Cleaning Salt Suggestions

M

Mya

Active Member
I hate dried salt on my stuff just like everyone else does but...

My question is...

The skimmer causes the water to splash slighty when re-entering the tank and has since splashed up on my bulbs. I wipe them off every week but wiping it just isn't enough.. I don't want to scrape them because I don't want to risk breaking the bulbs. I know it causes break down of the glass.. clouding.. and so forth.. Ugh..

Does anyone know of a safe... natural way... I can use to get the dried stuck on salft off?
 
M

Mya

Active Member
I have heard that and tried it ....
With the exception of pouring it directly on the bulbs or trying to soak the bulbs directly on it.

I usually put some on a piece of cloth but that doesn't seem to work ...
It does seem to work tho on like tubing.
 
M

Mya

Active Member
Okay, I have to retract my statement a bit. Vinegar does work. But takes a lot. Smells to high hell and is very time consuming. Tho, if you wipe once a week with the stuff it would prolly be a lot easier. I got a nice thick build up going on. Its like, rough to the touch. What I did tho was wrap a piece of soft paper towel around the bulb and poured it directly on the bulb *Yes, bulbs have been off all night and are cool* let it soak and then rubbed a lil. It did come up.

Let me know if you find anymore alternatives as well.
Im gonna go back to trying to get this icky stuff off my bulbs for good!
 
Z

ZAPCOnj

Active Member
What kind of light do you have? and does it sit on the top of a topless tank? If the water is splashing on a hot bulb and the bulb has not failed, you're lucky so far... in many cases it would cause the bulb to fail.

I would recommend some sort of glass or plexiglas shield where the light sits on the top of the tank. you can get Versa Tops (glass tops) fairly cheap and they are cut to the length of most tanks. you can place your light over it and still have a good portion of your tank Topless. this way, your light won't get salt creep on it (at least as much), your bulbs will be shielded from the splash and you will have to clean the glass shield vs the delicate bulb. as far as cleaning goes you can run the glass under hot water in the shower to remove the salt build up. wipe it dry and replace it over the tank.....

not sure if this will work for you or not.
 
M

Mya

Active Member
I usually try to keep the water so high in the tank that it doesnt splash out. I don't know how it hasn't failed either. I have questioned that before. The lights sit on those little feet things that come with the light set. Know what I am talking about? I thought about putting glass over the top but someone said it cuts down on the light blah blah into the tank... so I never did it.

The top of the tank is open. I don't have any room under my stand so everything has to go into the tank, nothing can go into the sump.
 
Z

ZAPCOnj

Active Member
what kind of light fixture is it?

the glass tops don't cut down on much light in to the tank. it's when you don't clean the glass and you get salt build up.. thats when you get light loss.
 
M

Mya

Active Member
VHO with T5's in it. Has the clear little plastic legs on all 4 corners to hold it up...
 
R

ReefGuy69

Member
i use to use one long sheet of acrylic or plexi glass i got from the local home improvement store. i measured and cut it to length with a sharp utility knife. it worked out great. i didnt loose any light and when i wanted to clean it i just popped it off and rinsed in the shower with hot water. In your case you dont even need to do the whole tank. You could do a small piece on half or 1/4 of the tank where just the skimmer is. that way you would get better oxygen exchange over the rest of the tank.
 
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