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Extremely Stubborn water spots For some background context, this peninsula tank was bought 2nd hand. I only saw online photos before deciding to arrange for delivery, upon which I would pay for the tank. This was my first mistake. Unbeknownst to me, the tank had quite a build up of water marks on the display glass which were evident in the photo but otherwise difficult to notice, especially to the untrained eye and the unaware. These are photos of the tank for reference If only that was the end of my carelessness. Upon delivery of the tank, I was reminded by the seller to inspect the condition of the tank before sealing the deal but in my excitement and starstruck state of having finally received a tank that I had been working on for the past several months, I did not inspect the tank as thoroughly as I would have wanted. Even though I checked the glass silicone for wear (e.g. bubbles & holes) and the cabinet for its structural integrity, It didn't occur to me to check the condition and quality of the display glass. At last, I figured that the tank was in acceptable condition and closed the deal. A regrettable mistake that would have been very painful if I had not found an unexpected solution. While cleaning the tank, I started to notice that a large portion of the display glass panels had water marks which were more apparent when you looked at the glass from a certain angle. This quickly caught my attention and I focused my efforts in removing these marks. Solution 1: citric acid My initial thought was that these water marks were mineral deposits from the evaporation of saltwater / hard water. Hence, I tried using *citric acid* to remove them but to no avail. Solution 2: dish soap At this point, the marks were not coming off at all so I tried a more aggressive method: *dish soap* but it was ineffective too. *DISCLAIMER*: DO NOT USE SOAP / DETERGENT IN THE INTERIOR SURFACES OF THE AQUARIUM AS IT WILL KILL THE INHABITANTS EVEN IF YOU WASH IT AWAY. Exercise utmost caution when using these chemicals so as to prevent them from entering the aquarium. The general consensus in the aquarium community is to not use soap / detergent to clean your aquarium if at all possible. I do not know the severity / extent to which this is true but it would be wise not to try it. Solution 3: baking soda Thinking that these stains on the glass maybe acidic in nature, I tried to use baking soda to neutralise and remove them, but this proved to be ineffective as well. (Some sources online suggested to use ammonia or sodium bicarbonate a.k.a. baking soda). Final solution: soft99 glass stain cleaner Upon closer inspection, the marks felt smooth to the touch and did not appear to have the same white colouration as mineral deposits from hard water evaporation. Desperate to restore the clarity of the glass, I started searching for glass cleaners online and stumbled upon glass cleaners / compounds for the glass windows of cars. Despite mixed feelings of using a potentially dangerous chemical on the aquarium, I went ahead and ordered a product called soft99 glass stain cleaner on shopee. It's a product advertised to remove scaly spots as well as other stains on glass. To my absolute relief and surprise, the product did remove the extremely stubborn water marks! Here's a before and after photo *ANOTHER DISCLAIMER*: As with the dish soap, I do not recommend that you use this product on the interior surfaces of the aquarium as it might have latent negative effects on the inhabitants. Exercise caution when using it on the exterior glass to avoid introducing it into the aquarium. Only try it if you are willing to bear the risk of using an unknown chemical. This product may or may not have fumes that can still enter the aquarium even if its liquid form does not (I'm not sure). That being said, the website states its ingredients consists of abrasive materials, so it might not be that dangerous. However, this also means that you should ensure that the glass is free of dirt and other particles to prevent scratches when applying the product. Thank you if you've read this far and I hope you find it helpful[emoji120] Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app