How do you clean Hydor Koralia's?

[scifi_3d_zoo]

I have a few Koralia 3's. I wanted to clean them but the instructions only say to use water and a brush. I was wondering if I can use bleach, vinegar, etc. to soak them in and clean without damaging the powerhead?? Their "Italian" website doesn't have any more info in it. And by the looks of their site not sure how much help I'll get emailing them in English. Thanks.

 

[camaroracer214]

you can use vinegar, but stay away from the bleach!!!

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

I tried vinegar with little success. But I didn't do it long. What should I do... 10:1 ratio? Let it soak for hours??

 

[mr_X]

i put them under the faucet and use a toothbrush. it's simple. how dirty are they?

if you want to use vinegar, you can submerge the thing in un-diluted vinegar..it's not going to hurt it.

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

I did do that in a bucket.. for 15 min. Didn't do much at all. I guess... I should have took a picture. There's stuff... down in cracks and areas where no toothbrush can go. It's probably been 2-3 months. They were pretty dirty. Yuck. Part of my problem is probably low-level phos'. I'm working on getting a refugium going, better skimmer, etc. I was gonna bypass a Phos reactor since I'll have a refugium but I don't know... they're so cheap. Maybe I'll just get one for now.\

Worse than that was my overflow box (drilled tank). I just scooped up , literally, a handful of algae. Probablly a cup full around the top edge of my box. It's a lot quieter now too. I think it was so thick the water cascaded over and hit the water below.

 

[trido]

Pure vinegar. Over night

 

[ChrisRD]

Pure vinegar. Over night

Agreed - this + an old toothbrush is how I clean most of my submersible pumps...

 

[S!mon]

Pure vinegar. Over night

running.

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

Damn... I don't get it. Running?

 

[trido]

Damn... I don't get it. Running?

With the pump plugged in. Seriously, no joke intended.

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

Oh ok. Duh.

Funny thing is... while I was washing it I noticed a little black plastic washer in the sink. I looked in the manual and it doesn't mention this part. I only found one so my 2nd pumps musta went down the sink. In case anybody else has these. It goes behind the propellor. I think they'll send me more for free. I haven't noticed any noise or problems but it's supposed to keep the propellor centered they said.

 

[brandonberry]

Yeah, they'll probably send you one. Their customer service is really good, IME.

I usually use muriatic acid (HCl) to clean mine. It dissolves coralline instantly and does not do any damage. Just wear gloves and if you get it on you rinse it off quick and you'll be OK. Goggles would probably be a good idea too as I'm sure that it would really mess up your eyes. Oh, and unless you like the feeling of breathing into a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips, you probably want to do it in a well ventilated area.