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Post by chris86uk on Feb 21, 2015 21:45:50 GMT
Hi,
The glass on the tank I keep my snails in is spotted with water marks but it's kind of baked on, it disappears when I wipe it with water, only to reappear when it dries.
Does anyone know what is SAFE for the snails/good to clean the glass with?
Chris
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Post by Liguus on Feb 21, 2015 21:52:53 GMT
I would take the snails + everything else out and try to clean the spots with vinegar (letting it sit on the glass for a while and them washing the tank). You might want to rinse it with some distilled or RO water if you have hard tap water.
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Post by chris86uk on Feb 22, 2015 22:46:50 GMT
Thanks, i'll give that a go!
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Post by muddydragon on Feb 26, 2015 20:30:48 GMT
Those spots are probably coming from the water itself and you want be able to rinse them off without using RO water. if you wash with vinegar make sure you rinse it very very thoroughyl afterwards.
It is very very important not to clean out your snails completely very often (if possible never completely clean them out) this is because they need benifical bacteria int he substrate in order to survive (frequent cleanings remove these bacteria and starves the snail)
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Post by chris86uk on Feb 27, 2015 21:30:33 GMT
Yeah I spray the tank with bottled mineral water, i'm surprised there's any dirt in that? I don't clean the tank out very often i've completely changed the soil once and partially changed the top layer once in the last 9 months. Is even that too often? I remove the snail poo often though, as soon as I see it generally, but literally just grab it with tissue, any advice on that?
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Post by Liguus on Feb 27, 2015 21:38:53 GMT
Yeah I spray the tank with bottled mineral water, i'm surprised there's any dirt in that? What your seeing is an accumulation of mineral deposits on the glass. It will get more concentrated the more mineral water is added & dried.
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Post by etana on Feb 28, 2015 8:21:39 GMT
Yeah I spray the tank with bottled mineral water, i'm surprised there's any dirt in that? I don't clean the tank out very often i've completely changed the soil once and partially changed the top layer once in the last 9 months. Is even that too often? I remove the snail poo often though, as soon as I see it generally, but literally just grab it with tissue, any advice on that? Your cleaning routines sound all right to me, if you don't have any unwanted residents in the tank. The only thing to add for future reference is, if you really have to change all of the soil, try to mix in at least a handful of the old soil (unless you've had a horrible time with bugs or diseases). I'd be wary with the mineral water though. Not because it has dirt, but what kind of mineral water is it actually?
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Post by chris86uk on Feb 28, 2015 18:08:38 GMT
Thanks, glad the cleaning routine sounds ok The water I use is Evian, obviously un-flavoured and still. You think that's ok?
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Post by etana on Feb 28, 2015 19:16:32 GMT
Wikipedia says Evian water contains: ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evian ) Calcium (Ca) 80 Chloride (Cl−) 6.8 Bicarbonate (HCO3) 360 Magnesium (Mg) 26 Nitrate (NO3) 3.7 Potassium (K) 1 Silica (SiO2) 15 Sodium (Na) 6.5 Sulfates (SO) 12.6 All values in milligrams per liter (mg/l) I'm no expert, but I'd be a bit worried about these accumulating on tank walls and the snails getting to it. Don't take my word on this though - let's hope that someone who has more real knowledge than me replies!
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Post by snailboat on Feb 28, 2015 20:03:03 GMT
I buy big bottles of distilled water for my snails :-) They only cost a dollar each, I think.
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Post by starcrazy19 on Mar 2, 2015 0:21:21 GMT
Distilled water is great for cleaning the glass, and perhaps for spray bottles, essential for misting machines. But it should never be used to bath or as drinking water for snails (or any other animal for that matter). I clean my tank glass with distilled water and kitchen roll, makng sure to polish it dry so the watermarks don't have a chance to show up. Its tough to shift mineral deposits once they form though - vinegar sounds like a good plan!
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Post by chris86uk on Mar 2, 2015 21:54:02 GMT
Hmmm, not sure what to do now if the evian might be bad for them. What water do you use to mist the tank Etana?
What is RO water?
Thanks everyone for the advice on cleaning the glass!
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