, perhaps glass etching. If calcium carbonate then soaking for a longer period of time in 1 to 10 muriatic acid to rodi water will help. If etched, then nothing will help.


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Unread 06/26/2011, 12:13 AM   #3
Percula9
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Toss it in the garbage.


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Unread 06/26/2011, 04:55 PM   #4
bertoni
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I'm afraid that Percula9 is correct, but you could try the muriatic acid.


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Unread 06/27/2011, 04:57 AM   #5
KSzegi
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If you want to try one more thing before ditching the tank ..... I would suggest cerium oxide. I purchased a used tank that had a terrible film on it thinking it would clean up with vinegar ...... it didn't. Nothing I tried could cut through the film at all - including muratic acid. Someone here on RC had told me to try cerium oxide before I gave up ...... and it worked.

It's a lot of time and elbow grease ..... and it didn't get a couple areas 100%, but thankfully you don't notice them when filled ...... really couldn't afford to throw this tank away!

Picture shows the film after trying tons of other products and then the "test" spots using the cerium oxide .....

Good luck!



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Unread 06/29/2011, 09:08 AM   #6
tinyfish
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I would be willing to try the cerium oxide. What kind of product is it? Where do I purchase it?


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Unread 06/29/2011, 11:26 AM   #7
KSzegi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tinyfish View Post
I would be willing to try the cerium oxide. What kind of product is it? Where do I purchase it?
What I used was "Diamond Fast Cerium Oxide Glass Polishing Compound". Get the powder and mix yourself .... I also tried the pre-mixed solution and it didn't work quite as well.

It is an element that they use for polishing/refinishing/repairing glass ..... think a lot of it used for windshields and headlights etc.

You might be able to find some at an auto-body shop but I ordered it on-line from GTGlass.com .... used the 1 micron and less.

Took me over the 1 lb container but that was for a 300 gallon dd tank .....

Good Luck!


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Unread 06/29/2011, 11:40 AM   #8
bobpiker
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Someone suggested to me to try a scotchbrite pad because it was "softer" than the glass and wouldn't scratch. According to them, it's hardness scale was less than the hardness of glass. I should have done more research because it scratched the glass where I tried it out. Fortunately, my haze became invisilble with water inside but those few scratches will always bug me. The cerium sounds like a ideal solution, but definitely stay away from scotchbrite.
Bob


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Unread 05/31/2012, 07:15 AM   #9
tinyfish
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Although the Cerium Oxide does indeed work, the labor needed to even get one spot done is more than I can now do. Maybe if I was younger and stronger.

I just wanted to put this final post in case someone else was looking into this. I tried various other compounds including rubbing compound for cars, polishing compound, muratic acid at 100% for several hours.

Only the Cerium Oxide and a lot of labor would remove this film.


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Unread 05/31/2012, 04:13 PM   #10
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000 steel wool and vinegar. If that doesn't take it off nothing will and it won't scratch the glass.


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Unread 06/01/2012, 11:37 AM   #11
naterealbig
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I have seen this in small patches on previous tank. Wat causes this?


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Unread 04/22/2015, 02:27 PM   #12
daniellemanuel
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I have a 135 that is currently in use. Sides are as clear as can be. The front has a haze that makes the tank look horrible. You can see lines where snails have been etc, so it's not permanent, just a film. Razor blades aren't working. Anything that I can do that is reef safe?


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Unread 04/22/2015, 03:26 PM   #13
bertoni
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If you could lower the water level a bit, I'd suggest trying a bit of vinegar. That at least might tell us what the white haze is.


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Unread 04/22/2015, 07:33 PM   #14
reef bloke
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The haze may not be calcium carbonate, when glass is produced it floats on a bed of tin. When the glass is finished it will have a tin side and air side. For applications such as aquaria and large office buildings the tin side should face out away from the environment. Many tank builders do not realise this and the tin becomes etched and eroded over time due to water chemistry. You can try and polish the glass to remove the tin layer. The sheet glass can be identified after manufacture by using a UV light end on , the tin side will emit a green glow allowing the glass to be orientated the correct way around at build.


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Unread 04/22/2015, 10:06 PM   #15
bertoni
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That's very interesting. I didn't know there was a residual layer of tin on glass.


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Unread 04/23/2015, 09:44 AM   #16
Rybren
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I wonder if this might account for the elevated tin levels that some folks are seeing with the Triton tests.


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Unread 04/23/2015, 02:46 PM   #17
bertoni
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Maybe. Tin would corrode over time.


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Unread 04/23/2015, 07:04 PM   #18
reef bloke
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This is what instigated me to investigate . I had high ICP tin and patchy/etched glass on a two year old aquarium.

Very few aquarium manufacturers know that glass has an air and tin side. My query was confirmed by Schott glass Germany as I have a good friend with a contact there. Now if we really want to avoid the tin issue it would mean installing acrylic sump baffles and covering the tin side of weirs, not an easy task especially when most aquarium manufactures would laugh at the request in ignorance.


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Unread 07/06/2018, 10:54 AM   #19
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Reef bloke - You are spot on regarding the tin and air side. I spoke to glass expert and he told me the issues I was seeing on my 6 month old tank was caused by this. Its incredibly frustrating to see main viewing panel hazing in as little as 4 months. My tank is now 12 months and the hazing has not gotten worst and the tank manufacture did not even respond to my emails,

Since I Plan on moving in 1-2 months now is the time to plan for cleaning this tin side. Has anyone used cerium oxide successfully to remove the tin layer?


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Unread 07/06/2018, 11:27 PM   #20
bertoni
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I haven't heard of anyone doing that, but it might work. Is the tank taken down? I might try some full-strength vinegar, since that's easy to do. I have no idea how it might work on tin, though.


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