Raising fish has become an exciting hobby for many people around the world. In addition to taking care of the fish, cleaning the aquarium is also essential.
However, not everyone knows how to properly clean the aquarium, especially cleaning the stains of calcium deposits, also known as limescale.
This article will give you a complete guide on how to remove limescale from a fish tank. Let’s find out now!
Contents
Why Do Aquariums Often Have Limescale?
We often see white deposits appearing and sticking to the glass in freshwater aquariums, a very normal phenomenon that comes from the evaporation of hard water.
White deposits are called Limescale, which are Calcium Deposits (calcium carbonate reacted with additional ions) that accumulate on the surface of the glass.
In aquariums with mineral-rich water (hard water), it leaves heavier elements attached when the water evaporates in a gaseous state.
Those heavy elements leave ugly white deposits around the tank.
Although these calcium residues are not harmful to the health of the fish, they can be unsightly and uncomfortable for fish watchers.
How To Remove Limescale From A Fish Tank?
Old stains or limescale stains that are difficult to clean by conventional methods such as cleaning. At this time need to use some detergent, such as:
Clean Aquarium Limescale With Lemon And Salt.
You can use a mixture of lemon and salt to remove calcium deposits on glass walls through the three simple steps below.
Step 1: Mix a mixture of salt and lemon solution in a ratio of 2:1.
Step 2: Use a brush or towel to soak up the solution and then rub it hard on the places where there is residue on the glass wall in the bathroom.
Step 3: Use a strong water spray to remove stubborn calcium deposits.
Use Toothpaste
For the limescale on the outside of the aquarium, we can completely clean them with toothpaste combined with a bit of vinegar.
This aquarium calcium descaling method is straightforward.
Step 1: Put a sufficient amount of toothpaste on the location of calcium deposits.
Step 2: Use a warm towel or sponge to wipe the circle until the stain comes off.
Step 3: Use a bit of diluted vinegar to wipe it, then your glass cleaning job has succeeded.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of those versatile ingredients commonly used for bleaching, cleaning, and deodorizing.
Therefore, it is also instrumental in cleaning stained, oxidized, or limescale aquarium glass walls.
Step 1: Mix baking soda with vinegar or lemon in the appropriate ratio.
Step 2: Bring that mixture to apply on dirty, stained glass walls.
Step 3: Use a scrub brush or clean cloth, then rinse thoroughly with water.
Note: In case your aquarium glass wall has not been cleaned for a long time, dense calcium deposits are tough to clean this way.
Clean With Specialized Calcium Descaling Chemicals
There are many chemicals and specialized calcium descaling solutions on the market today.
You can apply these chemicals by using a cloth soaked in detergent to rub the area with limescale. Wait for 8-10 minutes, then rinse with water.
However, during use, you must wear gloves, and goggles, move all the fish out, and remove all the water in the tank.
Because of specialized calcium descaling chemicals’ extreme activity, they are only suitable for glass or ceramic tiles.
Note: Special attention should be paid if the fish in the tank is not moved outside; only use chemical cleaners for the outer glass walls of the aquarium.
Things To Pay Attention To When Moving Fish To Another Place To Remove Limescale
When moving fish to another place, you should not change 100% of the new water but keep about 1/3 of the old water in the tank so that the fish can quickly adapt to a new environment.
In the city, people often use tap water after filtering. But these water sources have a slight chlorine to disinfect.
Before putting it in the aquarium, you should put the water in a bucket for 24 to 48 hours to reduce the chlorine smell.
How To Prevent Calcium Deposits In The Aquarium?
Regularly clean the aquarium, so the moss does not have enough time to form and stick firmly on the lake’s surface.
Use a water filter to remove excess food and minerals from the water. This way, both limit stains on the tank’s walls and provide more oxygen for your fish.
Using chemicals that soften the hard water, neutralize the pH first, and especially these substances must be beneficial to the health of the fish.
The process of removing dissolved magnesium and calcium salts that cause hardness in water is called softening.
To soften it, you can use chemicals such as slaked lime (Ca(OH)2), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)… In particular, sodium chloride (NaCl) is most commonly used to soften hard water.
FAQs
What Is The Best Brand Of Calcium Descaler On The Market?
We recommend the best limescale removal brands according to our rating as Viakal Classic Limescale Remover.
The limescale remover from the Viakal brand is considered one of the top removal products.
Viakal is so powerful that you can clean your aquarium in five minutes. It leaves an anti-lime film to prevent future plaque build-up.
What Is The Best Solution To Remove Limescale?
Using regular lemon juice or vinegar is considered the best solution to remove limescale because lemon and vinegar both contain relatively high levels of acid, which is enough to remove plaque from calcium.
They are chemicals that come from nature, are not harmful to the health of fish, and have a mild fragrance.
Conclusion
Above, we have provided you with basic knowledge about protecting aquarium glass and how to remove limescale from a fish tank.
When cleaning the tank, if you have problems, you should ask for advice from people who have experience in raising professional aquarium fish.
We hope you had a great time enjoying this article!
