droyal1110 February 20, 2009 February 20, 2009 (edited) I am preparing to do a deep clean on the incoming tank and I was wondering how to go about cleaning it. Knowing what I know now its not as simple as a rinse as use. Well it kind of is, but for true cleaning and breaking down calcium etc I need vinegar. So.... which vinegar? There are a million out there, which one is right for me? How important is it to make sure all of it is out? For example, gotta make sure all metals are out of the tank before filling and what not, is vinegar the same way? I'm sure its not as potent or harmful even though its good practice to rinse completely. Any suggestions where to pick it up from (if its special)? Also what ratio to water should I use? Can I use tap water to clean with? When I clean the tank can I just wipe it down with an RO water soaked rag? Hard to come by 90 gallons of RO to just toss =/ As always, thanks! Edited February 20, 2009 by droyal1110
DaveS February 20, 2009 February 20, 2009 I am preparing to do a deep clean on the incoming tank and I was wondering how to go about cleaning it. Knowing what I know now its not as simple as a rinse as use. Well it kind of is, but for true cleaning and breaking down calcium etc I need vinegar. So.... which vinegar? There are a million out there, which one is right for me? How important is it to make sure all of it is out? For example, gotta make sure all metals are out of the tank before filling and what not, is vinegar the same way? I'm sure its not as potent or harmful even though its good practice to rinse completely. Any suggestions where to pick it up from (if its special)? Also what ratio to water should I use? Can I use tap water to clean with? When I clean the tank can I just wipe it down with an RO water soaked rag? Hard to come by 90 gallons of RO to just toss =/ As always, thanks! Just get the plain white vinegar you see at the grocery stores. Costco sells a gallon for about $15 or so. You can use it straight or 1:1 with water or more. The more stubborn the Ca, the stronger the Vinegar. It's all food grade so rinse it well (few times) and you'll be fine. People add this vinegar directly to their top off water to help with the Kalk so it's pretty reef safe.
droyal1110 February 20, 2009 Author February 20, 2009 Awesome thanks for the reply and I will definitely roll to Costco now =D
www.fishnreef.com February 20, 2009 February 20, 2009 Fill tank with tap water. Add a few - 3-5 gallons of vinegar. Stick a powerhead in. Wait a day or two. Coraline and gunk should just peel off with minimal scraping. Empty. Wipe down. = clean tank. Nadir
Bob February 20, 2009 February 20, 2009 I recommend you use the white vinegar, not the cider vinegar. Also, Giant, Safeway, Shoppers and most other grocery stores carry in gallon and half gallon sizes. Very cheap!! I always keep a gallon or so for descaling power heads, glass tops and about once a month to clean my coffee maker. Just rinse well with regular old tap water. Happy cleaning........Jeesh, I feel like hints from Heloise! Bob
Bob February 20, 2009 February 20, 2009 I recommend you use the white vinegar, not the cider vinegar. Also, Giant, Safeway, Shoppers and most other grocery stores carry in gallon and half gallon sizes. Very cheap!! I always keep a gallon or so for descaling power heads, glass tops and about once a month to clean my coffee maker. Just rinse well with regular old tap water. Happy cleaning........Jeesh, I feel like hints from Heloise! Bob
droyal1110 February 21, 2009 Author February 21, 2009 Cool thanks! I got some white vinegar from costco, now to get the tank tonight =D
zygote2k February 22, 2009 February 22, 2009 After reading this thread, I decided to try the vinegar on the heavy coralline build-up of my new/used acrylic 112. I'm using straight vinegar with a coarse fiber pad and vigorously scrubbing to remove the build up. It doesn't come off in one try. The heavy pink stuff is the worst- needing at least 3 applications to remove it. The white scale is somewhat less difficult. I only bought a gallon- looks like I'll have plenty left.
dschflier February 22, 2009 February 22, 2009 After reading this thread, I decided to try the vinegar on the heavy coralline build-up of my new/used acrylic 112. I'm using straight vinegar with a coarse fiber pad and vigorously scrubbing to remove the build up. It doesn't come off in one try. The heavy pink stuff is the worst- needing at least 3 applications to remove it. The white scale is somewhat less difficult. I only bought a gallon- looks like I'll have plenty left. Ussually the vinegar has to work over a period of time before it loosens things up. it would work much better for you if you let it sit overnight soaking.
droyal1110 February 22, 2009 Author February 22, 2009 If I set my new tank up, plumbing and all, everything is running and it is glued, has the pumps, the whole shebang, can I run a 1 part vinegar to 10 parts tap water mixture overnight to clean out the pipes, protein skimmer, pumps, tubes, etc? Will this harm any seals or glue? Is it worth doing or does it not really have the desired affect? I was thinking of 1:1 but that would be expensive for 120 gallon system.
Sugar Magnolia February 23, 2009 February 23, 2009 Hey, you'll be moving to my neck of the woods. I'm in Bealeton. Personally, I would have done an overnight soak of everything before putting it together, but since you've already plumbed it all, I see no problem with running the system overnight to clean it out. The skimmer will have to be taken out and cleaned separately - might overflow running the water and vinegar through it. After you've run it overnight, you'll have to flush it really good with water. I soaked my 30 cube with one gallon of white vinegar to 29 gallons of water and after an overnight soak it was really easy to just wipe away the coraline and encrusting critters. I don't think you need to do 1:1.
DaveS February 23, 2009 February 23, 2009 The strength of the solution is proportional to how long it takes to work. Technically all you need to do is put enough Vinegar to get the pH below 6.0 and the coraline will start to dissolve (albeit slowly). That's the principle behind how a Ca reactor works. In this case the coraline is your media and the vinegar takes the place of the CO2.
droyal1110 February 23, 2009 Author February 23, 2009 Oh yea sugar? Sweet you can help me set things up =D Yea I actually just picked up my protein skimmer not 20 minutes ago, jamesbuf gave me a great deal and met me at work, awesome dude +100 for him. The good news is, he soaked it in vinegar for me already. The bad news it I still have to clean my tank out. There is still a bunch of dead critters in the tank and a bunch of old sand I need to remove. With the frigid temperatures I'm really putting it off. Yesterday I sanded and repainted the stand... soooooo cold. I'm not really worried about the coraline because supposedly it works as a foundation for new coraline to grow, thats fine. Like I said I'm just worried about removing and bad stuff left over, I think its just so when I go to fill the tank up for good there isn't any question of whether or not it is clean enough. One more thing, is there any potential problems for dumping the vinegar water after its overnight soak into the drain? As always thanks for the replies.
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