# Refurbishing and Cleaning a Tank



## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

Hey everyone,

I recently got a 10 gallon equipped with 150 watt heater, hood and light fixture for $20 off Kijiji. I expected the worst of course, but it's not so bad after all. There's a small crack near the rim which doesn't seem to affect the integrity of the tank, and nothing is covering the lights; there is also a bit of rust around the lights. 

I'd like some advice on cleaning it out, could I get a glass canopy to prevent rusting on the light? Is it safe to clean the tank out with bleach?

The heater is in working order, and despite some rust, the hood still lights up.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

You can use bleach, but that heater is too big for that size of tank.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

You can get hard water deposits off with vinegar. Wet a piece of paper towel with vinegar and stick it to the thicker deposits.

As for the crack near the top -- does it go from an edge to another edge? If not, it isn't stable and could suddenly propagate across the whole pane. Glomming silicone on it won't help, but you can stabilize it by siliconing a piece of glass over the area the crack is in.

A glass cover is a good thing. Otherwise the metal will continue to rust.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Well said bae.


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## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

Okay, The crack is from edge to edge. I am not sure if I'm even going to use the glass part of this tank yet, as it is a bit on the sketchy side, but I need to fix the hood up a bit for sure. I'm going to clean with vinegar though, seems safer. I'll rinse it out well after.

Thanks for the warning and advice. 

Also, about the 150 watt, I'm looking to trade it in. It works well, but it uses too much electricity and is too big for me to keep.


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## bumbleboo (Jun 6, 2010)

Another thing that works for hard water stain is lemon juice.  I don't know if that's safer/less safe than vinegar though!

Good luck with refurbishing your tank.


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## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

Thanks Bumble, I guess this can be my little summer project.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Sagittarius-Aquarius said:


> Also, about the 150 watt, I'm looking to trade it in. It works well, but it uses too much electricity and is too big for me to keep.


The 150 watt won't use more power than a lower wattage -- it will just be on for a shorter time. The problem with a heater that's high wattage for the tank is that if it sticks in the 'on' position, it will more rapidly overheat the tank. Also, it will go on and off a lot more, which may possibly make it more likely to stick. Just hang on to it -- you may want to use it on a future larger tank -- and keep your eyes open for a cheap used 50 watt, or even a 25 watt, if your house is kept warm in winter.


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