Auto Feed w/ VC?

brettz16

Member
I recently just started dosing Vitamin C and soon so split it with Vinegar too, to get more of a range of carbon. I can tell that i am going to get lazy with this but i plan to dose the given amounts of VC (1x morning 1x night) and Vinegar (1X midday)

Would you guys think a Automatic feeder in the sump would work? i can set it to dump the carbon a given times during the day? it would just require a refill every week.
 

Joe5688

Active member
I recently just started dosing Vitamin C and soon so split it with Vinegar too, to get more of a range of carbon. I can tell that i am going to get lazy with this but i plan to dose the given amounts of VC (1x morning 1x night) and Vinegar (1X midday)

Would you guys think a Automatic feeder in the sump would work? i can set it to dump the carbon a given times during the day? it would just require a refill every week.
The only problem i see with this is that It would need to mix really well while traveling though your sump and it would have to be dumped after your skimmer.
 

brettz16

Member
Never mind, just saw a video on how it works, the baffles arent connected to bottom so it would not hold the vinegar and the VC would be left under them
Not looking good for this idea
 

Pufferpunk

New member
You absolutely cannot dose in this manner. As soon as VC hits the water, it starts to break down. It is totally gone within 8 hours. This is why we have to dose 2x/day.

Please be sure to read this before dosing VC:

VITAMIN C DOSING CHART
Here are the directions:
Use this product:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=10178&at=0
$10 off coupon code: LUL789


To figure out how much to use, decide if you want to simply improve coral growth, spread, and color. If so, then you should dose around 5 ppm twice daily (down to 2-3 ppm works also). If you are having problems with coral or fish health, dose up to around 30 ppm twice daily.

Calculate the total net number of gallons in your tank (minus rocks, sand, etc). Enter that number here ______.

You will now need to do a little math. The amounts below are for 100 gallons of water so if you have 50 net gallons, cut the amounts shown below in half etc.

Dosing amounts using Iherb product:
1/4 tsp=1112 mg.

For every 100 gallons:

5 ppm ----- 1892 mg VC
10 ppm ---- 3785 mg VC
15 ppm ---- 5677 mg VC
20 ppm ---- 7570 mg VC
25 ppm ---- 9462 mg VC
30 ppm ---- 11355 mg VC

After you have figured out how much you want to dose at each dosing, enter that number here _____. This is your dose to be used twice a day.

Notes:
*Be sure your pH and alk are within normal reef limits before starting. Adjust if needed. Monitor weekly.
*Shoot for a ppm of around 5 or lower if only dosing for improved coral growth, coloration, and spread, also for better health/coloration of your fish. Shoot for higher amounts up to 30 ppm if you are having melting zoas or closed zoas and look for the causes of your problems as you dose. Higher doses of as much as 100ppm (for about 2 weeks) for fish illness. Check for high nitrates, pests, zoa pox, predators, and unstable water conditions.
*Dose low amounts and increase the amount slowly over the course of a few days to a couple weeks.
* If you notice an algae bloom (white stringy stuff) or increased scum on your glass then cut back by half until it disappears.
* Watch your skimmer, it will start to skim more.
* Dose the amount twice a day in a fast moving area of your sump or overflow. You may dilute the vitamin c in ro/di water then pour into overflow. If adding to sump, try and add the vitamin c after filtration such as skimmers and reactors. *Keep your Vitamin C bottle in the refrigerator. * If you have a question, ask here. I do my best to check these threads daily.
* The instructions in this guide and throughout this thread are based on using pure Sodium Ascorbate, not vitamin c pills and other non-buffered forms of vitamin c.

Be sure to take some "before" pics!
 

brettz16

Member
Yes i read your thread and purchased the recommend product. I realize dosing 2x/day is necessary which is why i wanted to try something automated considering im not always home to dose twice. You can set most of these to dispense several times a day at given times and amounts. Just wanted to see if anyone tried it.
 

Pufferpunk

New member
Also, please be very careful to check your parameters often, when dosing anything new but even more so, combining 2 products like that. Menard mentioned in his thread that you have to be very, very careful when dosing vinegar. There is no known chart like the one I posted for dosing vinegar.

Again, even exposed to air, light & room temps, the VC starts to break down. That's why we keep it in the dark fridge in a closed container, until ready to use. I often forget the morning dosing myself but am pretty good at dosing right before bed every night. Maybe set an alarm on your phone to remind you?
 
Top