The BEST way to clean "submerged" dirty aquarium equipment?

[7hogwarts]

I voted other because different equipment has different needs.

 

[mike550]

I’m coming up on 18 months and just starting to think about this. I clean the skimmer about every 8 months. The only item I don’t really clean is my return pump. Although I’m starting to think about replacing it at two years (and making the current one my standby).

 

[Revnobody]

I clean everything monthly using vinegar and water during a water change.

 

[Tastee]

I don't have an answer yet (Tank has only been running 5 months), but I am going to use this thread an excuse to pose a question I've always wanted to know the answer to...

Everyone talks about "Citric acid baths" for getting powerbeads clean.

What concentration / ratio of Citric Acid:Water should I be using?

Thanks in advance!

I use about 1 tbsp/250 ml of water. That works out to about 1 cup/gallon. Another tip is use warm or hot water to speed up the process.

 

[Jesus]

How much citric acid do you guys use with water

 

[mrbacony]

I am with you. But I usually go quarterly. A 5 gal bucket and a few hours one pump at a time and it is done. One note, If you use RO/DI water that you make for your tank for your coffee machine you will never have to de-scale it. Pluss it makes really good coffee.

A word of caution about drinking RODI water. A little should not hurt you, but in larger quantities it is not good for you. BRS had this in one of their videos and I saw some articles on the web about it.

 

[Emerson]

I used to wait for failures or issues and then clean. Now, after taking the wait and see method, I found that my Tunze powerheads start to have issues around 4 months. Now, to stay ahead of that curve, and extend their lifespan, I use a citric acid bath to clean powerheads quarterly, reactor pumps semi-annual, skimmer & pump annually along with UV sterizlizer pump/glass tube/lightbulb replacement.

 

[Salted]

I understand wanting to clean impellers , but why bother removing coraline?

 

[itsken37]

scrubing it under hot water with a toothbrush designated for doing so works best for me.

 

[jesspal]

Does anyone have a citric acid link on Amazon? The brand and stuff

 

[Portercube93]

Does anyone have a citric acid link on Amazon? The brand and stuff

 

[jesspal]

Thanks this actually helps a lot. I didn't want to order something random and crash the tank.

 

[drblank1]

I clean most of my pumps monthly. For the power heads I put in a 5 gallon bucket with citric acid and run them for a few hours. I also throw in my coffee filter and anything else that could use a good cleaning. I mix a little strong so everything quickly and easily wipes right off. Coralline algae becomes gross and slimy and wipes off with a rag. Quick rinse and back in the tank it goes.

Same here.