Muriatic Acid to Clean Aquarium?

[salty joe]

If you don't make a very concentrated solution, fume are not an issue. I was curing concrete rock and the PH was at least 8.8-probably higher. IIRC, I added 1/2 cup muriatic acid to 800 gallons water and it knocked the PH down to 6 something.
Vinegar has a PH of about 3. The next time I need to clean with acid, I'm going to start off with a tablespoon in a gallon of water and check the PH.

Ever notice that so many of the most incredibly useful things are also dangerous?

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Mature or not he is talking a week which means a sleeping scenario with fumes around.
NOT a good idea.
Pool cleaners are outdoors.

I'm going to be gone most of the week. However, I have decided to go with about 10-12 gallons of vinegar for the week. Still going to have a couple four legged fur balls in the house and really don't want to risk it. If it doesn't work, I'll add more vinegar when I get back. If that doesn't work, I'll bribe strong friends with beer and pizza and pull the tank off the wall so I can get to the back glass and hit it with a scraper.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Don't know how much it would help --
a power head or 2 pointed @ the back wall during the treatment.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Got the sand out and finished draining the tank last night. First pick is the tank on Friday evening. Second pic is a close up of the back of the tank. Third pic is a used sump I picked up on Friday with a brand new-in-box Mag 3. I will be hooking that up tonight and adding the 20 gallons of vinegar to the tank and filling it back up. I will let it run this week while I am at MACNA. Hopefully, when I get back on Sunday, I can clean it on Monday with no problems and drain it again to start my conversion.

 

[Giovanni]

What I do is put the tank on its back and poor in vinegar until it almost spills out. When that side is clean I turn it to one of the ends and so on. This way I do not have to use a ton of vinegar.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Cleaning it now. Algae is coming off fairly easily. Got some new scraper blades at MACNA. I'm using a medium length Kent Marine scraper and one of the long handled Continuum scrapers.

Tank when I got home from MACNA last night.


Slowly draining and cleaning as I go.

 

[karimwassef]

Have you considered just leaving it? Many would pay for a colorful background like that.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Not for a freshwater plant tank.

 

[karimwassef]

I have a built in too. My favorite item is my bubble magus scraper. Most effective item I've used so far.

 

[karimwassef]

Not for a freshwater plant tank.

Tastes differ I guess

I think it would look like a rockscape as it turns white.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Keep in mind that you cannot pour bleach into a vinegar (or any acid) solution. You'd previously mentioned bleaching the tank after you'd acid cleaned it - if you decide that's necessary, you'll need to completely drain and rinse the tank, or neutralize the vinegar with lye before using the bleach.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

No need for the bleach. It's drained down to about a quarter inch. Will shop vac out the rest tomorrow. Vinegar soak was more than enough.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Very happy with how it turned out.

 

[Loonytic]

I haul truck loads of hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid) for a living everyday. So, I always have small bottles of it at home. It's typically a 36% solution with water. It might be more dilute on the store shelf. I just cleaned the tank I use for my sump with it a couple of weeks ago. 8oz bottle mixed with about a gallon of water in a bucket. I used a scrubby sponge and some gloves, and the mineral and algae buildup comes right off. Tank looks new now. No fumes or smells with it that diluted. I hope that helps anyone else considering it.