nystang Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 My skimmer pump and power heads are covered with more and more coraline algae. I've tried to clean them with vinegar and baking soda but I didn't remove too much. is there another method to make them black as they used to be, at least for some time? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 What was the baking soda for? Why not just straight vinegar? Link to comment
krackerjacksna Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 1 hour soak in 1/2 vinegar 1/2 water, then take a tooth brush to it, Link to comment
nystang Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I soaked it in vinegar solution but I used maybe 1:3 ratio. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 What was the baking soda for? Link to comment
seabass Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 What was the baking soda for?baking soda volcano Yeah, baking soda is sometimes used for cleaning purposes, but in this case it raises the pH of the vinegar (reducing its effectiveness). It's the acid in the vinegar that works to dissolve the calcium in the coralline algae. The stronger you make it, the less time it will take to work. You can use straight vinegar if you want; however, a solution is cheaper. Remove anything rubber (like tubing), as the acid can affect it. I'll even run the pump in a vinegar solution to remove built up deposits on the inside. After awhile, a toothbrush will remove the remaining deposits. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 baking soda volcano Yeah, baking soda is sometimes used for cleaning purposes, but in this case it raises the pH of the vinegar (reducing its effectiveness). It's the acid in the vinegar that works to dissolve the calcium in the coralline algae. The stronger you make it, the less time it will take to work. You can use straight vinegar if you want; however, a solution is cheaper. Remove anything rubber (like tubing), as the acid can affect it. I'll even run the pump in a vinegar solution to remove built up deposits on the inside. After awhile, a toothbrush will remove the remaining deposits. +1 to everything (and that's why I was asking why the baking soda, it will negate the vinegar's awesomeness) Link to comment
nystang Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I didn't realize how the baking soda effect the vinegar and I was a little surprise it didn't clean anything. Thanks. I'm gonna do it today. Link to comment
Dallin Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 You should try the Hydor Magi-Klean. I tried it instead of the regular vinegar bath, and it worked really well. According to Hydor it won't hurt any rubber or the magnetic shafts on your pumps either. I can’t really vouch for using it repeatedly, but from my 2 times using it, I really liked it. -Dallin Link to comment
nystang Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Thanks for this suggestion. I will buy it next time from Dr Foster when I buy my salt. Link to comment
nystang Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I cleaned the devices with vinegar and water 1:1 for 1,5 hour and then brushed them. Look like new! Link to comment
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