Vinegar bath, how to..?

[trockafella]

How much water/vinegar do you use..? I wanna clean some pumps and other items that have been neglected...

[Origami]

You can go full strength or dilute it down to 20% strength (4 parts water 1 part vinegar). The more dilute the solution, the longer it takes to work. Alternatively, you can mix up a 10% solution of muriatic acid (9 parts water, 1 part acid - add the acid to the water, not the other way around) gets you a solution that's at least as effective as full strength vinegar.

[zoozilla]

You can go full strength or dilute it down to 20% strength (4 parts water 1 part vinegar). The more dilute the solution, the longer it takes to work. Alternatively, you can mix up a 10% solution of muriatic acid (9 parts water, 1 part acid - add the acid to the water, not the other way around) gets you a solution that's at least as effective as full strength vinegar.

 

+1.

 

If you decide to go the Muriatic acid route, be careful not to inhale the fumes. Has that intense burn your nasal membrane, gagging, choking, and vomiting effect

[jnguyen4007]

Vinegar is cheap and the smell is not anywhere nearly as toxic as muriatic acid. Stick with the vinegar. I usually just eye ball how much vinegar I want to add to my water. I usually add a bit more vinegar and I let the equipment soak over night with a pump running to circulate the water.

[trockafella]

yeah im going to pass on the acid, if Im going to ckoke and vomit I'd prefer to have a better reason than that, like alcohol..!! I am going to go the vinegar route.. Any certain kind of vinegar..?

[zoozilla]

yeah im going to pass on the acid, if Im going to ckoke and vomit I'd prefer to have a better reason than that, like alcohol..!! I am going to go the vinegar route.. Any certain kind of vinegar..?

 

LOL... Distilled white vinegar (5% acidity).

[trockafella]

Awesome, thanks Dan..!

[Origami]

If you decide to go the Muriatic acid route, be careful not to inhale the fumes. Has that intense burn your nasal membrane, gagging, choking, and vomiting effect

 

LOL. Yeah, don't stick your nose in the bottle and take a big whiff. That would certainly be a mistake.

 

The big advantage of muriatic acid (more commonly known as hydrochloric acid to those who took chemistry in high school) is that 1) it's generally cheaper ($7 for a gallon to make the equivalent molar potency of 10 gallons of distilled vinegar) and, 2) because it dissociates more completely, it's more reactive than vinegar (which is acetic acid). Other advantages include it's cleaner in it's reaction (no organics like vinegar) and there's fewer plastic containers to throw out in the trash. Distilled white vinegar, in part, is mild because it's acidity is already diluted. Muriatic acid is sold in more concentrated forms and should be diluted for use. In the end, if you dilute the muriatic acid to the equivalent potency, the diluted solution is as safe as vinegar. In fact, muriatic acid is one of the chemicals used to adjust the pH of swimming pools. Thus, at one time or another, you've probably been swimming in a pool containing HCl.

 

Once you've tried it, however, and learned to handle it properly, the utility and advantages become readily apparent and it just becomes another tool in the arsenal.

[Origami]

<edited - need to rethink something>

Edited September 23, 2009 by Origami2547

[BliffBlam]

LOL. Yeah, don't stick your nose in the bottle and take a big whiff. That would certainly be a mistake.

 

The big advantage of muriatic acid (more commonly known as hydrochloric acid to those who took chemistry in high school) is that 1) it's generally cheaper ($7 for a gallon to make the equivalent molar potency of 10 gallons of distilled vinegar) and, 2) because it dissociates more completely, it's more reactive than vinegar (which is acetic acid). Other advantages include it's cleaner in it's reaction (no organics like vinegar) and there's fewer plastic containers to throw out in the trash. Distilled white vinegar, in part, is mild because it's acidity is already diluted. Muriatic acid is sold in more concentrated forms and should be diluted for use. In the end, if you dilute the muriatic acid to the equivalent potency, the diluted solution is as safe as vinegar. In fact, muriatic acid is one of the chemicals used to adjust the pH of swimming pools. Thus, at one time or another, you've probably been swimming in a pool containing HCl.

 

Once you've tried it, however, and learned to handle it properly, the utility and advantages become readily apparent and it just becomes another tool in the arsenal.

 

 

What about phosphoric -phosfuric acid or how ever the h#% you spell it? I bought a 110g with some sort of residue on the back which I believe to be coraline, the tank was clean when i got it but theres just that film I cant get off. tried razor, bleach, clr, and straight muriatic acid with no luck. And it was suggested that I use phosphoric said it woul remove anything and is safe for aquarium use, they said it will actually rinse clean with water unlike muriatic that you should use baking soda to neutralize. Any thoughts? and where can you buy it?

[Origami]

Whoever told you that muriatic acid doesn't rinse clean is misinformed. It will rinse as clean. In fact, it reacts "cleaner" and more completely than many organic acids.

 

Phosphoric acid is commonly used in rust remover. It's also in some soft drinks - for example: Coca Cola. I bought a 16-ounce bottle of it either at HD or Lowe's a couple of years ago. (I think it was HD.) I don't know if you can find it there now. But, if it's there, you'll most likely find it in the paint department where they keep things like paint strippers, rust removers, thinners and other chemical products.

 

Phosphoric acid acid is considered a "weak" acid (like acetic acid) but it still dissociates 100x more than acetic acid making it more active. Make sure you do rinse it well, though. Because it contains phosphorous, it can raise your phosphate levels. It will dissolve calcium carbonate deposits.

 

As for the haze, I've never been able to remove that stuff completely off of glass. I have to admit, I didn't try very hard - but it may be trapped or bonded in the irregularities of the glass surface. It seems to "disappear" when there's water in the tank so I don't worry too much about it.

[BliffBlam]

Whoever told you that muriatic acid doesn't rinse clean is misinformed. It will rinse as clean. In fact, it reacts "cleaner" and more completely than many organic acids.

 

Phosphoric acid is commonly used in rust remover. It's also in some soft drinks - for example: Coca Cola. I bought a 16-ounce bottle of it either at HD or Lowe's a couple of years ago. (I think it was HD.) I don't know if you can find it there now. But, if it's there, you'll most likely find it in the paint department where they keep things like paint strippers, rust removers, thinners and other chemical products.

 

Phosphoric acid acid is considered a "weak" acid (like acetic acid) but it still dissociates 100x more than acetic acid making it more active. Make sure you do rinse it well, though. Because it contains phosphorous, it can raise your phosphate levels. It will dissolve calcium carbonate deposits.

 

As for the haze, I've never been able to remove that stuff completely off of glass. I have to admit, I didn't try very hard - but it may be trapped or bonded in the irregularities of the glass surface. It seems to "disappear" when there's water in the tank so I don't worry too much about it.

 

Thanks for the info. I thought the same of muriatic acid (that it rinses clean with water) as I was a lifeguard/pool operator for 5 years. we used to put it in squirt guns and have battles, what idiots lol. but all you had to do was splash alittle water on you and you were good. He also told me phosphoric acid was much stonger than muriatic. As for the haze it does disappear when theres water in the tank but since I just bought it i would really like to get it off. Like you said though it does appear to bond so I dont think it will come off. Thanks again.