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I’m thinking vinegar over citric acid, but have no basis for that really. Any pros and cons to either way?I would drain it and scrape off as much material as possible without scratching anything.
Move it outside, then add 2-3 gallons of vinegar and let it run with the pumps going for a couple days. Drain and see how it turned out. Maybe a second round of vinegar might be needed.
Citric acid will work as well.
I prefer citric acid over vinegar personally. Iirc it's bit gentler on plastics. Plus it smells a lot better. Easily available with the canning supplies at the grocery store.I’m thinking vinegar over citric acid, but have no basis for that really. Any pros and cons to either way?
Any toxic fume issues I need to worry about or prepare for? I’d really just like to dump something in this tank without having to move it, and then drain/scrub after to finish it offI prefer citric acid over vinegar personally. Iirc it's bit gentler on plastics. Plus it smells a lot better. Easily available with the canning supplies at the grocery store.
Either way will work. Vinegar seems to be easier to get, unless you can get citric acid at your local supermarket.I’m thinking vinegar over citric acid, but have no basis for that really. Any pros and cons to either way?
Are there any zoanthids or palys in the tank?Any toxic fume issues I need to worry about or prepare for? I’d really just like to dump something in this tank without having to move it, and then drain/scrub after to finish it off
All zoas and palys have been removed. Just sand, lots of GSP, and some red planaria…Are there any zoanthids or palys in the tank?
If not maybe just the smell of vinegar in the house.
Then just scrape out carefully what you can and use either vinegar or citric acid to do it's thing.All zoas and palys have been removed. Just sand, lots of GSP, and some red planaria…
Cool. Thanks for your help !Then just scrape out carefully what you can and use either vinegar or citric acid to do it's thing.
I like to do this kind of cleaning outside if all possible. Mostly because it can get messy, plus I'm not a big fan of the vinegar smell.
Once the tank has had a a couple days to soak ( I'd use a small powerhead in it too), use a sponge, maybe a plastic scraper to clean it.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponges seem to do great work on cleaning tanks up.
Thinkin im going to drain, bring outside, refill and add citric acid, let it run for a couple days, drain.That's small so 5# of citric acid would work. I had 130g so I let it dry and it scraped right off with a new razor blade.
Scraping is fine, just need to loosen up all that GSP off the back wall and other built up growth throughout the rear chambersYou are going to have to scrape it at some point. No acid, not even muriatic will just dissolve green types of algae. If you use enough acid, you can probably dissove most of the coralline, but that can also damage pumps. I use muriatic acid (like citric but stronger) at about the same strength - it will loosen up coralline to where it is soft and easy to scrape. A few rounds of acid makes things even easier.