Do your powerheads need a good cleaning? (1 Viewer)

[Tstew32]

I think Tstew32 meant to post on my Aiptasia thread.

Whoops! [emoji13][emoji13][emoji13]


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[RR-MAN]

Yep...vinegar takes hours and hours.

Once you try acid..."if your time is valuable to you" you will never go back to vinegar.

If anybody is worried about delicate components just weaken the solution of acid.

instead of doing a 60/40 or 70/30...do an 80/20.

70/30 and 80/20 are both great solutions. I prefer 70/30 or even 60/40. Gets it done and I have yet to see any wear and tear on my powerheads. I've been inspecting all plastic and metal parts...no damage at all. Just squeaky clean powerheads.

I might take an old powerhead and soak it in 70/30 overnight and see what happens and then post a YouTube video.

I have tried it trust me I have 4 boxes of acid in the garage right now for the swimming pool [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


I clean the pumps once a month so not too much calcium build up and vinegar does the job.
[emoji106]

 

[Cody]

The 9% vinegar does the job In about 30-45 minutes. I have only found it at HEB. It's my go-to.

 

[Reefahholic]

The 9% vinegar does the job In about 30-45 minutes. I have only found it at HEB. It's my go-to.

I’ll need to get some of this magic juice you speak of.

 

[sneezebeetle]

I'm a patient person and for someone with curious and at times, clumsy kids and cats, I am quite content to stick with vinegar, (less risk for mishaps) which really does do the job just fine for me since I soak every month and never get a heavy build up. I can see however where some may prefer to use muriatic acid. I guess to each his own

Thanks for sharing Jarod, very informative and good conversation.

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[TriggerFan]

I need to stop reading these cool and informative threads. It simply cost me more money every week! (j/k) - On my way to HEB! LOL

 

[phhoth]

I'm a patient person and for someone with curious and at times, clumsy kids and cats, I am quite content to stick with vinegar, (less risk for mishaps) which really does do the job just fine for me since I soak every month and never get a heavy build up. I can see however where some may prefer to use muriatic acid. I guess to each his own

Thanks for sharing Jarod, very informative and good conversation.

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Agree, it's organic! and healthy and when doing a 50/50 solution and turning on pump and/or powerhead it does not take very long. water circulation will speed up the process

 

[gregg]

i keep a 5gallon bucket in my garage with about 3 gallons of 9% vinegar, soak my pump and gyre for about 30 minutes and then it all comes off easily with a tooth brush.

 

[Reefahholic]

I must be buy the wrong vinegar. I get white distilled from Kroger. Takes forever to get Coralline off. I need to try H-E-B if I use vinegar again. I’ve even tried 100% for hours and it’s still slow. For me...it takes overnight soaks and I just don’t have that kind of time.

 

[sneezebeetle]

i keep a 5gallon bucket in my garage with about 3 gallons of 9% vinegar, soak my pump and gyre for about 30 minutes and then it all comes off easily with a tooth brush.

Yep! Just takes a soft bristle tooth brush and a 30 min soak.

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[phhoth]

Actually one should have an extra powerhead/circulation pump on standby anyway and use them when doing the vinegar method. time does not matter then!!!

 

[Tangs]

Once a month I wipe them with a sponge on a plastic handle. The powerheads are intact in the waatu. Once or twice a year I take them out of the waatu and just rinse them under a tap. This removes any build up of debris inside the power head itself. .

 

[Cody]

I must be buy the wrong vinegar. I get white distilled from Kroger. Takes forever to get Coralline off. I need to try H-E-B if I use vinegar again. I’ve even tried 100% for hours and it’s still slow. For me...it takes overnight soaks and I just don’t have that kind of time.

It's the 9% that makes the difference. I believe it's less than $3 per gallon too. Look for the Hill Country HEB brand that Gregg posted pictures of and you're good to go. It has a blue label.

 

[ShipWrecked]

Thread title made me feel guilty, I'll be cleaning tomorrow.

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[sneezebeetle]

Thread title made me feel guilty, I'll be cleaning tomorrow.

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[emoji23] HaHa!

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[Reefahholic]

Once a month I wipe them with a sponge on a plastic handle. The powerheads are intact in the waatu. Once or twice a year I take them out of the waatu and just rinse them under a tap. This removes any build up of debris inside the power head itself. .

 

[Reefahholic]

My powerheads are very attractive now. Haha

My return pump needs work. However, the wires are basically not assessable. My sump is too large.

The next system I build will be my last (I promise) and it will have a lot of thought and planning going into it. Everything will be as easy as it gets.

 

[Cody]

My powerheads are very attractive now. Haha

My return pump needs work. However, the wires are basically not assessable. My sump is too large.

The next system I build will be my last (I promise) and it will have a lot of thought and planning going into it. Everything will be as easy as it gets.

Yeah I said that this time and there are some things I might have done different. Curious minds are always looking for a way to improve things.

 

[Reefahholic]

Cody, I picked up two bottles of H-E-B Vinegar yesterday evening. They better not disappoint. All Coralline and crusties must come off within 30 minutes via soft bristle toothbrush.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

30-45 mins... haha. NO WAY!

Yes way..

I usually don't let them get too bad with the build-up so a 30 or so min soak and a good scrubbing with a very coarse bristle brush usually handles it. Any coraline algae on them tends to turn white and flake off in the tank after a day or two mostly due to my using 150+ degree water for the soak. I also put a thin coat of petroleum jelly on the ceramic impeller shaft as well after cleaning. This helps prevent scale buildup as well.