vinegar soak

[Niño]

I've heard about this vinegar soak that I can leave my equipment in to clean off the algae and other things. I'm planning on cleaning off some of my dead coraline algae that was dried onto my koralia nano. How long am i suppose to leave the koralia soaking in the vinegar until I remove it. Do I rinse it off with R/O water afterwards? Can someone please give me their method and what works best for them cleaning off their equipment. Thanks in advance!

Niño

 

[Kataro]

When I do it, I put it in a container mix w/ vinegar and RO water and leave it for about an hour or two... I then take a toothbrush and brush the coraline off. Works pretty good and your equipment will look brand new again!

 

[RogerWilco357]

ahh what is the vinegar to ro-water ratio and do you use just plain white vinegar or some fancy stuff?

 

[skinz78]

When I clean pumps I put them in a 5g bucket and run them in there. After an hour or so I take a toothbrush to them. If I can't get all the algae off I let them soak longer.

 

[Paul_N]

ahh what is the vinegar to ro-water ratio and do you use just plain white vinegar or some fancy stuff?

Plain white vinegar from the grocery store. If you can use just vinegar but sometimes the item is too big. I cleaned the inside of my 220 with vinegar but i just put pure vinegar in a spray bottle and sprayed the coralline algae and let it sit for an hour or so then sprayed, brushed and repeated until it was gone. For Koralia power heads I have a container that is just big enough for one to fit in. I fill it with vinegar and do what Kataro said but then I use the same vinegar for the other power heads.

 

[gparr]

100% white vinegar (the cheapest you can find) and soak for a hour or so, rinse off with tap water, dry, reassemble, and put back into service. If you can dismantle your impellers it's better because the inside of the magnet assembly will clean faster and more thoroughly if the shaft is removed during the soak.
Gary

 

[Electrobes]

I use just plain white vinegar (No brand is really better than another... I use whatever generic brand is available).

The ration I prefer to use (Albeit a bit strong for some) is about 1:3-4... one part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts water. I use tap water, and after brushing off the funk, I rinse with tap water.

Extras:
- I use hot tap water. It seems to do a much faster job of cleaning.
- I stick as much equipment I want cleaned in a 5G bucket, and run all pumps in the bucket. Keeping the water moving around is a good thing to do IMO.
- If you are trying to clean pumps, I highly recommend you disassemble it after it's been in the solution for a while, brush it out, then run it in the bucket. You want to make sure you get inside all the nooks and crannies.

HTH

 

[fsu1dolfan]

I just recently did this and i was very happy with the results. I used 5 gallon bucket - 25 percent white vinegar and 75 percent tap water. I put in a ton of different pieces. I let it sit for 3 days. Pulled out my pump and everything was sliding off. I barely needed the toothbrush. Rinsed with fresh water a few times and good as new!!

 

[_Alex_]

like someone said above hot water works a lot faster than just vinegar mix. but either way will get it. i always turn the pumps on for the first hour and then scrape what i can off. and let sit longer if needed. it usually doesnt take long to get it all off and i try to do it evry 3 months or so to keep them clean.

 

[Niño]

Wow, thank you for all the advise!