Questions about the use of muriatic acid (HCL)

[whosinpower]

Works surprisingly well. I soak my pumps in vinegar on a regular basis to get rid of the calcium buildup.

[Ian]

HCl is non reactive with placstic but it will takeany protectice coating on metalls off. It should not hurt the metal at a 10:1 dilution unless you left it in the acid for many hours or even days. Care when making your dilutions that you add in the correct order( water to acid ) and not vis versa as the wrong order causes a highly vigorous reaction that can pop and spray. For sur use Eye protection and gloves when working with it.

[Snaz]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid

When you say 10:1 dilution ration it really is not descriptive if you do not know the original strength of the HCl. Industrial HCl would rot your sinus and lungs just by pouring from the bottle. This stuff is really bad for you and the environment.

Take the advice of others here, use vinegar and lots of elbow grease.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Snaz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid

When you say 10:1 dilution ration it really is not descriptive if you do not know the original strength of the HCl. Industrial HCl would rot your sinus and lungs just by pouring from the bottle. This stuff is really bad for you and the environment.

Take the advice of others here, use vinegar and lots of elbow grease.

Muriatic acid, is, I recall, 37% HCL. Diluted 10:1 gives 3.7%. Not sure the Molar value of that off-hand, but not terribly dangerous. And once diluted, it produces NaCl and H2O. Again, not terrible for the environment.
I used Acetic Acid (full strength Vinegar) once to try and clean my hydrometer. It melted it in about 10 seconds. Any acid is corrosive and dangerous in the right concentration, but diluted, they're all manageable. HCL is no different.

[Chad]

I think so long as you are responsible, using muriatic acid is just fine and safe.

[AndyL]

Rona sells it too; most of the good home improvement shops and paint stores will - it's the only way to properly etch a floor to accept paint... Not sure what home despots are thinking but...

[trilinearmipmap]

Originally Posted by Ian

HCl is non reactive with placstic but it will takeany protectice coating on metalls off. It should not hurt the metal at a 10:1 dilution unless you left it in the acid for many hours or even days. Care when making your dilutions that you add in the correct order( water to acid ) and not vis versa as the wrong order causes a highly vigorous reaction that can pop and spray. For sur use Eye protection and gloves when working with it.

Ian, you mean acid to water, not water to acid.

[AndyL]

Muriatic is my favorite reef tool... Especially for cleaning pumps of coraline and that scum they build up over time - plunk em in (yeah about 10:1) in an ice cream pail - running; Next day they're clean as a whistle...

One thing I've never had explained is why it seems to rejuvenate those small rubber parts (ie o-rings and those adapter bits); they seem to go in brittle, and come out soft n pliable again...

[Delphinus]

Where can you get the stuff? When I went to paint my fish room floor I noted the instructions said "first etch the concrete with muriatic acid." So to Home Depot I went, and they said "Are you crazy? That stuff is far too dangerous. We don't sell it." I ended up using this other product called "Concrete Etch" (don't know what it was but it wasn't muriatic acid). It was just one other example in a long series that make me wonder what it is that Home Depot actually sells - the stores seem pretty big, and they seem to be pretty full of "stuff" - and yet, anytime I need a (insert hardware thingy here), I seem to walk away from HD empty-handed. What's up with that anyhow?!

But I've heard of people using muriatic acid to clean all sorts of reef gear - for example it's supposed to be great for reaching parts of skimmers you can't reach and so on. ... Does Rona sell it? Or do you have to go to a more out-of-the-way sort of hardware store?

[Chad]

Canadian tire carries muriatic acid in the paint department. It is in a sealed bag.