Citric acid vs vinegar.

Isaac Alves · Mar 25, 2016

It appears the NYOS Skimmers list citric acid as the cleaning agent to use. The cost is actually better than vinegar when looking at the cost on Amazon for citric acid powders. I like the idea since it would smell fresher than vinegar.

Anyone have experience?

Lynn52 · Mar 25, 2016

Citric acid dissolves calcium deposits better than standard vinegar. I think more care needs to be taken to rinse it all off.

Isaac Alves · Mar 25, 2016

Lynn52 said:
Citric acid dissolves calcium deposits better than standard vinegar. I think more care needs to be taken to rinse it all off.

Why does more care need to be taken to rinse it off. Advice sounds good but I'm just curious.

Lynn52 · Mar 25, 2016

Vinegar is very dilute acetic acid. Likely your citric acid solution will be more concentrated. It can burn your skin and potentially affect the tank pH.

Isaac Alves · Mar 27, 2016

Yeah. Tried the citric acid. I purchased a used skimmer. The previous owner gave it a thorough vinegar bath, but man i really don't like the smell. Never have. There was still some caked on parts in the viewing area of the pin wheel. So i wanted to ensure disinfection and cleanliness, so i did the citric acid bath. Works great. But seriously be careful with the aerosolisation of the water. It can be bad.