few tank problems, need some help

[cichlidchic]

problem # 1:

my 80 gallon has a film on the glass, that a mag-float, an algae scrubber, and a razor blade have been unsuccessful in removing. it seriously looks like either salt or calcium. what can i saftely do to remove it?

Problem # 2:

My 140 has some very superficial scratches that tend to refract light when all my lights are on, and they bug me (completely cosmetic, but i'm type a lol). how can i fill them in and get rid of them?

Problem #3

no mater how many water changes, gravel vaccuumings, etc i perform on my 140, the water is always cloudy. not drastically cloudy, but just enough to bug ya. my levels are normal, ie ph 8.0, NA 40, NI 0, ammonia 0-.25, i have africans there, and alot of plants. i'm running 2 75gallon rated marineland penguine biowheel filters, and temp is at 78-81.

[Darbex]

Problem 3 I would suggest IMO using some of the chemicals that bind to the particles and throwing a mag filter in there. When my discus tank gets silt floating I throw the filter over my intake for my eheim and by the next day clear again.

[cichlidchic]

whats a mag filter? sry, i'm working on getting all the lingo down. any chemical you recommend?

[cichlid1409]

problem 1 : empty tank and clean with vinegar.

[cichlidchic]

:( bummer...it's 80 gallons....and i just filled it last weekend and noticed the problem...i was afraid of that...

what about the sand in the bottom of it?

[mgarrido]

problem 1 : empty tank and clean with vinegar.

+1

[cichlidchic]

will i have to remove the sand too? or can i just cover it? its full of sand and crushed coral

[cichlid1409]

you want to be able to rinse out all the vinegar in the tank afterward so i would say take out the sand.

[mgarrido]

will i have to remove the sand too? or can i just cover it? its full of sand and crushed coral

Remove everything, fill with water and add a gal of red vineger, lets sit for a nigth and then use a razor to remove all the calcium. I'm sure that you cannot believe the results .

[cichlidchic]

posing next problem, how do i remove all that sand? and for that much, how do i clean the sand when i clean my tank? (like on a weekly basis?)


and what do i do with all the fish for the night?

[Zulaab]

problem # 1:

my 80 gallon has a film on the glass, that a mag-float, an algae scrubber, and a razor blade have been unsuccessful in removing. it seriously looks like either salt or calcium. what can i saftely do to remove it?

This is actually calcium buildup, hard to remove unless you use something like CLR or vinegar.

Problem # 2:

My 140 has some very superficial scratches that tend to refract light when all my lights are on, and they bug me (completely cosmetic, but i'm type a lol). how can i fill them in and get rid of them?

Is it on the inside or the outside of the tank ? -- I dont know if glass filler can be used to fill it in ? and I dont know if that stuff is dangerous for fish. This would be same stuff you would use to repair a small chip in your car's windshield.

Problem #3

no mater how many water changes, gravel vaccuumings, etc i perform on my 140, the water is always cloudy. not drastically cloudy, but just enough to bug ya. my levels are normal, ie ph 8.0, NA 40, NI 0, ammonia 0-.25, i have africans there, and alot of plants. i'm running 2 75gallon rated marineland penguine biowheel filters, and temp is at 78-81.

In complete honesty with you, your filtration is NOT good enough. With 2x 75g HOB you are getting good enough filtration to filter a planted tank with SMALL fish in it that barely eat anything. In this case you have african cichlids that needs TONS of O2, because of their high ammonia (waste) they create, and also need water movement which you are not offering the tank very much of. If you have the space I would add a wet/dry to your system and you would almost instantly see a massive change in your fish's behaviour and in how clean your tank will look like.

I hope this helps

[cichlid1409]

never go by the rated 75g they give on the box .... go by GPH.

[cichlidchic]

i was leaning towards a wet/dry, just need to find one cheap. and I'll just try to figure out where to put the fish for the night while it sits. how long should i leave the vinegar in it? hrs wise...

scratches are inside the tank. someone mentioned buffing them out, but i dind't know if I"d have to drain the whole thing for that.

[Zulaab]

posing next problem, how do i remove all that sand? and for that much, how do i clean the sand when i clean my tank? (like on a weekly basis?)


and what do i do with all the fish for the night?

I use a squigy to bring all the sand to a glass pane and bring the sand out of the tank that way. I use a catching (they use them at the stores to put the fish in when they catch fish) to get 99% of the sand out

I would use a 20g bucket from walmart and put your filters inside (over the side) during the stay outside the tank

[cichlidchic]

for the 140, how many gph's should i be filtering for? im saving up for a wetdry currently.