white crusty buildup on outside

[sapphire]

the plastic on the outside of the aquarium has a hard white crusty buildup on it. I have soaked the pcs. but it isn't coming off.....what is it? Can it be prevented? How do you remove it?
thanks, Rita

 

[Helena21]

Its limescale. I get it on my tanks, if its on the glass you can get it off with a razor blade. Im not sure how you would get it off the plastic though, maybe soak it in something like vinegar? Im not sure if that would work or not.....

 

[sapphire]

thanks Helena, I will try that. It is really hard. The water was very clear and fish were fine, I say were fine but Sunday morning we discovered a very bad leak and lost the fish. Since I am cleaning it all out I want to clean every thing really good and the white crusty stuff is just not coming off......its on the filter hood and in places on the top of the aquaiurm, not on the glass at all. Just plastic.

 

[exhumed07]

ok if ur like me and have a water softener it might be a salt build up as well as lime and calcium. I use the water softener water in my 10 gallon and have alot of it on my hood and the top plaistic of the tank. But on my 55 since it is in the basment I am able to bypass the softener and there is no build up at all. if u live in the city I would say it is just calcium or lime. vinagar will break down the chemical bond of both and soften it up. a good example of calcium. put a bone in a bowl of vinagar and see dow soft it is in a day or 2. and the lime do the same thing only with concrete. it will start to just crumble. vinagar is non toxic in small amounts to ur fish so that would be the safest way to clean in my opinion.