How to eliminate any trace of vinegar
- Thread starter MsGardeness
- Start date
kj5kb
KEEPER OF CATS, FISH AND CATFISHES
I've never had a problem with muriatic acid eating plastic. heck, I've used it straight to clean stubborn deposits off of plastic, both tank frames and hood/lights. Sure you're not thinking of acetone or lacquer thinner? Muriatic acid comes in plastic jugs, BTW, and i don't think they are any 'special' plastic.
if your stains are on the outside of the tank, you could use lime-a-way and just wipe off when done.
MsG: If you do use muriatic acid (aka HCl or hydrochloric acid) be very careful and dilute well, start with 1:10. That usually is plenty strong enough for most things...and use gloves!
ALWAYS add acid to water never the other way round.
I had a 10G tank that was REALLY limed up inside, as was the HOB (plastic) filter. set it outside, filled it with water and 'one glug' of muratic acid. ran the filter for a week. filter and tank were beautiful.
if your stains are on the outside of the tank, you could use lime-a-way and just wipe off when done.
MsG: If you do use muriatic acid (aka HCl or hydrochloric acid) be very careful and dilute well, start with 1:10. That usually is plenty strong enough for most things...and use gloves!
ALWAYS add acid to water never the other way round.
I had a 10G tank that was REALLY limed up inside, as was the HOB (plastic) filter. set it outside, filled it with water and 'one glug' of muratic acid. ran the filter for a week. filter and tank were beautiful.
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Just to throw in my basic chem background - what we call "vinegar" is actually a 5% solution of acetic acid in water.
Acetic acid is a gas at room temperature, so ventilating it will get rid of any leftovers in your tank. But it's also very water soluble, so rinsing will take care of it easily enough, too.
And it's a natural metabolic byproduct, so it's completely harmless at levels that traces would dilute to after adding that much water (as someone previously mentioned).
I use it to clean the outside of glass when my fish are in it (as opposed to say, Windex) because it does a fairly good job and I don't have to worry about vapors getting in the water.
Acetic acid is a gas at room temperature, so ventilating it will get rid of any leftovers in your tank. But it's also very water soluble, so rinsing will take care of it easily enough, too.
And it's a natural metabolic byproduct, so it's completely harmless at levels that traces would dilute to after adding that much water (as someone previously mentioned).
I use it to clean the outside of glass when my fish are in it (as opposed to say, Windex) because it does a fairly good job and I don't have to worry about vapors getting in the water.
