Is citric acid the new vinegar?

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Is this ok? It's one of the cheaper ones...

Amazon.com

Any food grade citric acid is fine.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I definitely recall people using muriatic acid, but man what a pain. That stuff is harsh/dangerous. I don't like using it in the pool either... have to hold my breath just to pour it.
Vinegar was so much easier/safer in comparison.
Sounds like the powdered citric acid isn't too bad?
What's the standard mixing instructions for our purposes (cleaning pumps and stuff)?

You definitely don't want to inhale the powder, and a strong concentration will irritate your hands... I usually add 1 cup to a gallon of water and adjust from there... If there are bubbles, then you're at a good concentration

 

[mfinn]

I've been using citric acid since that thread started back in 2019.
For me it seemed easier to store and just as easy to use.
Plus you can make it stronger.
Used muriatic acid off and on since the 80's, but it's a pain.
One thing I see going on now is people are saying vinegar damages the magnets or just plastics in pretty much all pumps.
But the original thread was started because of the damage to Vortech impeller pump assemblies.
The vinegar was able to penetrate the seams in the plastic and get to the magnet inside and start to corrode them causing them to swell.
I don't think this was ever about any other pump/powerheads because of the design.

 

[areefer01]

Plenty of good replies as it relates to why some have been using both citric and muriatic acids. It will more than likely come down to a hobbyist personal preference and safety. PPE should always be used around either to be honest along with some common sense. Children, pets, storage, things like that is what I mean when I say common sense.

Personally speaking, and preference, I use citric acid and have been for a long while. Readily available. Cheap within reason. More so if I put a bit of effort into it. Smells good. Safer than muriatic acid or maybe easier or quicker to use. Soak longer or make a stronger mix to clean dirtier gear.

I will say that I have run into some limits with it but that is mostly my fault for letting the equipment get out of hand as it relates to algae or film. Gyre blades. I have to soak them longer and scrub them really good. In this case I'm pretty sure the muriatic acid would do a better job but I just do not care for it even though I use it in our pool.

Meh - if the hobbyist has common sense, patient, and has safety in mind one may be lighter and quicker as it relates to personal effort and wasted energy to clean parts. Both work - choose wisely as the knight said in Indiana Jones...

 

[hexcolor reef]

I get my citric acid from lemon juice

 

[zoolan70]

I used citric acid for the first time to clean a truckload of used gear I bought and I was very impressed with how well it worked.

 

[d2mini]

I get my citric acid from lemon juice

I go through bottles of that stuff every month. I don't drink water without it.

 

[Dom]

While vinegar can be damaging to plastic parts, I don't feel its use should be completely eliminated, as there are many good uses for white vinegar. For example, I use it to clean all of my glassware. Its also good for cleaning glass tanks before resealing.

 

[Dom]

Question:

As an example, lets say I use citric acid to clean a tank. Is it necessary to rinse the tank after the cleaning with something like baking soda?

 

[doubleshot00]

Citric acid works for cleaning light things but will not clean a powerhead perfectly. I tried 2-3 hour soaks with the power head on and it still looks dirty. Its definaly not a miracle cure. Or maybe i need to add more. IDK. Ive used the Pump clean and amazon stuff.

 

[t5Nitro]

Citric acid works a whole lot better and quicker than vinegar. I've been liking it overall. If it's a time of year I can have better ventilation, then I've used muriatic acid a couple of times.

 

[d2mini]

Citric acid works for cleaning light things but will not clean a powerhead perfectly. I tried 2-3 hour soaks with the power head on and it still looks dirty. Its definaly not a miracle cure. Or maybe i need to add more. IDK. Ive used the Pump clean and amazon stuff.

I've always found with vinegar that it would loosen everything. Of course I still needed to use a toothbrush to gently remove the caked on algae from the fins, outer cage, etc. I assume it would be the same with the citric acid?

 

[doubleshot00]

I've always found with vinegar that it would loosen everything. Of course I still needed to use a toothbrush to gently remove the caked on algae from the fins, outer cage, etc. I assume it would be the same with the citric acid?

Im just looking for the golden ticket thats all expecting miracles

 

[SliceGolfer]

And if you like sour candy (like my wife) you can make your own by sprinkling this on anything just watch out for canker sores!

I have to admit, I've dipped my finger in the bag once or twice for a sour treat!

 

[MnFish1]

Many companies specifically recommend against using vinegar as it's damaging in comparison to citratric. That said - its unclear to my one could not dilute vinegar without the same risk

 

[d2mini]

Many companies specifically recommend against using vinegar as it's damaging in comparison to citratric. That said - its unclear to my one could not dilute vinegar without the same risk

I've always diluted vinegar 50/50 at a minimum! Usually quite a bit more diluted. I have never once used it full strength.
Mainly because i'm cheap.

 

[907_Reefer]

I’ve use it instead of vinegar for the past year and have been very happy (works quick, no smell!)

I get mine from Amazon. I use this one but there are other brands available.

I use this brand as well from Amazon, 1 cup/gal in a bucket with all equipment for 24-48 hours with a pump or wavemaker running in there for flow, works like a dream.

 

[jda]

Even diluted vinegar does not even get close to the strength of citric acid and a super long ways (industry term) from muriatic. There is something else in the vinegar besides the acidity, right?

 

[areefer01]

I've always found with vinegar that it would loosen everything. Of course I still needed to use a toothbrush to gently remove the caked on algae from the fins, outer cage, etc. I assume it would be the same with the citric acid?

As a user of citric acid there will still be some manual effort to completely remove everything. Soaking helps and in most cases makes cleaning easy but a light brushing still goes a long way. For me the gyre blades are the more challenging of things I clean.

I've not personally tried the gyre blades in a muriatic acid mix so can't compare. I guess what I'm replying to is that there will still be some level of effort needed by the hobbyist when using citric acid. I use a 1 cup to 1 gallon of warm water ration so can't speak of any higher dilution.

 

[DaJMasta]

Isn't citric acid just a milder acid, so wouldn't diluting vinegar do comparably? I buy vinegar because it has other uses and works just fine for cleaning parts. A short soak is plenty with a little scrubbing to get through most deposits, and I can dilute it substantially if I want to let it sit - something like 6:1 water to vinegar or more water still will take the deposits off the side of a mixing bucket or similar in an hour or so.