How to clean white calcium from your terrarium glass?

[JoyfulDemon01]

I’ve had the issue that whenever I mist my White’s Tree Frog terrarium the glass always ends up looking like this due to the white calcium contained in the water. Does anyone here have any advice on how to clean this? I looked online and a lot of people said to use white vinegar, is that safe to use for your frogs?

Thanks in advance!

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[Zoodulcis]

White vinegar is indeed the best way to remove calcium build-up. It does however raise the pH of the habitat if it is allowed to drain onto the substrate. Frog skin is incredibly permeable and an acid habitat can cause all sorts of difficulties. My recommendation is to treat the glass with straight vinegar, then wipe it all very thoroughly. This may be needed more than once. Then, spritz all surfaces with store-bought distilled water, and wipe that out completely as well. Then in the future, dilute the vinegar by 50% with distilled water and wipe down every time. This sounds like a real pain, and probably is, so if this solution doesn’t work well for you, then perhaps after your initial cleaning to remove all build-up from the glass, which should involve the removal of all furniture and substrate, you can clean the glass in the future using only distilled water, and never tap water.

I hope this was helpful and best wishes for clear viewing in the future.

[Zoodulcis]

Oops, I meant lower the pH, thereby making the habitat more acidic. I plainly need more coffee.

[ABMoore22]

After you clean it the way Zoo has adviced. I’d go out and get a purifier (deionised, distilled, carbon filtered, they all work), I’d get the kind you can attach to your sink, and use that water after you get it cleaned off. So far that’s the best I’ve found if you don’t wanna keep cleaning the glass.

[Zoodulcis]

That would certainly be the most convenient approach, but the prices of those filters, at least the good ones, well, you made need a second mortgage to afford one.

[ABMoore22]

Right. Some are about $50. I usually get used item online and create my own filters if I can. But, good news, They have small attachments with activated carbon In them now that’s way cheaper. Here’s a few. Links won’t work so go to walmart.com and type these in so you get an idea of what they are:

5-Stage Faucet Mount Filters,Faucet Water Filter Purifier Kitchen Tap Filtration Activated Carbon Removes Chlorine Fluoride Heavy Metals Hard Water for Home Kitchen Bathroom

And,

3Pcs Dream Lifestyle Faucet Mount Filters,Durable Faucet Water Filter Purifier Tap Filtration, Activated Carbon Removes Chlorine Fluoride Heavy Metals Hard Water for Home Kitchen Bathroom

[Zoodulcis]

Used water filters! Awesome! I did not know that was a thing. I remember when just a few years ago a Kinetico was $350. Now it’s $1,300. They were supposed to be the best for water filtration for amphibians, but perhaps times have changed.

[ABMoore22]

I know some can get crazy. I use water conditioners and simple cheap activated carbon filters. Between the two, pretty much everything is removed. Filter removes calcium that the conditioner doesn’t seem to work for, conditioners do work for chlorine and all that though.

I try to create my own or get fixed uppers if I can. If I can get it to work just as well and save some money, I will. Lol. I made rexxars water misting system instead of buying a new one for about $200. Cost me $80 total instead for the pump, lines, and attachments and I just built the system and used a bucket with a lid for the water tank. Got a $6 outlet timer, and ta-da! Lol

The only thing I pay higher prices for are my uv strip lights for the reptiles, you can’t do much else if you want the best for them.

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