Vinegar Bath

[mling]

I have never used vinegar before in my reef for cleaning, etc.
I have placed about 150lbs of aiptasia infested live rock in the sun for 2 weeks now. I plan to kill any remaining trace of aiptasia with a vinegar bath. I also plan to give the new DAS skimmer I just ordered a vinegar bath too.

Do you just use any type vinegar ? How much do you have to rinse after the vinegar to ensure that none of it makes it to the tank ?

 

[Anonymous]

Vinegar, esp. when heated slightly in microwave, to clean off the scale or mineral deposits. They are not used to kill Aiptasia after they are completely dessicated. You better off just wash the dead "live rock" under the tap, and rinse the junk off.

I never heard of any specific device call vinegar bath... I assume it is just a plastic container filled with vinegar? Most people just use the cheapest white vinegar, nothing fancy or colored.

If you do decided to put the rock inside such vinegar bath, depends on the relative size of the bath and the rock, and how long you wait, you may end up with a mushy slurry of bubbling goo, with no trace of the rock at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Good question, haven't a clue because I'd never thought of using it that way. I usually use straight white vinegar to clean things for the tank then rinse throughly until I can't smell the vinegar any more.

FWIW, if your rock as been out of water that long its a sure thing nothing is living on it , but it wouldn't hurt to "clean it" of any decayed/rotted guck before you reuse it. I'd use a 50% bleach solution (use pure bleach-be sure it has no scent or soap added ) to dip the rock into, scrub with a new bristle brush. Then put it in another bucket that has declorinator added to it and swish off any loose stuff. Rinse it in one more time in clean water then put it back in the sun for a day or so to burn off any remaining chlorine.