Muriatic acid

[olds350racer]

It's been suggested to me to use muriatic acid to get rid of calcium buildup on equipment. Is there any tricks/tips to using it (like don't mix it with ____ or dilute it with ____)? I'm not a chemist... so I try to use caution when using a chemical I've never used before (especially the ones with "acid" in the name). Thanks for any advice.

 

[mufret]

Use a 1 to 20 (acid/water) solution and it works wonders on calcium deposits.

 

[jade76]

be real careful about the fumes from concentrate..They can REALLY get to ya. but yeah..like mufret, I suggest diluting it.

 

[FutureInterest]

Keep in mind that you ALWAYS add acid to water not the other way around. Doing the reverse may cause a violent reaction and acid may spray all over the place... not a good thing .

 

[mufret]

FutureInterest;181034 wrote: Keep in mind that you ALWAYS add acid to water not the other way around. Doing the reverse may cause a violent reaction and acid may spray all over the place... not a good thing .

Thanks for clarifying Jin! Was trying to keep the answer short and left out a very important fact.

 

[FutureInterest]

No worries Mike, I got your back .

 

[jmaneyapanda]

FutureInterest;181034 wrote: Keep in mind that you ALWAYS add acid to water not the other way around. Doing the reverse may cause a violent reaction and acid may spray all over the place... not a good thing .

From Chemistry 101- "add acid to the wat-ah, just like you oughtta". I paid money to go go to college to learn that!</em>

Oh, and if you want a less scary alternative, you can just use white vinegar. It is cheap and "safe".

 

[mojo]

Yeah- muratic acid is pretty serious stuff. If you really have a need for it (vinegar will work for everything fish related I can think of), be sure</em> to dilute it, and use it outside. The fumes are killer...

Also- be careful what it touches. I'm not 100% sure what the affect of it is against the variety of plastics, acrylics, and solvents that we use in our tanks... the pH of muratic acid is around 1.0 - typical use is to etch concrete.

Lastly, I'm not a chemist, but you might want to post-soak eveything with something like SeaChem Prime (chlorine binder) to help remove any residual chlorine that's left over.

Or just use vinegar...

 

[down and outman]

I used CLR to clean my pumps last time. Worked great. Much better, and safer than acid. Rinse it well.

 

[sprayin70]

I use MA all the time. 1 to 20 ish always works for me. I haven't ever melted anything or such. LOL. Just be somewhat cautious and you will be fine.

 

[kwl1763]

Anybody who says just use vinegar has never tried the stuff! If works 10 times better and way faster. dilute heavily 20:1 is about right and avoid the fumes but powerheads can be cleaned in a couple hours rather then overnight. etc.

I also run it through my plumbing, skimmers, pumps etc. once a year to clean out all the calcarious tubeworms, etc. works awesome.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

kwl1763;182088 wrote: Anybody who says just use vinegar has never tried the stuff!

Or, just doesnt want to die from the mustard gas that stuff makes!

 

[olds350racer]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

FutureInterest;181034 wrote: Keep in mind that you ALWAYS add acid to water not the other way around. Doing the reverse may cause a violent reaction and acid may spray all over the place... not a good thing .

After doing a little research, I was reminded of this fact. That's what made me decide to double check my memory from chemistry class.

Thanks again.