lime scale

[CRUSHER]

ok... how in the heck are ya supposed to get that white crusty stuff off... I tried vinegar... soaked the areas with vinegar soaked paper towels for an hour or more... still nasty... glass all rough and pasty looking... is there a place to buy 20 % acidic vinegar? most stores only sell 5%...

[eklikewhoa]

CLR for bath tubs, just make sure you soak it good afterwards

[rmalford]

I've heard CLR works great.

[HERM]

You should try C.L.R ....LOL !

[afremont]

I got a 20 from craig's list and it had allot of scale. I layed paper towels on the glass and soaked them with white vinegar. Also used a razor blade to scrape the high spots down. I even used CLR on it and I still couldn't get all traces of the scale off. I did get enough off that the water hides the remaining deposits once they are wet.

[CRUSHER]

I got a 20 from craig's list and it had allot of scale. I layed paper towels on the glass and soaked them with white vinegar. Also used a razor blade to scrape the high spots down. I even used CLR on it and I still couldn't get all traces of the scale off. I did get enough off that the water hides the remaining deposits once they are wet.

ya think a wire brush on a power drill would get that crap off?... i know acid will do it, just need some stronger than the 5% acidic vinegar they sell in grocery stores....

[CRUSHER]

ok, I've researched CLR and it is biodegradeable and water renders it inert... so... looks like I will risk it and use some CLR... still iffy about it, but i'll rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse one last time lol

[afremont]

ya think a wire brush on a power drill would get that crap off?... i know acid will do it, just need some stronger than the 5% acidic vinegar they sell in grocery stores....

That might take it off, but it will surely scratch the heck out of the tank glass. Be careful with a razor blade as it is hard enough to scratch the glass. Keep it as flat as possible to keep the corners of the blade from digging in and keep clear of the silicone.

A while back, I did a bunch of reading about CLR and there were two schools of thought on it. There were folks that insisted that it would permanently poison the tank and then there were the folks that actually had used it and not had any problems. CLR doesn't appear to contain any detergents just mild acids. Just rinse and rinse and rinse and.....

You might try using lemon juice (citric acid) as it is stronger than vinegar (acetic acid).

[CRUSHER]

update... i used the CLR. it worked ok, but didn't remove all that i wanted removed. rinsed repeatedly and am using the tank with no issues!
so moral of the story is: CLR is good to go... just make sure ya rinse it real good and if your still not sure you can always pour milk in to neutralize the acid and then rinse a few times afterwards.

[CRUSHER]

Just bought a 135 gal used and will be using CLR on the hardwater stains... but it has some stains that seem to be inside the glass... can't scrape it off from outside nor from inside... plus that tank is heavy as hell so will be cleaning it in the house on the carpet where it lays and use my wet vac to suck up the waste water after cleaning and multiple rinses.

[Totenkampf]

you can get muriatic acid (vinegar is diluted from this) from a pool supply store (pH down) but it is way too strong to use inside. glass cannot be poisened by CLR, but it might get under the sealant. like you said, use a strong base to neutralize, i never thought of milk but thats a good idea. i use baking soda to make a watery paste

[CRUSHER]

Baking Soda and water sounds good too!

[R_sustaita]

CLR can not be to poison us. as we use it to clean coffee pots and other things that get strong stains.