Glass tank cleaner?

[kwright]

I'm struggling with the hard water of Washington leaving streaks all over my tank. Does anyone have any recommendations for a safe method of cleaning? Can I use a glass cleaner? Lately I've been using a 50/50 vinegar water and then wiping it down with a moistened cloth, but that doesn't remove any streaks.

 

[ausar318]

I wouldn’t suggest using any kind of chemical glass cleaner, for the simple reason that it is indeed toxic. Water/vinegar should be fine, but I personally just use water, and some soap if I need it. I am also using spring water, so that might explain some of it. 

If your hard water is the only option, you might want to buy some gallon jugs of water from the store. The cheapest kind should work fine. Just wash your tank as it would sit, so the water isn’t wasted. After washing it with plenty of water and a wet cloth, I would dry it with a large, lint-free cloth. After that, I usually use a microfiber cloth to buff the glass, but it usually doesn’t need it.

then again, if you can find a nontoxic cleaner, that should be safe. But I would stick to soap and water if you can

 

[kwright]

What about a cleaner designed for tanks used by reptiles?

I'll use  the distilled water as I have that for my cat's water fountain. The hard water would ruin the motor otherwise.

 

[ausar318]

Yeah, that would probably be alright. As long as the cleaner is safe for animals, it should be good. Still, I would use only as much as you need to, and no more. Just a safety precaution. 

Honestly, though, normal glass cleaner should be fine, as long as you use it sparingly. I bought a 30 gal aquarium from a yard sale (for $2!!!) and it was covered in mud. They must have kept crawdads in it or something. Anyway, I didn’t even think about it, and I used commercial glass cleaner on it. I kept about two dozen Chinese mantids (young ones) in it, for many weeks, and none of them died randomly. 

 

[Prayingmantisqueen]

Water differnce here too, but i use the vinegar water mix too.Tried windex but got nervous so quite.

 

[kwright]

That's good to know! I am so nervous on using anything to clean because we've had such bad luck with our first round of chinese nymphs. We didn't kill them with chemicals, they all just molted poorly and either got stuck or died a day or two later. We currently have a wild caught European who is doing well. I desperately want to clean the tank but I don't want to crush my family's excitement with something as simple as using the wrong type of cleaner and killing it. My biggest worry would be having chemicals I didn't manage to wipe off, and they rehydrate and stick to the mantis when I mist the cage.

 

[kwright]

Tried windex but got nervous so quite.

I'm too nervous to use it too.

 

[Aristalochia]

I use vinegar straight from the bottle or dilute citric acid to clean glass of calcium/lime/hard water stains, but I prefer to just use R/O water to avoid it in the first place. I think its better for Mantids than getting dosed with Chlorine/Chloramine and all kinds of other nasties found in tap water, including all kinds of phamaceuticals and environmental polutants.. (not that I've heard of it affecting a mantid) Also, Ive often fed a some mantids with flies that were fished out of a bowl of vinegar and they didnt seem to care or notice, so if you have some residue on the walls, and it gets on them, its not going to hurt them.

 

[Prayingmantisqueen]

I use the R/O water for misting too.

I clean with tap water and vinegar. 

It works well, but after a while of misting you do get water dropplets that dry on the sides and don't look nice so you have to wipe them off.

I do have a question though! How often should I clean my cages out if there is one mantis per cage and potting soil with live moss on top for substrate?

Thanks! 

 

[ausar318]

@Prayingmantisqueen

with that setup, you should probably clean it at least once a month, or every two months, at the very least. Basic rule of thumb that I use is this: if there are visible pieces of mantis waste (their poop) it is probably time to clean it. I don’t followed a strict schedule, I just do it whenever I think it needs it, and I’ve never had any issues

 

[Prayingmantisqueen]

Ok that sounds reasonable.

Thanks!

 

[Rick]

Use distilled water and you shouldn't have that problem.

 

[sschind]

I wouldn’t suggest using any kind of chemical glass cleaner, for the simple reason that it is indeed toxic. Water/vinegar should be fine, but I personally just use water, and some soap if I need it. I am also using spring water, so that might explain some of it. 

If your hard water is the only option, you might want to buy some gallon jugs of water from the store. The cheapest kind should work fine. Just wash your tank as it would sit, so the water isn’t wasted. After washing it with plenty of water and a wet cloth, I would dry it with a large, lint-free cloth. After that, I usually use a microfiber cloth to buff the glass, but it usually doesn’t need it.

then again, if you can find a nontoxic cleaner, that should be safe. But I would stick to soap and water if you can

Just an added suggestion.  If you buy water from the store make sure it says distilled or R/O water.  Some bottled water is still very hard and will leave spots.  I use the refill machine in the supermarket.  R/O, deionized and UV filtered.  No spots.  An added caution though if you are keeping other animals besides mantids.  This is fine for misting but if you provide a water dish for drinking or soaking (particularly important for amphibians) do not use distilled or R/O water in their soaking dish.

 

[ausar318]

@sschind

Good catch, I forgot to mention what kind. Thanks!