Cheap DIY Alternative to Vinegar for cleaning equipment

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[rlbannon]

The usual recommendation for cleaning is 9 parts water and 1 part muriatic acid.

Thank you for all your help, Randy. How do you dispose of the used solution?

 

[rushbattle]

I think the effect on plastic may be worse with vinegar than muriatic acid but it may depend on the plastic.

Vinegar can be in the form of acetic acid and that neutral molecule can enter plastic. Diluted muriatic acid won't have any neutral acidic molecules in it to enter plastic, so just exposes the outermost leading edge of plastic. So while the muriatic acid after dilution is a much stronger acid, i would not assume it is worse on plastics.

FWIW, I've used diluted muriatic acid for decades as have others, and I've not heard of cords being damaged, but I've also not inspected them closely.

Seriously Randy, you are an incredible resource. I hadn’t even thought of that. I’m also not a polymer chemist!

Thank you for everything. Keep us in mind if you ever need any assistance, or find a cause close to your heart. We will gladly help out!

 

[JVU]

I’ve always used my vinegar over and over again, keeping it in a sealed 5 gallon bucket between uses. I maybe don’t use it as much as the OP but it retains potentcy for many months, just getting more debris with uses. The debris can be filtered out by pouring through a filter sock or just discard once it gets too mucky. I don’t see why you would need to go through so many gallons or want to mess with more dangerous acids. Vinegar cleaning is one of the easiest and cheapest things in this hobby.

 

[KenO]

Costco sells vinegar at a reasonable cost. I do use muractic acid for cleaning things like the quartz glass on my UV light. Removes the haze really quickly. I also use it to clean my salt cell on my pool.

 

[salty joe]

The usual recommendation for cleaning is 9 parts water and 1 part muriatic acid.

Glad to see that. I've been using about 16 parts water 1 part muriatic and thought it might be too strong.

How about using hot tap water in the acid bath to speed things up?

Without a doubt, muriatic acid is the most economical way I found to clean pumps. More convenient too as it takes up less room. As far as dangerous, yeah but so is gasoline and electricity and power tools. I've worked with it for years and years.

 

[VBMike]

I second citric acid. Food safe, no smell, and like half the price of vinegar per gallon. I bought this $14 dollar bag off Amazon and mix it at a half cup per gallon of water. I tore down and cleaned an entire 180g system, a 75g system, a 40g frag and a 14g Biocube and still have some left!! I absolutely could not have done that with $14 worth of vinegar, and no smell!

https://www.amazon.com/Spicy-World-Citric-5-Pound-NON-GMO/dp/B000OZFECU

 

[waxhawreefer]

Wow never thought of citrus acid but I’m going to try it, it’s the main ingredient in bath balms?? So it’s safe to dispose of down the drain, maybe even clean them out as well, two for one!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Citric acid (assuming adequate purity) is certainly safe like vinegar in the sense of residue not being a problem for the tank. It would just be a carbon source for bacteria.

 

[kalare]

5lb bag of food grade citric acid from Amazon will last you a lifetime. I use it for pumps and to descale my espresso machine. You need very little and it works best in hot water. I use 2 tbsp per gallon of water. Will dissolve most calcium buildup and worm tubes and whatnot in 20 min or so. I hate the smell of vinegar...

 

[VBMike]

I believe the half-cup-per-gallon concentration was what Mr. RHF had suggested to me as a starting point about a year ago... it's definitely stronger than vinegar at that concentration. I don't even bother rinsing a lot of the stuff I clean with it, it's completely safe.

 

[rlbannon]

Citric acid (assuming adequate purity) is certainly safe like vinegar in the sense of residue not being a problem for the tank. It would just be a carbon source for bacteria.

What about danger to the hobbyist at the half cup/ or 2 Tbs/ gallon concentrations? Any need for protective gear, or is it just like vinegar? Also, would this be as effective as muriatic acid, only maybe safer?

 

[VBMike]

What about danger to the hobbyist at the half cup/ or 2 Tbs/ gallon concentrations? Any need for protective gear, or is it just like vinegar? Also, would this be as effective as muriatic acid, only maybe safer?

I've licked the powder off my finger... it's a bit tart.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

5lb bag of food grade citric acid from Amazon will last you a lifetime. I use it for pumps and to descale my espresso machine. You need very little and it works best in hot water. I use 2 tbsp per gallon of water. Will dissolve most calcium buildup and worm tubes and whatnot in 20 min or so. I hate the smell of vinegar...

Just don't get sodium citrate. It won't work

2 tsp (about 20 grams) per gallon is much less strong than vinegar (about 190 grams per gallon). It will start off with a similar pH, but will run out of dissolving capacity much faster if there is substantial calcium carbonate present.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Your tanks must be extremely clean with all that used vinegar... i used less than 1/2 gallon in a year.

 

[BigJohnny]

I’ve always used my vinegar over and over again, keeping it in a sealed 5 gallon bucket between uses. I maybe don’t use it as much as the OP but it retains potentcy for many months, just getting more debris with uses. The debris can be filtered out by pouring through a filter sock or just discard once it gets too mucky. I don’t see why you would need to go through so many gallons or want to mess with more dangerous acids. Vinegar cleaning is one of the easiest and cheapest things in this hobby.

I don't want to store dirty vinegar or filter it. way easier to just have more, imo.

 

[BigJohnny]

Costco sells vinegar at a reasonable cost. I do use muractic acid for cleaning things like the quartz glass on my UV light. Removes the haze really quickly. I also use it to clean my salt cell on my pool.

Yes it's more about having to buy it all the time rather than the price. I just wanted a concentrated diy solution that is also cheap glad to know the muriatic works for you.

 

[Shep]

....how much equipment are you cleaning that you go through so much?!

 

[BigJohnny]

Your tanks must be extremely clean with all that used vinegar... i used less than 1/2 gallon in a year.

They sure are! I qt a ton of fish for various people and use it to clean all the tanks and equipment, on top of all my stuff.

 

[BigJohnny]

....how much equipment are you cleaning that you go through so much?!

A lot