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.

 

[dingo2031]

My question for you guys is that follows as i am about to do some deep cleaning on my neglected forty (life is a strange with timing) but. I am wanting to clean my skimmer and return pump as well as my wave makers but for the return pump I was going to use citric acid. so Remove and soak in citric for 30 minutes then take out scrub and rinse with (1. Tap or RO?) then replace into aquarium (2. How long should I remove the return and soak as I don't have a spare to run while that one is cleaning and my Life Support will be off until return pump is readded?)

 

[Dburr1014]

My question for you guys is that follows as i am about to do some deep cleaning on my neglected forty (life is a strange with timing) but. I am wanting to clean my skimmer and return pump as well as my wave makers but for the return pump I was going to use citric acid. so Remove and soak in citric for 30 minutes then take out scrub and rinse with (1. Tap or RO?) then replace into aquarium (2. How long should I remove the return and soak as I don't have a spare to run while that one is cleaning and my Life Support will be off until return pump is readded?)

If you have power heads running... Can go hours.

 

[dingo2031]

If you have power heads running... Can go hours.

Perfect thank you, buying Citric and doing my return Asap, should I rinse with RO or tap and just dry well

 

[Dburr1014]

Perfect thank you, buying Citric and doing my return Asap, should I rinse with RO or tap and just dry well

I use tap for rinse and give it good shake to get all the water out. I feel, most people use ro tho.

 

[BVF]

Didn’t think I was a slacker until I read this thread. Guess I’m rolling up my sleeves and scrubbing things this weekend!