Vitamin C

Geo

New member
Never used it before and I wanted to see what you guys have to say about it and get recommendations on brands and stuff.

Thanks
 

Pufferpunk

New member
VITAMIN C DOSING CHART
Here are the directions:
Use this product:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=10178&at=0 FREE SHIPPING!!!
$10 off 1st order of $40 & up or $5 off on smaller orders, when using this 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 I-herb 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!
 

bryman

New member
I've never used it before, but dosing Vit C is a form of carbon dosing - correct? If so do you also need to keep Alk low?
 

jm23

Active member
I've never used it before, but dosing Vit C is a form of carbon dosing - correct? If so do you also need to keep Alk low?
Yes it is just carbon dosing, that supposedly has other added benefits. I keep my alk around 8.5 and dose, but I have never heard a connection between dosing carbon and alk before...
 

Pufferpunk

New member
It is the acid in VC (ascorbic acid) that can cause a problem, hence why I suggest dosing buffered VC in the form of: Sodium ascorbate, Calcium ascorbate or Magnesium ascorbate.

In addition to being a carbon source, VC has also been found to help rebuild/strengthen cells.
 

bryman

New member
Yes it is just carbon dosing, that supposedly has other added benefits. I keep my alk around 8.5 and dose, but I have never heard a connection between dosing carbon and alk before...
Yup, I've done both Vodka and now biopellets, and once they kick in and your nitrates/PO4 are wiped out, IME corals don't look so good over 8.5. I had a major issue when my biopellets kicked in and sucked everything out of the water in a short time. Lost a lot of colonies, etc. Now I still run a little BPs and my bioload is a lot heavier, with PO4 running between .02-.03. It seems like my SPS don't mind higher Alk now because they look better with my recent accidental higher Alk swings while dialing in my Ca reactor. I think it is all just related to the nutrients in your systems separate from Carbon dosing in particular. In ULNS, they just can't tolerate higher Alk levels for some reason.
 
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