Vinegar bath?

[wtusa1783]

I’m getting a used 90 gallon tank that’s been setup for 2 years tomorrow and it comes with a ton of live rock and fish. From the pics it has a lot of algae on all the equipment. Is a vinegar bath the best way to go? I need to have the tank setup in about 2-4 hours so this needs to be a quick thing. Thanks!

 

[ichthyogeek]

For killing algae? I don't think a vinegar bath would be the best option. Or really any baths. Your best bet would be to scrub the rocks as best as possible, replace the sand, and start dosing vibrant in my opinion. Scrubbing the rocks would dislodge a fair amount of algae + detritus, replacing the sand would keep detritus out of the tank, and vibrant would work on killing most of the remaining algae. You could also do a 2-3 day blackout as well to harm the algae further.

 

[wtusa1783]

For killing algae? I don't think a vinegar bath would be the best option. Or really any baths. Your best bet would be to scrub the rocks as best as possible, replace the sand, and start dosing vibrant in my opinion. Scrubbing the rocks would dislodge a fair amount of algae + detritus, replacing the sand would keep detritus out of the tank, and vibrant would work on killing most of the remaining algae. You could also do a 2-3 day blackout as well to harm the algae further.

No like for the tank and heater and such.

 

[Tastee]

Acids are good for removing calcium deposits and coralline algae. For any equipment with metal in it such as pumps then Citric acid is a better option than Vinegar as Vinegar can penetrate the plastic surrounding the metal and cause the metal to corrode. You don’t need to use both, Citric acid will do the same job as Vinegar (Acetic acid), just a little more slowly as it isn’t as strong an acid. A little help with a toothbrush or even a blunt blade for calcium deposits won’t hurt. If scraping inside an impeller housing just be careful not to scratch the plastic. For really thick deposits you can use Muriatic acid but as this is a very strong acid, please be careful with it.

Always follow the rule of adding acid to water, never the reverse.

 

[ichthyogeek]

No like for the tank and heater and such.

Oh, then yes, an acid bath will be fine. You'd need an awful lot of vinegar if you're soaking the entire tank, but you can buy jumbo packs of dry citric acid, which will do the same trick, but for a lot cheaper relatively (I think a pack is ~25$? While vinegar is 8$/bottle(?) and you need multiple bottles). Bonus, is that it's easier on pumps and the like. If you do a vinegar bath, you might not see immediate effects, but over the next few weeks, whatever coralline has been exposed to the algae will wither and bleach. You'll still have to scrape it off though...

 

[flampton]

OP I know this is old and expired info for you personally since your tank should be running by now. So for anyone who runs across this thread DO NOT worry about cleaning equipment when you're moving an aquarium. Just set up the tank and get everything running. Allow some time for stability, at least a few days. The algae you're worrying about is peanuts compared to keeping your nitrifying bacteria okay. Then if everything looks okay you can take components out and clean with acetic acid or citric acid. I personally prefer citric acid but a acetic acid bath will probably be fine. Read citric acid is a bit safer than acetic acid on equipment but it's all about the odds. What this means is that the percentage of problems that occur because of an acetic acid bath are slightly higher than a citric acid bath.

 

[ichthyogeek]

OP I know this is old and expired info for you personally since your tank should be running by now.

Uhhh...flampton? I think OP meant 10/11/2020 when they said tomorrow...which is technically today? Unless I confused myself again...

 

[flampton]

Uhhh...flampton? I think OP meant 10/11/2020 when they said tomorrow...which is technically today? Unless I confused myself again...

Hmm nice catch... I guess I'm in time. Do you recommend anything differently than what I posted? I was thinking stability first and then worry about algae on equipment. Am I missing something? Cause I definitely can overthink things!

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmm nice catch... I guess I'm in time. Do you recommend anything differently than what I posted? I was thinking stability first and then worry about algae on equipment. Am I missing something? Cause I definitely can overthink things!

I'm by no means an expert on moving tanks. But if the tank's going to be moved, I'd just go ahead and make sure the rock was kept stable and not dried out, since that's where the majority of the beneficial bacteria's going to be. The sand bed's going to get all flumpty and release detritus, so in my opinion, it's best to just dump it and replace it given the short time span.

If it were me moving the tank, I'd take this opportunity to just deep clean. A mini cycle is probably going to happen, so might as well just get it over with and start as relatively new as possible. New sand so there's not so much detritus and resuspended nutrients in the water column. Rocks brushed with something to remove as much algae/detritus as possible. As much new water as possible. A shot or three of Vibrant to combat algae, and 2-6 shots of a bottle bacteria just to let the tank ride through the mini cycle. Oh, and lights off for 2-3 days to give the bacteria time to settle.