Outer Glass cleaning?

[Wicket_lfe]

Suggestions on wiping down my glass so it doesnt have streaks?

My mom came over and started wiping it down with some dirty newspaper she was using on something else. I begged her to never touch my tank again. Luckily nothing died.

[EntoCraig]

I use distilled water and a paper towel.

[mallardman12]

Can you use windex?

[EntoCraig]

I would strongly recommended avoiding any chemicals near an aquarium. Im sure some are safe but you never know when some mist will end up in your tank and wipe out your bio-filtration of fish!

Distilled water is the best IMO as it will not leave spots on your glass.

[Studman0143]

If anything spray the cleaner on the rag you are using and then wipe. Obviously never spray anything directly onto the glass to risk anything getting in the tank.
I use a Pet Safe (for my dog) window cleaner on all my tanks and haven't had any related deaths.

[Sierra255]

I've used any number of window cleaners on the outside of my aquariums, including Windex. You just have to be careful not to get any in the water and it's fine.

[NWA-Planted]

No offense to anyone here but being a little overly cautious. unless its like some kind of pico tank a little mist isn't going to hurt it. I use ammonia based window cleaner on my 125 open top, spray on wipe off. now I don't suggest spraying into your tank.... But even if a little mist did get into the tank, primary ingredient being ammonia will be cycled through.

In all honesty anywhere on the outside should not be an issue, just take care when getting near the top edge of your tank.

From my desk where I am supposed to be working

[Chafire]

Use crumpled up newspaper like your mom was doing for cleaning the outer glass, trust me it works the best! No streaks and no leftover lint. Might sound crazy but it works.

[m8e]

I either use spirit vinegar (12 or 24% Acetic acid) or distilled water with some citric acid and paper towels.

[AndreyT]

Windex, classic formula. Problem solved. Don't make more complicated than it needs to be. Just don't spray it directly in the water. If your tank is not covered, better don't spray Windex directly at the tank at all. Spray it on the paper towel and then clean the glass with it.

As for what your mother did: she did everything correctly. An ordinary newspaper is a classic low-tech know-how for achieving clean streak-free glass. Where and how you got that strange idea that something might "die" just because someone wiped the outside of your tank with a newspaper is absolutely not clear to me.

Returning to Windex again... The "beauty" of classic Windex is the fact that it uses ammonia as its main cleaning ingredient, however paradoxical that might sound. Ammonia is a fully-evaporative substance, which means that it evaporates entirely, leaving absolutely zero residue. This is actually what makes ammonia safe for aquarium-related cleaning purposes: once the freshly cleaned surface is dry, it is known to be absolutely safe for the fish. For this reason, Windex and other ammonia-based glass cleaners are the first choice for cleaning aquarium glass: it is sufficiently researched, so that we know how to use it and what to expect from it. Once you start using various "alternative" cleaners, regardless of how "natural" they might claim to be, you are on your own. Unless your are very familiar with their properties, there's no way to know their effect on the fish, especially in the long term. This is also the reason why people prefer the classic ammonia-based Windex for cleaning aquariums instead of the "new formula" ammonia-free Windex (you might've seen it sold in stores): there's simply not enough knowledge about now safe that new Windex is for aquariums.

[zonamav]

Kent glass/acrylic spray is what I like. Safe in case of overspray and antistatic too.

Or plain vinegar as suggested for low cost. Not a windex fan for any glass, dont really like cleaners with lots of chemicals.

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

[5BodyBlade]

Windex with no ammonia or Invisible Glass car glass cleaner. I think the ammonia free products don't leave streaks as bad as the others do. They ALL do. A lot is how you apply them, spray on the cloth not the glass, but don't believe the hype on the bottle.

[Wicket_lfe]

Originally Posted by Chafire

Use crumpled up newspaper like your mom was doing for cleaning the outer glass, trust me it works the best! No streaks and no leftover lint. Might sound crazy but it works.

lol, problem is it still streaks. maybe because i stopped her before she finished.

[Wicket_lfe]

Originally Posted by AndreyT

As for what your mother did: she did everything correctly. An ordinary newspaper is a classic low-tech know-how for achieving clean streak-free glass. Where and how you got that strange idea that something might "die" just because someone wiped the outside of your tank with a newspaper is absolutely not clear to me.

She just finished using it to wipe down the kitchen counter and the bathroom, which had bleach, soap, and god knows what other cleaners. lol.

[vincenz]

Originally Posted by AndreyT

An ordinary newspaper is a classic low-tech know-how for achieving clean streak-free glass.
.

You learn something new everyday Never knew newspaper could be used like this. To me, it's very counter-intuitive because I would imagine the ink from the print to get on the glass. Plus how newspapers are handled and thrown around, I would also imagine that some dust/dirt/small particles can get in between the pages and dragging them along glass could potentially cause scratches. It does make sense that there isn't any lint or residue like from paper towels though.