White Deposit on the front of my tank

[FrogFriend]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum but I have had my FBTs since April of this year. I use the dechlorinating stuff in the water when I clean the tank but over time this white scum has moved across the front of my tank, which I am sure is calcium deposit, but I can't get it off! I have tried to scrub inside and outside of the tank with regular hot water and with vinegar water (of course not with the toads in there and of course after a vinegar clean I always wash/rinse out the tank to remove the vinegar). I have used a sponge, paper towel and those green scratchy scrub things and nothing is taking it off. I know I could use something stronger but I am concerned about using chemicals in the tank, even if I really really rinse it out good. Anybody have any ideas on how to get this off of my tank?

[Misschievou2]

These stains are called hard water stains. These stains are mineral and calcium deposits. This actually cannot be sprayed away by normal cleaners. I recommend using a vinegar/baking soda mixture. This mixture is safe around animals if cleaned off properly. Think of a heavy acidic natural ingredent - like lemon juice and vinegar could be a good idea too. If the stains do not become removed Weimans cooktop cleaner is heavy duty and will remove the stains really well but I don't think it is a good idea around frogs especially since they absorb threw there skin very easily - well unless you clean it off VERY well.

[Misschievou2]

1. Combine a paste of vinegar and baking soda. This natural solution is the cheapest formula to remove hard water stains from glass.
2. Apply the paste to the hard water stains using a scrubbing sponge in a circular motion. Work the hard water stain while applying this paste and allow it to sit for 15 minutes.
3. Wipe off the paste with a damp towel and remove excess water with a squeegee. If you are lucky your hard water stains will be removed. Good luck!!

[FrogFriend]

Thanks for the recommendation! I tried to respond yesterday but couldn't type in a post. I plan to try out your suggestion soon, I will let you know how it goes. I don't even know why I didn't think about it but when I was a waitress, many many moons ago the way we used to clean the coffee pots was to swirl ice, salt and lemons in the pot, it always cleaned them up beautifully. I don't know what I was thinking! Haha! I'll let you know how it goes.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

i have the same problem with my fbt tank. i clean my tank in my bath tub + use the hottest water possible out of the shower head + scrub the glass with the scratchy side of a sponge. It works but the water has to be hot as hell + scrubing usually takes a surprising amount of force from 5-7 minutes or something around that. Plus, once the glass is wet its hard to tell if the stain is actually scrubbed off or not, you kind of have to feel for the gritty texture. Keep us posted on how the lemon, salt, + ice works out becuase id rather use that opposed to burning my hands, working up a sweat, only to find out i missed a spot when i have the tank set up.

[UncleChester]

Get a razor blade. They can usually be found in the paint section of hardware stores and are a fantastic chemical free way of cleaning glass that can even be used with the frogs in the tank. Just be sure not to scrape too close to the silicone seals or the frogs if you leave them in.

[FrogFriend]

Hi everyone! I was planning to do before and after shots of my tank and this deposit, but of course I didn't remember until I was nearly done. Anyway, I tried the lemon, salt and ice combo on my tank. It started to take the deposit off but just wasn't getting everything. So I used one of those green scrubbers, hot water, my lemon/ice/salt combo and some baking powder (I think that's right- the one that people put in their fridge and sprinkle on stuff to deodarize) and started scrubbing. I was surprised at how quick and easy the calcium deposits went away! Then I would rinse and I could see areas that I hadn't gotten or hadn't gotten well and do those spots again. I rinsed a few times with hot water and then used a paper towel to dry the tank so that no splatters or marks would come up from the washing. Now it looks great and you can't tell there was a huge deposit in the middle of the tank. Now I can see my FBTs and watch what they are up to. As a side note, I used coarse ground sea salt (partly cuz that was what was on hand, partly b/c the larger grains I thought may make a bigger impact. Anyway, I feel much better now that it's clean and that I didn't use anything that could harm them. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[FriedrichsFrogs]

cool, good 2 know