HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Just bought a 40 gal breeder tank. Tried the search function for what type of cleaner to use in the tank. Found a ton of information on cleaning my dudes/dudettes, but nothing tank specific. Anyone's advice would be fantastic!

Brandon

Vinegar and water... Can also use fresh cut lemon for calcium buildup

Edit - rinse well afterwards!
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Hello!

I recently cleaned my previously used as a freshwater aquarium 55gal tank to make a new home for my hermits. I had a bit of calcium build up on the upper 1" of the tank near the top, and used a razor scraper blade with a handle that I found at Harbor Freight for 89 cents. Usually, I clean new tanks with freshwater and paper towels and a scraper for freshwater use, or saltwater and paper towels and a scraper for saltwater use. For my hermit crabs, I just used a spray bottle of saltwater that I usually use for their saltwater dish, and the scraper and paper towels. I've heard of people using a diluted vinegar/freshwater mixture before but I've personally never tried it.

We got our used 55g tank about a year ago. It was previously used as a saltwater aquarium and it had been neglected for years. I filled the tank with half a gallon of vinegar and the rest with water and had it sit overnight. The following day I put the vinegar (undilute) into a spray bottle and completely wet down some paper towels and put it in the areas with the most build up. As the above crabber mentioned, I also used a straight blade with a handle and very gently scraped at the build up while at the same time trying not to scratch the glass or scrape up the silicone. Once I realized it was as good as it was gonna get,
I rinsed the whole thing out several times and let it air dry completely in our backyard before bringing it in. Good luck! Oh, on the OUTSIDE of the tank, for the build up, I used Bar Keeper's Friend.


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Like Daws mentioned above, buy a fresh lemon. Cut it in half. Cuts through hard water/aquarium build up like there is no tomorrow! Then I would just use vinegar if needed. I don't recommend any cleaning products other than those two things. Rinse well

For brand new tanks that are clean, I wipe down with vinegar. If they have dust in them from the store I'll use dish soap and rinse well.

For used tanks I always sterilize to be safe, either with ammonia or bleach, whichever I have on hand. I like ammonia better though, kills more stuff and it foams like soap so it cleans better. 5 minute soak will kill bactetia and patasites. (Probably not a worry with hermits, but I have other pets and worry about crosscontamination.) With bleach it needs cleaned with dish soap first if really dirty. And of course the tank needs to be rinsed really good after.

There isn't a lot you can do with hard water stains on glass. Soak in vinegar overnight (lay the side you are working on down and the rim of the tank will hold a thin layer of vinegar) and use a razor blade scrapper. If that doesn't work then nothing will.

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Do you rinse with prime water or does it not matter if you dry it after?

BatmanPrincessBaby wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 7:23 am

Do you rinse with prime water or does it not matter if you dry it after?

Once it's dry there is no risk.