Mirrored back aquarium how do I remove?

[juliafish]

Hi,
I am working on setting up my 30 gallon aquarium as a saltwater tank. My problem is it has a mirrored back on it. Some of the mirror has started flaking of so I thought it would be easy to remove but I can not scrape it of. I tried a razor blade but I could only remove a little bit. Have any suggestions? Also the glass on the inside of the tank has white water looking spots on it. How do I remove these spots? I tried the razor but I could not remove it. Have any suggestions for this also?
Thanks,
Julia

 

[who dey]

i wish i could help but i have never seen a mirrored back before?? Maybe spend a bit more time with the razorblade. what is the mirrored back made of if you can tell??

 

[dskidmore]

My 20 gallon started out with a red glaze of some sort on the back. Alot of time with the razor blade took it off. You may want to try various hardware store solvents on it. (Make sure to not get any inside the tank!)
For hardwater stains, vinegar and a clean plastic scrubbie do wonders.

 

[juliafish]

I am not sure what it is made of. It is grey on the back and real chalky when I try to scrape it of. Once I scrape past the grey then there is this silvery grey residue that is even harder to scrape of. I have only been able to make a couple scratches in the residue.

 

[dskidmore]

Any chemists around? I have a recipie for chemically depositing a mirror finish, but not for removing it.

 

[wax32]

If this is a used tank, it might have had chemicals in it that would be unsafe for your marine animals. That size tank is relatively inexpensive. Buy a new one. It would be less work and certainly less risky!

 

[monalisa]

Sorry,
I have to agree, that sounds like a whole lot of headache somewhere down the road. Start pricing a new tank...probably cheaper in the long run.
Good luck...
Lisa :happyfish

 

[tizzo]

SOS pad?? Just throwing out a suggestion. I've never actually had to do that. But if you do hafta go the chemical route, I'm pretty sure muratic acid won't harm the glass and it's really cheap. But wear gloves!! That stuff is like the acid you see on scooby doo all the time...eating through whatever it touches, only not as fast of course...

 

[airforceb2]

Another good chemical that is water based is called Citrusall. It is hard to find but works like Simple Green but is 20 times stronger.