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

Mono · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

Beware of Vinegar - The Pump Killer

Mono · Feb 20, 2020

Ok, I will put my vinegr on my salad.

What should I use on my pump?

Mono · Feb 20, 2020

What does vinegar do to pumps?

S2G · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

Mono said:
What does vinegar do to pumps?

Read that linked thread (damages plastic).

Mono · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

citric acid

Bgmrc · Feb 20, 2020

Great vinegar read...thanx RFBF...

andrewkw · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

Mono said:
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

Amazon product

KleineVampir · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

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 · Feb 20, 2020

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

SeaJay · Feb 20, 2020

KleineVampir said:
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 · Feb 20, 2020

jda said:
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.