My child put bedtime lotion in fish tank. How do I safely clean it?

If you are getting hard water deposits, use a utility razor and gently scrape the deposit off the glass. When you're doing a water change, if the water level drops below the deposits, use a cloth dampened with plain vinegar and scrub. Be careful to not allow any vinegar into the water. Wipe it well with a clean cloth to remove any vinegar residue and refill. Ideally, the tank should be emptied, sprayed with vinegar, sit for 10-20 minutes then scrubbed or scraped.

If your hands were dry, the residue was likely minimal. It may have been further diluted by the water in the tank. There isn't much to be done except to monitor tank inhabitants for any symptoms of exposure such as lethargy, decreased appetite or swimming oddly. A partial water change can be done to further dilute any residue in the tank.

Hello, and thank you for using PetCoach. The most common (and easiest) way to clean a fish tank is with a siphon-style cleaner. Fish tanks should be cleaned in stages, generally replacing 10-15% of the water at a time. There are times where a larger cleaning might be necessary, but removing the fish and changing too much of the water at once can be quite a shock and can be dangerous to the fish, so this should be saved for only extenuating circumstances. Here's a helpful video on using a siphon cleaner: http://video.petco.com/v/18852/how-to-clean-your-aquarium-with-the-aqueon-siphon-vacuum-/ And some more reading you may find interesting on general fish tank cleaning and maintenance: http://www.firsttankguide.net/waterchange.php Hope this helps!

Yes, you can rinse filter media (the sponge) using tank water. This will preserve beneficial bacterial populations in the sponge. The plastic filter parts can be rinsed and scrubbed using tap water. Perform a partial water change, no more than 30% total volume, using conditioned water that is temperature matched. To limit algae overgrowth, do not overfeed, limit lighting to 8-10 hours daily and monitor water temp. If possible, turn up filter flow to get the water moving. Algae thrives in slow moving water. Do this only if your fish are not affected by stronger currents.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Norman. If the Betta tank is currently empty, I would suggest changing the gravel and cleaning it very well before putting another fish in it. Make sure to change the water regularly as this is often the cause of issues with Betta fish. Best of luck!

There are different ways to control algae accumulation inside the tank: Limit the nitrate accumulation in it (regular water changes is the most common method of removing nitrate), limit the lighting period in the aquarium (4 hours a day) avoid overfeeding. Try Algone, very effective against nitrate, it is not an algaecide but it can control indirectly algae. If all these methods are not effective, algaecide are then needed.

Thanks for reaching out. You need to determine why it is cloudy before you can treat. Test for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Exam the filters and clean if necessary. Some fish stores will let you bring in water samples to test. Good luck.