# Oh No!!



## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

So I went away for a few days and my wife was on fish duty basically just feeding and making sure all was okay...She decided to clean it for me...Well kind of. 
I have an All glass aquarium and hard water. And on my glass top where the light sits is baked on hard water stains (im assuming) and she decided she was going to try and get them off for me. Ive been fighting with it for a while. 

Well anyways she used CLR and cleaned it but says she rinsed it off really good but for some reason over the past 3 or 4 days my fish have been dying. Im losing about a fish a day. And so far its been my old big guys. My Kennyi, then my livingstonii, electric yellows (2) and i think another is on its way out. 
Is there anything specific i should do to help stop the fish dying insanity...Ive been doing water changes for the past 2 days. Put in a thing of 'Biomax' media in one of my filters....I did a water quality check for standard stuff but it all reads somewhat respectably.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Run carbon - it will help to remove a lot of the chemicals in your water. Also do WCs. Keep the lights off to reduce stress, and increase aeration to the tank.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Yup, carbon, large WC's and put a few extra doses of seachem prime or whatever you use in.

I'd also take off the lid and give it a really good rinse (without CLR).


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

thanks guys. Ya thats the first thing i thought of was water changes and lots of them. Theres really no such thing as too much WC's is there? I have 2 filters in my tank (a aquaclear HOB and a Marineland Biowheel) So i think i have plenty of biological filtration to sustain the WC's. 
Ive read somewhere that your old carbon can leech chemicals back into the water. Is this true to some extent?

Also last question for ya. The top glass didnt really come clean. Is there any ideas on what to try and use to clean it up? LOL thats not CLR. Of course no matter what it is there will be a 3 step rinsing cycle to make sure it is all gone. 

Once again thanks guys


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Sorry to hear about your fish! That's awful.

It won't perfect, but it might help: take a cloth soaked in ordinary vinegar and lay it on top of the stains (*not* when the lid is on the tank!)  for several hours, then wipe it off and rinse multiple times.

As for old carbon, it's not that it leaches bad chemicals into the water, but that it won't absorb new bad chemicals from the water. Basically the way carbon works is it's got a very porous surface, sort of like a sponge. As it absorbs chemicals, the "sponge" holes fill up. After a while, all the holes are filled, and it can't absorb any more.

Hope this helps.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

vinegar and baking soda work well put vinegar on first then baking soda let it fizz up then leave for about 10 mins then scrub and rinse though I do use CLR for really bad stains, I rinse it about ten times with water then with vinegar then water again then dry it.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

so is there anything really harmful in vinegar or baking soda for the fish???


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

White vinegar (the kind you can use for cooking or just for cleaning) is 5% acetic acid by volume. It's a simple, biodegradable acid and it won't harm fish in dilute quantities -- it would just drop the tank's pH.

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. If you mix it with vinegar you'll get sodium acetate and carbon dioxide (the bubbles). It is a mild base and likewise won't harm fish in very small quantities, it would just raise the tank's pH.

The mineral deposits that have accumulated on the tank lid, etc. react with vinegar in a similar way, but more slowly. If you add baking soda to this mixture, it will bubble but it will slow and/or stop the reaction of the vinegar and mineral deposits (depending on the quantities of baking soda added).

Hope this helps.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Actually, vinegar is a very good bacteria/mold/fungus killing agent. Just becareful with it or you'll be seeing a cycle.

Carbon and water change is about the only thing you can do now. If you have plants in the tank it might have helped.

As for carbon, it does release the stuff back into the tank when the carbon starts to breaking down. So useit for a few weeks and trash it.

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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

cool thanks guys i think everything has begun to level out its been about 4 or 5 days since a fish has parished. But ive lost all of my real favorites....But i guess now i kind of get to start over.


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