Treating with Vitamin C

[Orochimaru]

Ok. Here's my observation on my 100gal. I started dosing per instruction on here a few months ago and had some rtn and so I stop for a couple weeks. Even during the time, my zoos were doing better. Just my sps were having rtn. So now, I am only dosing 1 tablespoon once a week right after I performed weekly water change. Even though it seems minimal but my zoos are growing and very healthy. Not sure if this had anything to do with this but even my green cap has so much polyps extension, it's fuzzy looking. I am so confident inthis thread that I actualy went out and got some nuclear green, death paly and armor of god zoas. I used to have lots of zoas before but after a few months, they keep dying on me. Now, I couldn't stop them from growing.

This thread is useless without pics. so I will include some old pics. of the zoas I used to have. They are all gone now but now with this vitamin C thing, I think the new zoas collection will be just fine.

old pics.

all of these zoas could have been saved if this exist a while back.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I know how you feel... It kills me to look at pics of all the zoas I used to have. Not anymore!

Do you know what those are called in your 1st pic, top middle (blue & green)? I've got a big colony of those.

 

[Orochimaru]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13670791#post13670791 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
I know how you feel... It kills me to look at pics of all the zoas I used to have. Not anymore!

Do you know what those are called in your 1st pic, top middle (blue & green)? I've got a big colony of those.

no idea man.

At least now whatever I get, I know they will be ok with V.-C.

 

[markietan]

must it be sodium ascorbate?

must it be sodium ascorbate?

hi, recently some of my favourite zoas have been melting away and i would like to try dosing vit c.

however i'm from singapore and i can't seem to find a shop that sells vit c in the sodium ascorbate form... would ascorbic acid or calcium ascorbate be of any use? what happens if it is not buffered?

also they are usually buffered with calcium, magnesium and potassium carbonate... i guess having abit more calcium and magnesium in the system won't hurt.. so these should be fine right?

lastly many of those off the shelf tablets have things like cellulose, fruit extracts, Citrus Bioflavonoids Complex??? are these okay for aquarium?

i think the closest i can get is probably
http://www.gnc.com.sg/product/0100839.aspx?category_id=781364D8-3FCF-4DF5-BC74-456CE74C7A81

or

http://www.gnc.com.sg/product/0100166.aspx?category_id=781364D8-3FCF-4DF5-BC74-456CE74C7A81

 

[Pufferpunk]

Try to keep looking--although magnesium or calcium ascorbate are both fine (I just find the sodium cheaper), you want the pure crystaline form, not the pill, as there are fillers that keep the pill in their shape. I also woudn't used a time-realease kind.

If not buffered, you are going to have serious alk/pH problems eventually & will have to be constantly monitering & fixing that.

 

[supraeli]

heres another $5 off coupon at iHerb.com - LIJ259

 

[Orochimaru]

more zoos that I've lost:

 

[Pufferpunk]

That's just so sad... I wish we kew why our zoas would grow as well as those one day & disappear the next.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

I dosed 4000 mg in the 240+ system and 2000mg in the 100 (+ sump) and 125 gallon (no sump yet) tanks. My first dosing. I'll do that again when I get home later and then again in the morning tomorrow. Ya'll think one week then up the dosage or sooner?

The new 125 will be interesting because there's one zoa colony that I picked up 2nd hand yesterday that's bleached and a mess and it'd be cool to see if it recovers. I'll take pictures of the ones that are endangered tomorrow.

Ron

 

[Pufferpunk]

Pleas do post pics! Some folks have had issues with cloudy water if raised too fast. 3 days should be ok but 1 week is fine. I do ~4500mg in the morning & ~9000 in the evening for maintence on my 100g system, for about a year now. I back off & they start disappearing again.

 

[IridescentLily]

Wow, those were some nice zoas. :-(

 

[IridescentLily]

I love the green palys. I can't remember what they're called *is embarassed* I love them, they're like big emeralds.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Ummmm... Big Green Protopalys.

 

[wesdaniel]

OMG, those are some incredible pictures! I bought the stuff you recommended and am getting ready to start dosing my frag tank (all softies/zoas/palys). My zoas, after a long time of doing very, very well are starting to look sad - some are shrinking and others just disappearing. The frag tank is about 20-25g in total water capacity (including sump). I'm considering starting as follows:

Days 1-3: 1/8tsp (if my math is right, about 6PPM)
Days 4-6: 1/4tsp (about 12PPM?)
Days 7-10: 1/3 tsp (about 17PPM?)

Is this a good place to stop?

I've read suggestions from 10PPM up to 23PPM, so I'm not sure what the best numbers to look for here are.

If you think I'm doing anything wrong - too agressive or too conservative, I'd love to know.

Thanks!

 

[EllieSuz]

I started dosing 1/4 tsp twice daily to my system of about 50 gallons four days ago. Last night I noticed that water was not flowing through my filter sock, which had been changed just three days ago. When I pulled the sock out, it held all the water that was in it; it had lost every bit of its porosity. There was a slick, slimy feel to it. Is this a product of Vitamin C overdose? I dropped back to 1/8 tsp this morning and will stay with that until I hear otherwise from those of you who have had such great success with this method. Thanks.

 

[Jeff]

The slime usually indicates a shock to the system due to a bacterial bloom probably caused by the vitamin c. It is VERY important to start out really low and gradually increase the dosage. It is also important to do regular water changes.
If I had to start a new system with it, I would dose 1/4 of the dose and then double the dose every 7 days until I achieved my regular dose. I dose 6 ppm twice a day now and have had a lot of sucess over the last year.

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
Dose 2x/day. 1/4 tsp=1112 mg.

 

[Jeff]

An addition to my comments above: It is my opinion that starting really low is the safest way to go. Others have started right at 5-6 ppm with no problematic results.

 

[Pufferpunk]

With serious problems such as wesdaniel, I'd go up to 30ppm until things look better. I am doing maintence doses of 12ppm in the morning & 23ppm in the eveming, on my DT. I had skipped the morning doses for a while (due to being busy getting ready for work & forgetting) & when I remembered to dose, I saw a difference in the corals (especially zoas).

EllieSuz, This is a result of the carbon dosing aspect of the VC. It is eating up your nitrate & this is the end result. IMO, I'd forget about the sock for a while (unless you feel like cleanig it daily) & let your skimmer do the work. Everyone dosing VC will have to do adjustments on their skimmer so it won't overflow, because skimmate production is crazy (this is a GOOD thing)! Your nitrate should be very close to 0 within a week of dosing.

 

[EllieSuz]

Thank you both for the response. Do you keep Chaeto and does the reduction in nitrates caused by Vitamin C starve it? I have a healthy growth of Chaeto that I would hate to lose.

 

[Pufferpunk]

You won't lose it but it won't grow much.