Skip to content
Contact Us
The Crab Street Journal
The Crab Street Journal

Where hermit crab addicts go!

Primary Navigation Menu
Menu
  • Community
    • Blog Posts
      • General
      • ArtWork
      • Crabitat
      • Contest Voting
      • FAQ
      • Noteworthy Crabbers
    • Chewin’ the Choya (Forums)
      • Contest Entry Forum
    • Contest Rules
      • Hermit Crab Pumpkin Carving Contest
      • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Hermit Crab!
    • Testimonials
  • Resources
    • Hermit Crab Care 101
    • Caresheets
    • Hermit Crab Emergency Help
    • Hermit Crab Adoption Program
    • Hermit Crab Food Shop
    • Advocacy and Outreach
      • Say NO to Painted Shells
      • Animal Cruelty Laws
      • Pet Store Report Form
      • Pet Store Reports
    • Crabitat
    • FAQ
    • Food and Nutrition
      • Recipe Book for Hermit Crabs
        • Hermit Crab Recipe Submission Form
    • Biology
      • Hermit Crab Species
    • Hermit Crab Shops Directory
    • Hermit Crab Downloadable Files
    • Media Kit
  • About us
  • Milo the Hermit Crab – Daniel Kaye
  • Support CSJ!
    • Hermit Crab Clothing and Goodies
    • Donate-Paypal
    • Shop Our Suggested Items on Amazon

Removing hard water stains

You finally scored that awesome tank at a killer price but now how do you clean it??

If the tank is simply dirty but no actual build up on the glass, the cleaning process is pretty straight forward.

A mild detergent can be used with hot water to wash away dirt and grime.

Use a mild bleach solution 1:10 ratio to sanitize the tank in case of parasites or disease. Follow up with a thorough rinse with water and then white vinegar. Allow to air dry 24 hours.

Dealing with stubborn build up on the glass is more challenging. Some stains may never come off. If the stains are only on one wall of the tank you may be able to make that the back wall of your tank. Hard water stains won’t bother your hermit crabs, only obstruct your view.

A combination of acid and abrasion is needed.

  • White vinegar
  • Lemon Juice or Lemon Essential Oil
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • Toothpaste
  • Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth http://amzn.to/2qB6uMu
  • Magic Eraser or other very fine grit sandpaper – use damp
  • Razor blade

Your best option is to make a paste that you can smear on and leave to soak for hours or even overnight. All of these items require time to work.

White vinegar or lemon juice are safe natural acids. Combine with salt, diatomaceous earth, baking soda or toothpaste for grit. This will likely scratch the glass and make it cloudy so test on a small spot first. A good strong razor blade scraper can also be used with care to avoid scratching the glass.

You may have some luck with a commercial product if the build up is not too heavy:

Aqueon hard water stain remover: http://amzn.to/2D57qLt 

Once clean, regular cleaning of the glass will prevent build up. Keeping a squeegee handy will make clean up go quickly.

Have another tip for us? Send it to crabstreetjournal@gmail.com !

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

2018-01-07
In: Crabitat
Tagged: build up, clean, hard, hermit crabs, remove, residue, stains, water
Previous Post: How about a new Local Rep to ring in the new year?
Next Post: Updated method for treating water with Prime

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Log In

Or Login with your social media account:

Other Hermit Crab Websites

Land Hermit Crab Owners Society (our parent org)
Land Hermit Crab Species
Stacy's hermit crab blog Breeding Hermit Crabs

Products We Recommend

Proud Member

The Crustacean Society
The Crustacean Society

The Crab Street Journal © 2001-2023

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: