How to clean with vinegar?

[ChaseB143]

I have some wavemakers that are covered in coralline that I am trying to clean up. What is the ratio of water to vinegar, and how long should I soak it for?

 

[ndrwater]

Honestly, Citric acid is a better bet. Vinegar works, just seems to be a lot more harmful to our pumps.
Citric acid is available in powdered form at places like BRS.
If you insist on using vinegar, personally I wouldn't go stronger than about 5/1 water vinegar.

 

[mfinn]

There has been alot of discussion on how vinegar can harm pumps and that citric acid is a safer cleaner.
Even though I have not seen any of this damage to any of my pumps in 25 years of using it, I made the switch.
When I used vinegar I used it straight out of the bottle.
I bought a bag of citric acid off amazon. 5lbs. for about $15.
The bag is much easier to store than keeping a gallon or 2 of vinegar.

 

[Uncle99]

Use it straight

 

[Wolverine47]

Citric Acid is definitely better IMO. But if you are going to use vinegar it is okay to use it straight from the bottle as long as you do not soak anything in it for more than a half hour or so. Also be careful to not let rubber seals sit in the vinegar because it will damage them.

 

[Leadfooted]

Only the factories that make pumps seem to advise us to use vinegar. Customers that have to pay for replacement pumps due to vinegar rusting away their pumps will advise you to steer clear of it.

 

[Tom Blevins]

I let my pumps set in straight vinegar minus the magnet rubbers for sometimes a week with no affects on them.