Tank shut down cleaning questions??????

[malira]

I'm shutting down my son's tank after 7 yrs. I'd like to clean the tank before I sell it. It's a 90 gl with a 35 gl in the sump right now.

I'm thinking of putting vinegar in the tank before I drain it, of the saltwater, to clean it. Let it run for a few hours clean off any coralline or other incrusted stuff. Let it do its magic on the skimmer.

1. I'm wondering since it's about 130 gallons of water how much vinegar would I need to be effective? I have 4 gallons of vinegar.
2. Is there a Saltwater/vinegar reaction I need to worry about?
3. Should I just use weak power washer?
4. What did you do?

Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[ZoWhat]

Highest % Vinegar you can find on the shelf plus a razorblade

Vinegar is nontoxic and a powerful acidic natural cleaner. I believe vinegar has a pH of around 2.5

You'll have to work in stages bc the vinegar WILL burn your eyes and throat

 

[Ef4life]

I would drain the saltwater personally and fill with fresh water and id use all the vinegar. Let it run for a few hours and scrape it clean.

 

[Saltyreef]

I prefer citric acid. No scraping needed.
Turns coraline into a goo you can rinse off with a garden sprayer

 

[TriggerFinger]

Drain and clean with tap water and citric acid. Citric acid works better with warm water.

 

[malira]

I prefer citric acid. No scraping needed.
Turns coraline into a goo you can rinse off with a garden sprayer

how much citric acid. 90 gallon tank and 45 gallon sump?

 

[Saltyreef]

I do like 1cup to a gallon so youll likely need a few bags of millards if you fill them up.

 

[malira]

So from what I read you can just pray it on and let it soak. I'll probably put soak paper towels and let them sit on the effected areas.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Fill the tank with freshwater, warm if you can, turn on all powerheads and return pump to max speed and add the citric acid. Let it circulate for a few hours-overnight and you should be able to literally wipe the coraline away with a paper towel. I would add atleast 10 lbs of citric acid, possibly more.