Citric acid vs vinegar.

[Isaac Alves]

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]

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

 

[Isaac Alves]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Isaac Alves]

And no smell! Ahhhhh. Fresh.

 

[Sabellafella]

I was using the tunze citric acid for quite a while and it worked well for me. Same with vinegar