Habitat - Indoor :: Calcium Water Spots on Tank

[PeaceOut]

I've search for a quite a while and didn't find anything on this issue so I thought I'd start a thread for myself and for future members.

I have a problem with my tank.
It's a 20gal wide tank and it's filled about halfway up.
I'm running a Rena xp2.

I haven't tested the water or anything but it looks clean. I usually do a monthly clean of the filter and 3/4 water change on average. The problem is that where the water stops, there's a line of white buildup. It's like the white you see when you leave your car next to a sprinkler. I'm assuming it's calcium buildup in the water.

How do I go out cleaning this? and how do i prevent it from happening again? Is this bad for the turtle? I tried scrubbing it with a dish washing scrub and it won't come off. It really makes the tank look terrible.


Thanks.

[marisa]

White vinegar should clean the deposits, followed by a good rinse. You'll have to clean the glass periodically when the build-up comes back. It won't hurt your turtle.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Vinegar will dissolve it, but you have to take the turtle out and empty the tank in order to do it. And make sure to rinse thoroughly afterwards before setting it up again. In between full cleanings you can take a razor blade to the glass and scrape some of it off. Or if you have the money, switch to RO water and you won't have any problems with calcium in the water.

[Bladedvixen]

yep! Vinegar and a toothbrush have worked the best for me. It works well and is not harsh enough for any residue to harm your turtle

[PeaceOut]

Thanks for all the replies.

I purchased a scraper from PetSmart for a couple bucks. It works okay but you need some elbow grease.

I read in the "Water Quality" section that there are things you can put in your canister filter to soften the water but I have yet to find any. I purchased this solution (water treatment stuff) where I'm suppose to put 1 ml per 10 gal of water. I don't know how well it works but I guess we'll see.

I also purchased a gallon of distilled water to pour into the tank. But how much am I suppose to put in there?

[mikee]

P-Out -- When you get a lot calcium build up in a tank, most of the time, it is the dissolved solids that comes from your tap water. Just adding distilled water will not help much. You would need to use all distilled water to make a difference. Where I live the water is very hard and most folks use a water softener and a RO system. I use distilled water and RO water and I still get calcium deposits. My raw water is about 400 ppm, my soft water is 60ppm and the RO water is 8 to 9 ppm. The distilled water is 0 ppm because it is condensation water.