For cleaning really stubborn deposits from EMPTY tanks and sumps, I had to resort to Muriatic acid (HCL) from a big box store. I tried Vinegar soak for literally days, not much came off. A few minutes in dilute HCL took it all off! YMMV and be extremely careful with HCL.
Don't. ;) citric acid is slow and vinegar is way faster. The more time it is out of the wayer the more you riak the inhabitants of the tank, unless you run a secondary pump/powerhead while cleaning the other one
Can you use citric acid on aquarium decorations? I have a ship in my saltwater aquarium that is made of a combination of plastic, ceramic and wood. Could citric acid be used to remove algae from the ship? My concern is whether the porousness of the ceramic section would hold the citric acid and later leach into the aquarium.
No worries on order of addition, citric acid is a weak acid and doesn't exotherm on water addition to a meaningful extent. Concentrated strong acids are the concern as they have a high heat of solvation. Good that you're being cautious however!
Love the video! Off subject but, how about a video focused on saltwater mixing stations in garages down here in the south. Love your salt mix videos on longevity with flow and temp stability vs none. How about where our garages reaches temps around 100 degrees plus. How is the salt mix stability in that environment?
The salt mix is fine at that temp. The temperatures associated with destroying any of the minerals in your mix is not relevant at 100deg. As long as you cool it down before adding to your tank.
For the purposes we're using it for, as long as it is stored well and remains dry, if there were a degradation to the potency I would suspect that it wouldn't hinder its effectiveness in a meaningful way. Many of us will run through a batch of citric acid well before 3-5yrs.
Great video. I Bought a used Red Sea 425xl and want to clean the display and Sump. Once I removed all the sand, can I just dump a bunch of citric acid in so it flushes the entire system in one swoop? Any worry on damaging the glass seals, filter elements etc?
Hi I have been using citric acid for a while, but I struggle to know how much ti add to a litre of RO water as the packet I bought has no instructions on it, any suggestions? Always enjoy your videos 👍👍
Love all of your videos ! Learnd most things from here ( ofc forums , reqding also ) my question is ..can you use vaselin for example after cleaning gyre pumps on them for a smoother nicer run + longer life ?) Or is that harmfull for the reeftank ?
Extra lubricant on pumps shouldn't be necessary in most cases. If you run across a scenario where you must use it, we typically go with a little bit of DOW111 www.bulkreefsupply.com/dow-111-o-ring-lubricant.html
It is not hypothetical about vinegar damaging pumps - there is sound scientific basis in that Acetic acid molecules are small enough to seep through the plastic where Citric can’t. I suspect that this is becoming a problem as pumps become more compact (therefore thinner plastic), my Tunze 6100’s are over 20 years old and still fine. I’ve lost too many AI Nero’s after they’d been soaked in Vinegar… Since I switched to Citric the problem went away. Another Rookie mistake I feel is not rinsing pumps in either RO or old salt water after cleaning so as not to skew your pH & Alk…
Just to clarify, DO NOT eat it! While we get a lot of our BRS chemicals, additives, as well as citric acid from food and pharma grade sources, our facility is not a food grade facility.
The nice thing about using citric acid powder is that you can mix it up to be less concentrated if you like. That said, we've not seen any issues with o-rings or other rubber materials when cleaning in citric acid. We usually use 3/4 cups per gallon and get a similar strength to vinegar.
I don't think there's a real answer to this, I tried to come up with something but... honestly... the more your add, the better... to a certain limit. If you feel it didn't clean up after hours, add more (next time), until you are satisfied with your time schedule. If it clean under 10min, you might want to back off a little bit ;)
Everyone use different materials, a different type of plastic, example for the Tunze 6045 pump, there's some part I can put in vinegar and other parts get screw by it.
The date code on the manual for my MP40s looks to be 3/16/20, that seems to be pretty recent. It’s a hypothesis that some believe is a scientific theory. They usually get dropped, then have a tiny fracture that reveals itself after it’s soaked and the vinegar is blamed.
While we do source our citric acid from food grade sources, our facility where we package it is not a food grade facility. For that reason, we cannot recommend using the BRS citric acid for human consumption.
Yes, the Citric Acid that we sell comes from a food grade source, however, we're not a food grade facility. It should not be used for human consumption.
For cleaning really stubborn deposits from EMPTY tanks and sumps, I had to resort to Muriatic acid (HCL) from a big box store. I tried Vinegar soak for literally days, not much came off. A few minutes in dilute HCL took it all off! YMMV and be extremely careful with HCL.
Just another amazing video!
What ratio should you mix the citric acid and water at?
Awesome info thanks guys ☺️
Also works to clean household items like showers heads,coffee pot/machine,faucets,and so on. Hardwater stains, gone.
Great tip!
Funny that you guys just posted this, I was just about to move over from vinegar to citric acid today for the first time
Don't. ;) citric acid is slow and vinegar is way faster. The more time it is out of the wayer the more you riak the inhabitants of the tank, unless you run a secondary pump/powerhead while cleaning the other one
That paper towel trick is a game changer
Should you rinse equipment off with ro water before placing back in service or is it so minimal of residue remaining to not affect anything?
We definitely recommend a RO or RODI rinse before putting it back into the tank. :)
@@BRStv thx all videos including this one that I have seen doesn't show that, shows straight from bucket to tank
What temperature would you have the water at while soaking as too hot can damage equipment.
I typically use luke warm/room temperature water and it works great. The citric acid will do all of the work, not the temperature of the water. GL
Room temperature water will suffice 🙂
Can you use citric acid on aquarium decorations? I have a ship in my saltwater aquarium that is made of a combination of plastic, ceramic and wood. Could citric acid be used to remove algae from the ship? My concern is whether the porousness of the ceramic section would hold the citric acid and later leach into the aquarium.
No worries on order of addition, citric acid is a weak acid and doesn't exotherm on water addition to a meaningful extent. Concentrated strong acids are the concern as they have a high heat of solvation. Good that you're being cautious however!
Love the video!
Off subject but, how about a video focused on saltwater mixing stations in garages down here in the south. Love your salt mix videos on longevity with flow and temp stability vs none.
How about where our garages reaches temps around 100 degrees plus. How is the salt mix stability in that environment?
The salt mix is fine at that temp. The temperatures associated with destroying any of the minerals in your mix is not relevant at 100deg. As long as you cool it down before adding to your tank.
4:20 So it doesn't have a shelf life? Cus everytime I bought one it has an expire date text
For the purposes we're using it for, as long as it is stored well and remains dry, if there were a degradation to the potency I would suspect that it wouldn't hinder its effectiveness in a meaningful way. Many of us will run through a batch of citric acid well before 3-5yrs.
Can you use citric for acrylic?
When you bring your bucket to the aquarium and clean the pump, do you rinse before placing the pump back into the aquarium?
Yep! It's a good idea to rinse the equipment after using citric acid.
@@BRStv That is what I've always done in the past. I just never thought about bringing the citric acid to the aquarium.
Great question 👍🏻
How much should you use for a 1000 gallon salt mixing vat to clean the walls of the vat of calcium build up?
I’m pretty sure Randy Holmes Farley did an article on why vinegar ions pass through plastic and rust enclosed magnets
Can you mix the Citric Acid with tap water or do you need to mix it in RODI water and why?
Tap water is fine in most cases
Great video. I Bought a used Red Sea 425xl and want to clean the display and Sump. Once I removed all the sand, can I just dump a bunch of citric acid in so it flushes the entire system in one swoop? Any worry on damaging the glass seals, filter elements etc?
Literally just down the exact same thing. Second hand 425xl stinking up my lounge. Did you clean yours this way or not?
@@paulharrington495 yup! came out looking brand new.
Hi I have been using citric acid for a while, but I struggle to know how much ti add to a litre of RO water as the packet I bought has no instructions on it, any suggestions? Always enjoy your videos 👍👍
We suggest 3/4 cups per gallon. That's a little less than a quarter cup per liter.
Love all of your videos ! Learnd most things from here ( ofc forums , reqding also ) my question is ..can you use vaselin for example after cleaning gyre pumps on them for a smoother nicer run + longer life ?) Or is that harmfull for the reeftank ?
Extra lubricant on pumps shouldn't be necessary in most cases. If you run across a scenario where you must use it, we typically go with a little bit of DOW111
www.bulkreefsupply.com/dow-111-o-ring-lubricant.html
It is not hypothetical about vinegar damaging pumps - there is sound scientific basis in that Acetic acid molecules are small enough to seep through the plastic where Citric can’t. I suspect that this is becoming a problem as pumps become more compact (therefore thinner plastic), my Tunze 6100’s are over 20 years old and still fine. I’ve lost too many AI Nero’s after they’d been soaked in Vinegar… Since I switched to Citric the problem went away.
Another Rookie mistake I feel is not rinsing pumps in either RO or old salt water after cleaning so as not to skew your pH & Alk…
Mistake #8 should be NOT eating it! Tastes like Haribo 😋😅
Just to clarify, DO NOT eat it! While we get a lot of our BRS chemicals, additives, as well as citric acid from food and pharma grade sources, our facility is not a food grade facility.
How about damage to things like o-rings and other non-hard plastic metal or ceramic parts such as various types of tubing etc
The nice thing about using citric acid powder is that you can mix it up to be less concentrated if you like. That said, we've not seen any issues with o-rings or other rubber materials when cleaning in citric acid. We usually use 3/4 cups per gallon and get a similar strength to vinegar.
I found out... don't try to "keep" citric acid solution as the next time I got around to it there was a huge mold growing on the surface of the water.
I hadn't considered using citric acid before. I've always used vinegar. Hmmmm
No comment on what concentration to use? That seems to be one of the most frequently asked questions.
1 cup per gallon
I don't think there's a real answer to this, I tried to come up with something but... honestly... the more your add, the better... to a certain limit.
If you feel it didn't clean up after hours, add more (next time), until you are satisfied with your time schedule.
If it clean under 10min, you might want to back off a little bit ;)
3/4 cups per gallon is what we typically recommend. This will get you to a similar acidity to vinegar.
@@BRStv acidity of vinegar is 2.0 the acidity of citric acid is 2.2
VorTech manual says to use vinegar.
Everyone use different materials, a different type of plastic, example for the Tunze 6045 pump, there's some part I can put in vinegar and other parts get screw by it.
Vinegar destroys vortech’s, there is a lot of documentation of it and it has happened to me. They haven’t updated their manuals in a decade.
The date code on the manual for my MP40s looks to be 3/16/20, that seems to be pretty recent.
It’s a hypothesis that some believe is a scientific theory. They usually get dropped, then have a tiny fracture that reveals itself after it’s soaked and the vinegar is blamed.
@@stevenpitts3355 agree . Maybe real / maybe not . Plausible theory has a way of being represented as fact in our industry.
How much do you use?!
We suggest 3/4 cups per gallon of RODI
@@BRStv came here specifically for this answer. Got a bunch of tricks while on it. Thanks!
Been using vinegar for over 20 years and never had any magnet swell or explode. People are getting to pedantic in the reef community.
Take some pride in your DISPLAY tank. Slower speeds hurt your corals, an ugly powerhead will hurt your eyes long before that.
What about eating
While we do source our citric acid from food grade sources, our facility where we package it is not a food grade facility. For that reason, we cannot recommend using the BRS citric acid for human consumption.
So I should stop making DIY lemonade with this stuff?
Yes, the Citric Acid that we sell comes from a food grade source, however, we're not a food grade facility. It should not be used for human consumption.
Number 2 is title goes against what is said.....
Do as you outta, acid to water.
"Do what you oughta, add acid to water"
I love Ryan and all of the BRS videos, but for the love of God, lose the mullet. It just doesn’t work for you bud