Alternative to vinegar to clean pumps

[legacy2mj]

I’m gonna have the vinegar take a seat on the bench for a bit.. Iv been going straight to this for years to clean my stuff… soak 12-24 hours. But every single time I’m disappointed in the vinegars performance. Still end up scrubbing like crazy and to be honest a lot times after 12-24 hours, I see zero difference from when I put it in.
I quit diluting the vinegar and tried the soak in 100%. Still just not impressed… if I gotta work that hard scrubbing after 12-24 hours, then I might as well just do that right when I pull it out of the tank.

Iv heard citric acid is another thing people use. I’m on a search now for the most effective. Opinions?

 

[nosduj]

I use citric acid mixed with heated ro water

 

[Martingale]

Vinegar can penetrate plastics and cause pumps and magnets to rust. I would stick with citric acid.

I believe muriatic acid will also work extremely well if necessary but I believe it also degrades pumps and plastics while being dangerous to handle. It’ll be a much more immediate clean, though.

Given vinegar is just a little acetic acid and a lot of water, I do think it’s not as effective as mixing a lot of powdered citric acid and controlling the concentration. The citric acid does make a bit of a goo if left too long, but it’s a lot easier to wash off than what builds up on pumps.

 

[BoriReefer]

I’ve used both citric acid and Sicce Pump Clean. They both worked very well, I found I scrubbed a lot less with the pump clean. I’m not sponsored or any of that. It’s pricey but very effective.

 

[Idech]

Citric acid works perfectly.

 

[legacy2mj]

I use citric acid mixed with heated ro water

Yea I think that’s the only answer I’m going to get on this.

 

[bshonesy]

Muriatic acid works extremely well if you have a lot of calcium carbonate precipitation on your equipment. I use it occasionally in ~ 1:100 dilution and have had no problems with it etching or degrading any of the plastic components. The types of plastics used in aquarium equipment (PVC, ABS, etc) are generally acid resistant, but you still want to use a very dilute solution. Also recommend wearing gloves and throwing some baking soda (or soda ash) into the solution before disposing, just in case you have any metal components in your home plumbing.

 

[bshonesy]

Muriatic acid works extremely well if you have a lot of calcium carbonate precipitation on your equipment. I use it occasionally in ~ 1:100 dilution and have had no problems with it etching or degrading any of the plastic components. The types of plastics used in aquarium equipment (PVC, ABS, etc) are generally acid resistant, but you still want to use a very dilute solution. Also recommend wearing gloves and throwing some baking soda (or soda ash) into the solution before disposing, just in case you have any metal components in your home plumbing.

And please be careful if you are using, I should point out that I have experience working with hazardous substances like strong acids and I didn’t mean to downplay the safety component.