reef165 Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Ive read somewhare abought an acid bought at lowes that cleaned off coraline from acrylic tanks and also pumps, plumbing, skimmers, ect. i was wondering whos used it or if anyone knows what im talking abought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Vinger will help to do the trick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 muratic acid is what you are thinking about I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Muriatic acid is a form of hydrochloric acid. It is pretty potent for just cleaning off coraline algae. Unless you have experience with concentrated acids, I would not recommend using it. In any case, please, please, please be careful, and use protective gear. It can cause blindness if you get it in your eyes. and burns on your skin. Wear old clothes because they will get holes in them (I lose go through 2 or three pairs of pants and one or two shirts a year due to acid). If you want some, I have a partway used gallon of it in my basement that I am not going to use. Let me know and it can be yours. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 muratic acid, is that the name its sold as? or is there a product name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 Muriatic acid is a form of hydrochloric acid. It is pretty potent for just cleaning off coraline algae. Unless you have experience with concentrated acids, I would not recommend using it. In any case, please, please, please be careful, and use protective gear. It can cause blindness if you get it in your eyes. and burns on your skin. Wear old clothes because they will get holes in them (I lose go through 2 or three pairs of pants and one or two shirts a year due to acid). If you want some, I have a partway used gallon of it in my basement that I am not going to use. Let me know and it can be yours. dsoz thankyou, how much does this stuff cost? would i use the cost up in gas driving over to get it? does the viniger work well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefhut Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Acid HomeDepot has it in there guarden dept. The cost is 8.99 for 2 Gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illcssd Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Yes, or you can come get some from us, we have a big jug we use to clean off old tanks and we can give you some for your use. It works great, just, do it outside, and be careful, and dont get it on you anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 muriatic acid is nasty stuff.....I used to work for a masonry company and we used it to clean brick and block work......not to mention a cup of it in a 20oz pop bottle with a bit of tin foil causes a really big bang....lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 A gallon of white vinigar did the trick for my 65g that was pretty covered in the stuff. Worked very well and no fear of problems with the acid. I'm a klutz, I can't use chemicals like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Ya, it is pretty powerful stuff. The fumes alone will knock you back and damage your lungs if you are not careful. Vinegar should work, but it will take longer. If you go with the muriatic acid, be careful. Don't breathe near it. Hold your breath until you take a few steps away. And don't get any on you or in your eyes! Ask at home depot for the muriatic acid, and they will tell you where to find it. It was less than $10 for 2 gal. I only used one when I was cleaning and etching my concrete. Good luck. Start with the vinegar, and if that does not work, get the MA. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Any pool or spa retailer has it as well. Just be careful with it like every one else mentioned. I messed with that stuff when I was a kid in my dad's pool equipment. Serious vapors is all I have to say!!! You might try the vinegar first with some heavy soaking and gentle scrubbing with the correct pads. Do the non- display tank equipment first to see how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illcssd Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Why i didnt use vinegar is cause basically im a lazy person and with the acid all i do is spray it on, let is soak, and blast it off with a hose. No scrubbing involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I got a breeder tank setup a while back, 9 tanks 3 wide and 3 tall, it was covered in coraline, tried scraping, tried a few other things (acrylic tanks) eventually the EASIEST way was soak a shop towel in vinegar let sit for 30 min and it simply wiped clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecheese Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Gloves And on top of all the other protective clothes-wear, make sure you get some heavy duty gloves that are resistant to concentrated HCl. I bought 2 gallons and gloves to clean my tank (covered with Corallin algae) but when my wife read the label, she pretty much asked me to treat this as we were fumigating the house. Since I could not move the tank out and did not really want the kids to be exposed to the fumes , I decided to bypass the process and just refill the tank after letting all the algae dry out. It is taking more time but after fiilling the tank and by applying flow directly on it, most of the spots are disolving, flaking and disappearing. It is taking time...but no one got heart in the making! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 thankyou all for the help, sounds like i should go get some vineger use it in a spray bottle and apply some elbo grease. just any old white vineger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Distilled white vinegar (gallon usually $2), let it sit at least 15 min and keep wet, preferable 30 on coraline or you wont be doing yourself any good. I dampen rags and PASTE on the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 ok well the vineger in a squirt bottle is working very good! just squirt it on let set for 10 min then squirt again let set 5 to 10 and then wipe. real thick stuff coming off in big chunks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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