Cleaning existing Aquarium for Remodel

mtraylor

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Well I have been breaking down my main display in stages. The take for ever method. LOL. Well I have been removing rocks from my display every week to keep the stress down on the fish and to normalize the parms each week. I have a few more weeks to go before I have a bare tank with just sand in it. The reason I went this route is to ensure I'm not chasing fish into rocks where they can get injured when I remove them. All of my fish are old and dont need the extra stress.

Once I remove them. I will be draining the tank and removing the sand. My first thought was that I was going to fill the tank back up with the hose and add citric acid and let it run for about 5 hours with all my existing equipment still hooked up to clean out pests etc. Well last night I was doing the math. I have ~350 gallon setup which includes sump. All of it needs to be soaked. From BRS video you need about 3/4cup per gallon of citric acid for soaking. This will be around 220lb's of citric acid needed for a quick job. This will be real expensive. I just bought 10lbs on Amazon for about 40 bucks.

After doing the math. "I'm going to need a BIGGER BOAT"

Anyone do such a clean job on their existing aquarium. If so what concentration on citric acid did you use? I want to run my pumps and equipment during cleaning to ensure I get all the plumbing cleaned of critters, anemones, etc.

I could also do bleach I think. But the residue will have to be bubbled out
 

ZombieEngineer

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You could always use muriatic acid. It's pretty harsh stuff, so if you go this route, make sure to do it outside and wear proper ppe (respirator, gloves, chemical goggles).

Your size tank would require maybe a half gallon at the most. Some have had success with about a pint per 100 gallons
 
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mtraylor

mtraylor

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I think that would be a bit harsh to use as I would have to hire a crew to move the tank outside and all equipment etc. but that would be the most cost effective if I didn't have to move the aquarium and equipment outside. I'm starting to think that bleach is the best way for cost effectiveness, but I would have to wait a week or so before the residual bleach stuff would be evaporated out from system. Not ideal as I want to get the fish back in tank ASAP.
 

ReefEco

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Would agree with Zombie that you don't need that much Citric Acid - and I would do exactly the same thing you are thinking of doing to clean everything - running the tank with all the equipment to get all the calcification and pests out. Time is also a factor - if you have the luxury of letting it run longer than 5 hours, you can use less. I've used citric acid for years like many people, and have never used even close to the BRS recommendation. Remember, they are trying to sell it to you ; ) If you are using the Milliard brand off Amazon, try using the whole bag if you really are short on time - I would imagine that would get the job done - even if you have to donate some elbow grease to the tank itself to help it along.....
 
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mtraylor

mtraylor

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Zombie is suggesting to use muriatic acid, which is toxic and you dont want to be inhaling that stuff. They use it to clean pools and it is very harsh on materials if you dont mix it right. It can can melt plastics etc. That is why he is suggesting to do outside.

I was thinking I didn't want it to run too long as I dont know if its going to be giving off any fumes or anything that you shouldn't be inhaling. So I was just going to vacate the house on an outing for some hours then return and drain and air out house. Millard brand is exactly what I bought off of Amazon. I guess I will try and use one bag and see how it goes or at least get a second bag.

Have you used the citric acid like I'm going to on an aquarium or just on cleaning parts?
 

ZombieEngineer

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Would agree with Zombie that you don't need that much Citric Acid - and I would do exactly the same thing you are thinking of doing to clean everything - running the tank with all the equipment to get all the calcification and pests out. Time is also a factor - if you have the luxury of letting it run longer than 5 hours, you can use less. I've used citric acid for years like many people, and have never used even close to the BRS recommendation. Remember, they are trying to sell it to you ; ) If you are using the Milliard brand off Amazon, try using the whole bag if you really are short on time - I would imagine that would get the job done - even if you have to donate some elbow grease to the tank itself to help it along.....
I recommended muriatic not citric. You need at least 1/4 cup per gallon of citric and so that's like an entire 50 pound bucket to get barely effective levels. That is at least $200.

With bleach, you need like 10-30 gallons for like $40

With muriatic acid, you would need maybe 5-10 gallons for like $40-80.
 

ZombieEngineer

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Though after thinking this through more, why not just soak all of your equipment in a 5 gallon bucket of Citric Acid and then just spray down the tank a bunch of times with citric acid and wipe with a good clean sponge. That could get you down to maybe using 10-20 gallons worth of citric acid instead of the original idea of all 300.
 

vetteguy53081

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Vinegar and water or diluted bleach is my go to for over 3 decades. Cheap, effective and readily available
 

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I've used muriatic acid before, and I won't again. It is effective, but not worth the trouble in my opinion. Fumes are nasty. If you have time to experiment, try the 10lb bag of citric acid and see how that does. You are going to have to rinse and clean things well after using either muriatic or citric, so I'm not sure there is a time advantage either way, though muriatic will work faster, but require more cleanup...
 
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mtraylor

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Typically I think that would work great. Let me give you back ground. I'm redoing the tank due to clove polyps. It took over my tank. I tried all the treatments and they just came back. So I decided to tear the tank down and start over. So I want to ensure if there are any polyps in overflows, plumbing, etc. I kill everything before putting the new dry rock scape and sand in for the refresh.
 
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mtraylor

mtraylor

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Yeah I'm starting to think that bleach may be the way to go. it will kill everything, but I think after draining the bleach it will take me about 1 week for aerating the tank for the residue to dissipate before I can drain a second time to start my saltwater mix.
 
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mtraylor

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Well after pondering this last night. I believe the faithfull vinegar will be the way to go. there is no residual left over from using it and you can immediately fill the tank after treatment.

I think I will block off my gate valve for overflow and pour pure vinegar in there and fill it up to the brim and until it spills over into the aquarium. Then I will go to the sump and make 50/50 solution for sump and turn on pump to circulate that throughout all my equipment. Once thats complete I can refill the 50/50 solution up in the sump again.

My thoughts here is that I want to clean these areas the best. Next I will clean aquarium out inside with citric acid by spraying the coraline algae etc and letting it soak. Once done i will clean the glass and shop vac that out. By this time. I'm thinking the sump and overflow will have soaked for a couple hours as well as equipment.

then I wll fill the tank. Not sure of ratio on this yet and open the valves on the overflow and start a 4 to 5 hour circulation of the vinegar solution. I might let this go overnight if it doesn't smell too bad. If not I will drain and start refilling the tank.

I think vinegar is best here, because if there is some left over that affects PH when I get filled. I can deal with that pretty easy and push on getting tank filled.
 

ZombieEngineer

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I think vinegar is best here, because if there is some left over that affects PH when I get filled. I can deal with that pretty easy and push on getting tank filled.
Also remember to aerate very very well when you add stuff back. Vinegar, like vodka is great food for a bacteria bloom, so you do need to make sure this bloom doesn't deplete your tank of oxygen. I would throw your skimmer on with the cup off, lots of surface agitation, and maybe even some airstones in the main tank for at least a few hours.
 
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mtraylor

mtraylor

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Thanks. I sure will. I will remove the lid for the skimmer and let it run. I'm sure it will be going like crazy as soon as I fill it with the new sand and rock anyway after being cleaned.
 

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