How can I clean this tank?

[KristiB]

Or do I even need to? You can see hard water stains a few inches from the top. This pic is after I cleaned the tank with vinegar water. What would you do?

 

[dougall]

How does it look when the tank is filled with water.. assuming you're going to use it as an aquarium, that would be when it matters, lots of times, if the stains are on the inside of the glass, they won't be too noticeable once submerged.

 

[KristiB]

The stains are on the inside. Not really noticeable when filled or wet. I was hoping it'd be ok without another cleaning so thank you!

 

[dougall]

You are pretty much cleaning for aesthetic reasons.. so if you don't care, you should be golden.

 

[OrionGirl]

Another easy option is to use a magic eraser. They're aquarium safe and take care of a lot of issues, though this might actually be etching and not just a stain. If you run your finger over it, can you feel ridges? If not, it's etching and not much can be done. But, as mentioned, if you can't see it when the tank is filled it's not harming anything. If you try taking photos of the tank, that may change, since the camera will pick up EVERYTHING.

 

[dougall]

I think you want to be sure to get the original magic eraser, not the scrubbing one, or the febreze one... and I don't have any knowledge of the extra durable one either.. so I'd use that with caution.

 

[myswtsins]

Sometimes the stains will actually get absorbed over time too and disappear after being filled for awhile. I had ones in my 29g that I could not remove through cleaning and were noticeable when filled but are now gone, probably took 6-8 months. I have other marks on my 58g that only get worse with time and razor blades and magic erasers have no effect so hopefully you don't have those kind! Those marks are what I now believe to be "etchings" which cannot be removed.

 

[ustabefast]

I like magic erasers. But as others said, once you fill the tank the slight smudge should disappear.
I paint the back of my tanks and the painted glass always looks crappy and uneven until I fill the tank.
Then it looks great!