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melev

Why I love muriatic acid

Rating: 6 votes, 5.00 average.
Once a year I clean the protein skimmer. How I go about this task varies, but essentially I want it as close to like-new as I can get it. My Euroreef skimmer has been a valuable asset to my reef for the past 10 years, outlasting two aquariums and caring for the third at this time.

For the past week very little skimmate was being collected. The body seemed to be full of bubbles but they weren't fine like usual. More coarse, they just didn't extract much waste. For about seven days in a row, the waste collector amassed about 1" of skimmate which might equal a pint or so. As expected, in one day it decided to pull out a whole bunch of liquid and the waste collector filled up with more than a gallon triggering a switch to shut off the protein skimmer's pump. While it was full and the skimmer was off, I decided I might as well pull the Eheim pumps and give them a vinegar and water soak.

One pump was put in a bucket in the vinegar solution and plugged in overnight. This method is tried and true - the time in the bath allows me to clean everything off the pump. The next day I put the second pump through the same vinegar bath for about 5 hours. When cleaning the pumps, I always carefully inspect the venturi connection for any salt accumulation that might obstruct air flow. If blockage occurs, a drill bit twisted by hand will help carve it out. This time, there was no such occurrence. Every month, I'll take a mug of heated RO water and insert the top section of air tubing to suck hot water into the venturi while the skimmer is running. This helps melt away any trapped salt where the air sucks into the pump itself.

I cleaned out the waste collector, removed the collection cup and cleaned all of that, and looked at the body of the skimmer. It was full of calcified tubeworms. Carefully this big section was removed from the sump area and carried outside. Hosing it off, I was able to see more clearly what I was dealing with. Once the outside was scraped clean of all the critters that had grown onto the acrylic body, I began to use a credit card to scrape the inside but those calcified tubes were hard as.... calcium.

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I always have a gallon of muriatic acid on hand. Instead of chiseling away at these tubes, I'd let the acid take care of it. You can pick this up at Home Depot, Walmart, Kroger, Lowes... everyone sells it. It's used for pools, to remove calcium deposits on the tilework. Concrete workers use it as well. At Home Depot it is sold as a pair of 1-gallon jugs in a brown box, near the concrete and sheetrock section in the outer building materials area. At Kroger, it's on the aisle where pool supplies are sold.

Why not use vinegar? Primarily time. It's a very slow process and the skimmer has holes through the sides near the bottom, so it can't be filled up. If you want to set it up in a container or trough and run the pumps, that's one option. What I did here was pour some acid into the body of the skimmer (two or three cups worth) and let that fluid cover the bottom area of the skimmer first.

Never add water to acid. If you want to water it down, pour the water in first, then add the acid carefully. Pour it in gently to avoid spatter. It can burn your skin, your eyes, and it'll do a number on your lungs. Working outside and thinking about what you are doing is wise. If you want to use safety goggles and gloves, go for it.

As soon as the acid hits the calcifications, it will bubble and foam. Normally within 20 minutes it has done all it can do, and you would then rinse off the parts. In the case of my skimmer, within three or four minutes, I could rock the skimmer around and around and see how the bottom was clean as the liquid sloshed around in the edges. At that point, I tilted the skimmer on its side like this. Note how the liquid has gathered the full length of the skimmer.

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With the skimmer in this orientation, I can gently turn it to the right and left, sloshing the acid up the walls of the skimmer a couple of inches. The white tubes melted away within seconds. As one area was finished, I turned the skimmer a little bit further and did the sloshing method again. I repeated this until all 360° of the body got cleaned up.

You may see smoke (visible fumes) coming off the affected area. Don't inhale it. Be smart, think.

Here you can see how it melted away some of the tubes from the small filter feeders.

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Another thick cluster before the acid hit it.

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20 seconds later, this is what it looked like. I didn't scrub it with anything; I haven't even put my hand inside the skimmer once during this process.

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When the entire body has been acid-sloshed (or acid washed), it's time to pour it out. Using a garden hose with spray attachment set to "Shower" I'll rinse the skimmer down to see if any areas were missed. The additional water doesn't cause any kind of dangerous reaction from the acid inside the skimmer, and it helps water it down.

Pick a spot around your property that won't be marred by the acid. You can run water over the area first to help dilute it. I prefer to pour it near my deck to keep weeds at bay. The water quickly dilutes and rinses everything away. If you pour it on concrete, the acid will etch the concrete so again consider what you are doing and where you are doing it. The few cups I poured out aren't about to destroy anything including the water table - especially since it's only happening once a year.

I'll rinse everything off, wipe it down and bring it back inside. Now that everything is clean again, the skimmer body is placed back in the sump, then the pumps are affixed to the elbow fittings. The collection cup is screwed on next, and finally it is powered on again. Good to go for another 12 months.

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The gizmo on the top of the skimmer is the Avast Skimmer Swabbie. It turns on every three hours for two minutes per session, rotating a squeegee around the inner neck of the skimmer's collection cup. I love the swabbie - it is worth every penny. You can see the vertical squeegee in the image above, directly under the word AVAST.

Why do I love muriatic acid? It works quickly and effectively. I've never been burned because I'm careful. I use it to clean the huge 250-gallon polytank in the fishroom that holds batches of saltwater year 'round. You don't need a lot to do the job, and sloshing it back and forth makes it go much farther. You don't need to use any tools -- heck if you do, odds are they will melt so resist that idea. It can be used to clean an empty aquarium as well. You just need a thin layer across the area you want clean, then turn the tank and soak the next area, then the next until all four sides are clean. You can use it on glass or acrylic. It's fine with PVC, locline, etc. I've cleaned pumps, heaters, power cords, strainers, durso standpipes, pretty much anything we keep submerged in our tanks. Just remember to be careful with acid, and use your head.

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Comments

  1. Vanmo92's Avatar
    I have had identical experiences with the stuff, it's the best thing in the world for cleaning a dirty skimmer. I'm wondering if there's anything you think it might be to strong to use on? I'm thinking specific types of rubber/plastic. The reason I ask is I recently cleaned all my pumps/ sump ect in muriatic acid and when I put my skimmer pump back together I just could not get the seal around the impeller (which has an o-ring) to seal and not leak micro bubbles. Also I soaked my mp40 wet side and it seemed the nut on top of the shaft never went on tight again, and eco tech ended up replacing the wet side. I have no proof that muriatic acid contributed this, but I'm more paranoid about the stuff ever since.
  2. melev's Avatar
    How long you soak something may dictate if anything is 'cooked' for lack of a better word. I used to put my Tunze pumps in it even though they told me not to. I never had a problem, but it will cause rubber to deteriorate. Maybe pull the O-rings next time, or don't leave it in so long.
  3. delta's Avatar
    Vinegar works just as well. 20 minutes and voila. I then let the disolved crust settle out and pour off the clean Vinegar. Then strain the vinegar through a coffee filter to save for the next cleaning
  4. melev's Avatar
    Pure vinegar for 20 minutes won't work for as well as HCL does. However, look at you straining the vinegar for re-use. So green.