Mr. Saltwater Tank TV Friday AM Quick Tip #119: Using The News To Clean Your Saltwater Tank
All the news that’s fit to print probably won’t do much for your everyday life. It can however have a great effect on your saltwater tank. Here’s how to use the news to make your saltwater tank sparkle.
Browse the Store! Questions?
Interesting tip! I’ll try this tonight 🙂
~T
Actually, this is the best way to clean all glass surfaces! Been detailing the windows on my car this way for years, too! Have always applied the idea to my tank as well!
NOT for acyclic tanks folks … 😉 Stick to the soft cloths…
Tried this tip … the paper kept breaking up when I tried to clean the inside panes … 😛
the best way to clean the glass on your house also
I use coffee filters and alcohol, I can’t find newspapers anymore.
Any tiPs on how to make the inside glass nice and clear too?
Mark,
Great idea, but I know one that’s easier yet. I use a quality window squeegee (home depot or lowes). I wet down a rag or paper towels and make the glass real wet, then I squeegee the glass sparkling clean in seconds. Wipe up any leftover water and voila, it looks great. I even do this to the inside of my car windshield (we know how hard they are too clean)and it make a hard job easy.
Mark,
Better than straight RODI water to clean the outside of your tank, get a new clean spray bottle and fill it 1/3 with white distilled vinegar and 2/3 with RODI water. The vinegar will easily cut through finger prints as well as help remove mineral stains and buildup. Since the vinegar is a distilled organic carbon, it won’t hurt your tank water if some gets in. The only draw back is the vinegar smell that lingers for a few minutes. Try the vinegar solutions with newspaper print and you’ll have a winning combination.
I never would have thought of that awsome tip
Great now I’ve got to subscribe to the newspaper again.
Lj…the newspaper would probably give you a deep discount if you re-subscribed!
My wife’s been using the Vinegar and water solution on our glass tank as well, works great on the outside. What I’m looking for is a way to get rid of those annoying little scratches inside my tank. If the tank was empty I could buff them out in a second.. Anyone have an Idea ??
@buddy Good question, is it possible to get scratches out of interior glass aquariums?
I use this technique also but I put a capful of white vinegar in my D I spray bottle. Vinegar is inert in salt water so any overspray that may enter the tank will not do any harm. Plus the vinegar cuts through the grandchildrens finger prints.
I’ve been doing this you years but I mix the RO water 50/50 with white vinegar, that way it won’t leave any streaks, just be careful not to get any in your aquarium, not that it would affect PH that much but it’s goood prevention
For once a quick tip that I already use. I figured this out about 4 years ago because the janitors at my school use newspaper to wipe the glass at my school. And their windows always look shiny.
Good tip Mark! You can also use regular coffee filters as well. I used to work at a buffet restaurant before the economy crashed. The wait staff used them to clean the glass and mirrors around the food bars with them.
Brian…coffee filters?! Really? I’ll have to try that one too
Yes I was just wondering about the coffee filters … really? Guess I could give it a go on the sump first … 😛
Matt…I think “not for acrylic” follows the words “acrylic tank” around everywhere! I’m very happy I don’t own an acrylic tank
Ha! Doesn’t it just … I think they make wonderful ‘support’ tanks, such as sumps and QT but as regards a DT … give me glass any day 🙂
I could just imagine my young children helping me out clean an acrylic DT … the scratches would be longer than the road to enlightenment!
Yeap been using newspaper since the early 80s to clean all the glass arround the hse and cars works great
Cleaning the outside of a glass fish tank is the same as cleaning any glass window or mirror.
Great suggestion
If you are worried that the ink will run,
you can buy the end of a role of paper at the local news paper office or go to home depot, lowes or a moving company, packing paper is the news paper with out the print
yes! that is so true newspaper print is thee best way to clean any window + tank glass ” Leaves No Streaks “
that newspaper bit is the oldest trick in the book only for glass doesent streek use it all the time..
Streaks lol sorry have a safe weekend everyone 🙂
Mark
This tip reminded me when I was in the Air Force. We used newspapers and old coffee to clean windshields of aircraft. Excellent bug remover and really cleans glass and doesn’t streak. So if you have any leftover coffee, use it instead of RODI water.
mark need help with tank might have to do what you did when you had itch and vevelt i seen the video but was wanting more details like what you did with all your corals how long on sand rock and vinager in tank and how to get it going again and how long after its running to put coral and fish does it have to go through the recycling again and iam like you i would like to ad some ledgestone is the reef ready rock ready or does it need cycled please help 4 months in .buy the way i wished i would of wacthed you before bought a tank from lfs .learning the hard way but you have helped me get good info still learning thanks