- A big howdy, howdy to all of my fellow
and future hobbyists out there.
My name is Matthew.
I am your BRS beginner guru,
and all we're gonna do right here right now
is answer your top five questions all about VRS citric acid.
Question number one,
how do I clean my aquarium with citric acid?
First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way,
never add citric acid to an active tank.
It is only meant to be used to clean gear and empty tanks.
You have a couple of options
when it comes to using citric acid to clean your tank.
If you don't mind using a lot of citric acid,
then you can just fill up
whatever tank you're cleaning with tap water,
and then add three quarter cup citric acid per gallon.
But that's gonna use a lot of citric acid,
or you could just add a few gallons of tap water
and citric acid to the bottom of your tank,
and then use some citric acid soaked paper towels
to stick it to the walls of the tank.
Using the citric acid paper towel trick
will not only use a lot less citric acid,
but it will still allow the glass walls
to come in contact with the citric acid
and help remove that calcium carbonate
and coralline algae buildup.
I think this is obvious enough,
but the longer you soak the glass walls of the tank,
the easier it will be to clean.
But you could also just use a bucket of water
with some citric acid in it,
then just get a soft bristle brush
and scrub the walls of your tank.
It'll take a little bit more work, but it'll do the trick.
For safety reasons be sure to always wear a mask
when mixing citric acid,
because it's not good to get into your lungs
and also be sure that you always add the powder to water.
Don't add water to powder
because that will cause the powder to go up into the air.
While it's probably not totally necessary,
it's also a good idea to wear gloves when using citric acid,
just to avoid some skinny irritation.
Question number two,
how do you clean your reef tank equipment?
For things like pumps, heaters, wave makers, et cetera,
just fill up a bucket with tap water
and add the appropriate amount of citric acid.
Remember you add three quarter cup citric acid
per every gallon of tap water.
Place your gear into the bucket with the citric acid
and just let it sit.
For pumps, be sure to plug them in
because of the constant water movement
will actually help them get cleaner quicker.
The longer your gear sits in the citric acid,
the easier it will be to clean.
So maybe try 30 minutes at first,
get out your various size bristle brushes
and try giving it a scrub.
If the calcium carbonate or coralline algae
isn't coming off very easily,
then maybe just give it another 30 minutes and try again.
Once all of your gear is brushed clean
be sure to rinse everything off with fresh water
before placing it back inside your tank.
Question number three,
how often should you clean your aquarium pumps?
Okay, there are two types of cleaning here.
There is the more preventative shallow clean,
and then there is the take everything apart, deep clean.
I would do the preventative shallow clean
every other month or so.
But just watch your gear.
As you start to notice either calcium carbonate
or coralline algae buildup,
is probably time to take it out and do a shallow clean.
But for the take everything apart, deep clean,
I usually shoot for every six months,
but that time can vary
depending on how quickly your coralline algae
or calcium carbonate builds up on your gear.
When you are performing one of those deep cleans,
it's a really good idea to take all of your gear apart,
including your pumps,
and then let everything soak in that citric acid
for at least a couple hours.
Performing both the shallow clean and the deep clean
will definitely help prolong the life of your gear,
especially your pumps.
Question number four,
is citric acid better than white vinegar
for cleaning your pumps?
While there is no solid answer here yet.
The hobbyist consensus over the last few years
seems to point in the direction
that citric acid is better than white vinegar.
There are some concerns that over time, the white vinegar
may interact with the magnets in your pumps.
While I personally never had a problem with that,
there is that concern out there amongst a lot of hobbyists.
To be totally honest with you
I've used white vinegar
for almost a decade with zero problems.
So you're probably gonna be fine either route you choose.
And lastly, question number five,
how much does citric acid cost?
Let's break the price down to you
based on the three different sizes available
as price per gallon.
And we'll also compare it to white vinegar.
Starting out with the 32 ounce citric acid container,
the current retail cost of BRS is $12 and 49 cents
and it makes 5.33 gallons.
The cost per gallon is $2 and 34 cents.
Moving on to the medium-sized 64 ounce
citric acid container.
The current cost is $23.99.
It makes 10.67 gallons.
And the cost is 9 cents less
coming in at $2 and 25 cents per gallon.
And if you pick up the 128 ounce citric acid container,
the current BRS price is $43.99,
it makes 21.33 gallons,
and it comes out to $2 and 6 cents per gallon,
which is significantly cheaper overall.
And when we compare that to 64 ounces of white vinegar,
which ranges in cost from a dollar 50 to $3 per container,
we'll take $2.25 as the average.
You mix that in a one-to-one ratio with tap water,
which equals one gallon total,
so the cost per gallon is $2.25.
So as you can see, using citric acid
is pretty much the exact same cost
as using distilled white vinegar.
Since you're going to have to clean your gear at some point,
you have a choice.
You can either buy distilled white vinegar,
or you can try citric acid.
And since it's the exact same price
and hobbyist swear that this is better than white vinegar,
why not give it a shot?
This one right here is the 64 ounce.
I would probably pick up the 128 ounce.
It doesn't have a shelf life, it lasts forever.
If you're interested in taking a peek at it
and trying it out for yourself,
we'll put a link directly below.
And as always everybody, thank you for watching.
Happy reefing, be well.
We'll see you next time.
(bright upbeat music)