cleaning acrylic tank

[rydtime]

A super newbie just got my first salt water tank 60 gallon acrylic 6 mo old. what is the best way to clean the algae/ green stuff off the acrylic, I was told to use a credit card to scrape it off bit don't want to scratchit. any help is greatly appreciated.

[dobejazz]

Credit card will be fine just go slow and keep the edge straight

[bucket brigade]

acrylic is just a sexy name for "plastic"

just remember you are dealing with semi-hard semi-soft plastic that will scratch when anything that has an edge to it "grabs" it

I would just use straight VINEGAR and a soft-cloth. DONT dilute it with any water. Get the 5% acidity vinegar tht comes in 2liters at the grocery store.

COOL THING ABOUT VINEGAR IS THAT IT CLEANS REALLY REALLY REALLY WELL YET IS NON-TOXIC TO YOUR TANK IF ANY RESIDUE IS LEFT BEHIND

hold your nose closed when cleaning with vinegar...cause it will make your eyes water

[dobejazz]

are we talking routine maintenance or cleaning a used tank before starting up?

[rydtime]

it just had fish in it 24 hours ago and am going to start a reef tank with non aggressive fish

[bucket brigade]

Originally Posted by dobejazz

are we talking routine maintenance or cleaning a used tank before starting up?

good eye kelli....

you would never use vinegar on a cloth if the tank is already filled. if you drain the tank, you can clean with vinegar ABOVE THE WATERLINE (but be careful not to dip the vinegar-soaked cloth into the tank)

[bucket brigade]

Originally Posted by rydtime

cleaning a used tank before startup

try vinegar first...and put a little "shoulder" into it by scrubbing back-n-forth. let the vinegar soak in a little at first then scrub.

i bet you'll get 99% of the algae off with vinegar....

[deathmatch782]

I just cleaned up my 120 acrylic that I picked up. Used a credit card, vinegar and lots of elbow grease.
Just go slow and the outcome will be worth it.

[tashier]

Does it matter if it's VISA or Mastercard?