Best equipment (pumps, powerheads, wavemakers) cleaner? Citric Acid, Muriatic Acid or Vinegar?

[Mono]

Just curious what everyone uses to clean their equipment (pumps, powerheads, wavemakers)?

Of course, vinegar is cheap and fairly non-toxic. Those are two pretty big pluses.

I am not afraid to handle it before my first cup of coffee.

It's not going to burn a hole in my t-shirt or blind me if a wavemaker splashes in my face.

But I am getting a little tired of lugging it home.

Just wondering what other people use and some of the +'s and -'s.

Thanks.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Beware of Vinegar - The Pump Killer

 

[Mono]

Ok, I will put my vinegr on my salad.

What should I use on my pump?

 

[Mono]

What does vinegar do to pumps?

 

[S2G]

I use to use vinegar but honestly it didn't really clean that well in a decent amount of time. I noticed tunze offered citric to clean their pumps so I tried some off Amazon. It works much better imo.

 

[S2G]

What does vinegar do to pumps?

Read that linked thread (damages plastic).

 

[Mono]

Thanks S2G, didn't realize it was a live link. Just read the post.

Good to know.

Thanks for posting RedFishBlueFish.

Will stock up on citric acid.

I am sure I would end up making a mess with muriatic acid.

 

[zapbap99]

citric acid

 

[Bgmrc]

Great vinegar read...thanx RFBF...

 

[andrewkw]

I used vinegar for 15 years. I just switched to citric acid and couldn't be happier. Only thing that sucks is it's not quite as readily available as vinegar but I would imagine most people can still find it locally.

It seems to do a much better job getting stuff off pumps. I even soaked some eggcrate and it came back perfectly white. Washing eggcrate is hardly worth it except for the fact you get a lot of algae initially from much of it so I figure I might as well just clean the "clean" ones I have.

The only difference I find is if you have cuts on your hand they will sting more with citric acid than vinegar but not a big deal.

 

[Kjames]

Just curious what everyone uses to clean their equipment (pumps, powerheads, wavemakers)?

Of course, vinegar is cheap and fairly non-toxic. Those are two pretty big pluses.

I am not afraid to handle it before my first cup of coffee.

It's not going to burn a hole in my t-shirt or blind me if a wavemaker splashes in my face.

But I am getting a little tired of lugging it home.

Just wondering what other people use and some of the +'s and -'s.

Thanks.

Citric Acid for sure. Buy on Amazon at $0.18/oz vs $0.46 at aquarium sites

 

[KleineVampir]

Yeah somebody was studying it hard and said go with the citric acid. Heck maybe I should get some. As for muriatic, be careful. I've worked with it in the past to get the rust stains off my bath tub. And it worked! But I needed gloves and a good gas mask...and safety goggles. You can't breathe that stuff or have it on you so only use it very carefully and as a last resort!

 

[saltyhog]

I would not use muriatic acid ever indoors. I use it to lower pH in my pool and if the wind is blowing towards me the fumes can be overwhelming. Citric acid is the best IMO.

 

[jda]

I use Muriatic. I don't have issues handling it and it is cheap and available. I also use it to lower Alk in my freshly mixed Instant Ocean, so I always have it around for this purpose too.

I can hold my breath for 20-30 seconds, so that is long enough to get some out of the jug and walk away from the area.

 

[ccombs]

Citric, it goes a bit easier on the plastics than vinegar.

 

[SeaJay]

Yeah somebody was studying it hard and said go with the citric acid. Heck maybe I should get some. As for muriatic, be careful. I've worked with it in the past to get the rust stains off my bath tub. And it worked! But I needed gloves and a good gas mask...and safety goggles. You can't breathe that stuff or have it on you so only use it very carefully and as a last resort!

The Works toilet bowl cleaner is the best thing I’ve ever used for removing rust. Or blood...

 

[Kjames]

I use Muriatic. I don't have issues handling it and it is cheap and available. I also use it to lower Alk in my freshly mixed Instant Ocean, so I always have it around for this purpose too.

I can hold my breath for 20-30 seconds, so that is long enough to get some out of the jug and walk away from the area.

I think I'm too careless for this method!

Muriatic acid is effective, that's for sure. I've used straight solution to remove mill scale on plate steel. Pretty cool.

 

[Idoc]

I use citric acid now.

 

[Tastee]

What strength do you all mix your Citric acid at?

 

[S2G]

What strength do you all mix your Citric acid at?

1 cup per gallon. I was told by someone 1 tbsp per 8oz so I just added it up & that's what it came out to.