30% cleaning vinegar safe for aquarium use?

[Battlecorals Verified Sponsor]

Just as the title says I am really not Sure if there is any difference other than it being stronger. I got a bottle at Home Depot and the ingredients say 30% acetic acid. Can anyone tell me if it safe to soak Coraline covered stuff in at all? Or should I stick with "regular vinegar"

 

[Radman73]

Hope so as I've used it a ton lol!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It is likely fine, if you rinse things after use.

 

[Battlecorals Verified Sponsor]

It is likely fine, if you rinse things after use.

Ok excellent! my gut was telling me its ok but I definitely wanted to get some reassurance. thank you guys for the quick replys!

 

[iReefer12]

Hi @Randy Holmes-Farley.

Can I take the 30% vinegar and dilute it with RODI to bring it back to 5%? If 1 gallon of 30% mixed with 4 gallons of RODI that would be 6% solution, safe to vinegar dose? Or just buy 5 gallons of 5% and stay safe?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I think citric acid would be a better choice, as the acetic acid can be absorbed by some plastics. Randy can provide the chemistry explanation as to which plastics can be affected.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I think citric acid would be a better choice, as the acetic acid can be absorbed by some plastics. Randy can provide the chemistry explanation as to which plastics can be affected.

+1 for this. Especially with certain pumps, I found out he hard way…,,and I’m a little on the slow side, so I had to find out over and over, and over. Until one day it wore through my thick skull and into my super dense and decaying brain matter.

Being aware of any hazards, diluted muriatic works very well for me.

 

[Miami Reef]

Until one day it wore through my thick skull and into my super dense and decaying brain matter.

This is too descriptive.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

This is too descriptive.

I figured that I sometimes need to clarify, for those that it isn’t so readily apparent to. Ha

 

[Velcro]

Sometimes the cleaning vinegar has a surfactant in it as well. I usually shake the hell out of it and if the bubbles last more than normal vinegar when you shake it then I steer clear personally

 

[iReefer12]

You can dose citric acid? I don’t realize citric acid was a carbon source tbh

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

You can dose citric acid? I don’t realize citric acid was a carbon source tbh

No, it's a substitute for vinegar to CLEAN.

 

[Miami Reef]

You can dose citric acid? I don’t realize citric acid was a carbon source tbh

I think @BeanAnimal assumed you wanted to use the vinegar to clean equipment, which what this thread was based off of.

Interestingly, citric acid is an organic carbon source. I’m not aware of why people don’t commonly use it for that purpose. @Randy Holmes-Farley ?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

If 1 gallon of 30% mixed with 4 gallons of RODI that would be 6% solution, safe to vinegar dose?

I think citric acid would be a better choice,

Really???

 

[Velcro]

No, it's a substitute for vinegar to CLEAN.

It can be both

 

[Miami Reef]

For cleaning pumps: muriatic acid and citric acid might be safer for the pump’s plastic: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beware-of-vinegar-the-pump-killer.643396/

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hi @Randy Holmes-Farley.

Can I take the 30% vinegar and dilute it with RODI to bring it back to 5%? If 1 gallon of 30% mixed with 4 gallons of RODI that would be 6% solution, safe to vinegar dose? Or just buy 5 gallons of 5% and stay safe?

Dilution is fine for dosing. As folks note, vinegar can penetrate plastic.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Really???

While I may have missed the recent word "dosing" in a change of context of this resurfaced thread... it WAS about cleaning. As I said, Randy can expound on the chemistry but apparently plastics containing acetal are prone to reacting with the acetic acid and can swell or break down. Citric acid is a better choice, as it does not contain the acetal molecules.

The original post in the thread copied below.

To that end, dosing citric acid as an organic carbon source is certainly fine. I enjoy a bit of it with breakfast too...The orange kind. We can venture down dosing memory lane and take a look at orange juice dosing threads, apple juice dosing threads and maybe we can talk about some of the early commercial additives that contained apple juice (malic acid) or citric acid. Mind Blown @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal, mind blown!

So, yes @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal, Really!!!

 

[iReefer12]

Sorry for the confusion. I just thought it would be easier to bring up an existing thread on the 30% Vinegar rather than start a new one. Thanks everyone for the info.