I have a 125 gallon tank that has been sitting in my garage waiting to get the set up going. Now that our basement is complete im ready to start it but the tank is just dirty as ever, theres tons of smudges and dirt on the inside and out and I was wondering if it would be okay to use windex on the inside just to clean it or if I should just use tap water and scrub scrub scrub. Will the windex have any effects later on when I add live stock?
windex is fine. Just rinse a few times with warm water... wet a rag, and just wipe it down a few times with a soaking wet rag... javex is also good btw... amonia will break down quickly... same thing just wipe it out with hot water a few times...
Honestly I wouldn't use windex, I would use vinegar mixed with warm water.
25% vinegar should do it. 8)
Personally I use baking soda. It's cheap and very effective. Just take a bunch and add a bit of water to create a thick paste. Works great for those tough spots. Just rinse well when done.
You can buy aquarium cleaner, if you are really worried about anything else. But yeah, like people said - vinegar is your best bet. You'd probably be fine with windex and lots and lots of rinsing, but -- I prefer to keep things natural. Vinegar is a great glass cleaner in general!
I always use vinegar to clean my glass, unless ive had some sort of disease in the tank, then i break out the bleach. You might want to be careful the windex, it might turn your silicone blue, my friend let his tank sit with windex and took forever to get the blue tinge out.
vinegar is the accepted way.
I have used Javex with good results, just make sure you rinse it properly,