Pufferpunk
New member
You skimmed thru all 4 splits of this thread?
Treating with Vitamin C
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
OK. I am starting to get red cyano popping up here and there. Nothing has changed but the Vit C addition.
Anyone had that with the use of it. I am still using it. Just beginning to get a little concerned. I have never had red cyano before in all the years I have kept reef tanks. Had plenty of hair, turf, brown diatoms, but never red cyano.
Any advise?
Anyone had that with the use of it. I am still using it. Just beginning to get a little concerned. I have never had red cyano before in all the years I have kept reef tanks. Had plenty of hair, turf, brown diatoms, but never red cyano.
Any advise?
Pufferpunk
New member
Have you checked your nitrate lately? I can betcha it's almost non-existant. If cyano is caused by excess nutrients, how can VC be causing this?
Bill14
Member
Because VC is a carbon source and cyano is a bacteria. This happens occasionally to people dosing a carbon source (from what I've read). The thinking is that the carbon source is a food for bacteria (good and bad). If you don't have enough good bacteria to outcompete the bad for the carbon source, the bad bacteria consumes the carbon and multiplies (cyano). One method to aid in this is to dose a good bacteria along with the carbon source (SunnyX's method).
You could also attack the cyano as you normally would with added flow and eliminating the nutrient problem.
You could also attack the cyano as you normally would with added flow and eliminating the nutrient problem.
Jeff
Premium Member
All of this information is exactly correct. the carbon source in this case is sodium ascorbate and it can fuel cyano in some tanks. The important thing to remember that getting rid of any bad algae and keeping it away, or bacteria in this case, is to outcompete it.
Patience goes a long way in this hobby. A little cyano is an indicator that things are changing in your reef environment. keep at it and the cyano will dissapear along with other problems that you have. Remember, this will only work well with efficient skimming to remove excess bacteria and nutrients.
A more serious problem I have been having lately is very low ph. One evening it read 7.68 on my monitor. I switched probes and recalibrated both to make sure it was not a faulty probe and I did a titration test with Instant Ocean test kit and all showed the same thing, way low ph. I posted on the chemistry forum and was told probably excess CO2 so I opened the playroom window overnight and the ph did go up. But out of frustration I also had stopped dosing VitC (Sodium Ascorbate-100% Pur Buffered Vit C Pharm Grade ph 7.1) the day before.
Well, I have had the windows closed since and the ph is staying near 8.3 without adding anything at all. I suspect it was the Vit C lowering the ph in my tank. The red slime has also started clearing up.
Guess it will work in some tanks and not work in others.
Well, I have had the windows closed since and the ph is staying near 8.3 without adding anything at all. I suspect it was the Vit C lowering the ph in my tank. The red slime has also started clearing up.
Guess it will work in some tanks and not work in others.
Jeff
Premium Member
I can think of two reasons that this may have happened. First, when feeding a carbon source to beneficial bacteria you will get an initial massive explosion and then die off after a food source is consumed. Die off in an aquarium can cause many changes including lowering ph. This happened to me when I was using an inefficient skimmer. Afer upgrading, the problem went away. Second, check your alk. Ph and alk go hand in hand. There have been a few people that have reported their alk lowering when starting VC.
It may also be a coincidence with the weather, windows or all of the above.
I have had many tanks over the years, some with skimmers and some without. My shed is crammed with different sized tanks. I dose kalk and I have never had a problem with alk and my alk reading has pretty much been at 3.5-4meq. Calcium stays pretty steady at 450.
I have been in this house for almost 10 years and have never had a problem with keeping ph up until I started dosing the Vit C and this is the first time I have ever had red slime algae.
My past tanks have always been nice and only a few times have I had problems with hair algae and that was when I had a lot of fish in a 120gl.
Since I stopped using the Vit C the ph and slime problem has gone away. Maybe it is due to inefficient skimmer, closed doors, but the problem is gone and I still have the same skimmer and the doors are still closed, so I have to assume it is the addition of Vit C.
It works for some, and not for others from the many posts that have been made on the subject here and other forums.
No big deal to me, I am one of those that wants to dose the least I can, not out of laziness or lack of time given, but simple is best I believe.
No reflection on those that do dose Vit C and it works for them, just doesn't work for everyone. No 2 tanks run the same, everyone should know that by now.
Maybe it is for tanks that are having problems tha tit helps might be the key to using it. I made the mistake, once again, of trying to fix something that wasn't broken. Maybe a balanced system Vit C throws out of balance.
I have been in this house for almost 10 years and have never had a problem with keeping ph up until I started dosing the Vit C and this is the first time I have ever had red slime algae.
My past tanks have always been nice and only a few times have I had problems with hair algae and that was when I had a lot of fish in a 120gl.
Since I stopped using the Vit C the ph and slime problem has gone away. Maybe it is due to inefficient skimmer, closed doors, but the problem is gone and I still have the same skimmer and the doors are still closed, so I have to assume it is the addition of Vit C.
It works for some, and not for others from the many posts that have been made on the subject here and other forums.
No big deal to me, I am one of those that wants to dose the least I can, not out of laziness or lack of time given, but simple is best I believe.
No reflection on those that do dose Vit C and it works for them, just doesn't work for everyone. No 2 tanks run the same, everyone should know that by now.
Maybe it is for tanks that are having problems tha tit helps might be the key to using it. I made the mistake, once again, of trying to fix something that wasn't broken. Maybe a balanced system Vit C throws out of balance.
scuba guy ron
New member
I have read every single post in this. It seems that people are reporting far more problems when they dose with Vit C than good results.
Just my Opinion from the reading of this forum that has taken me 2 days. just doesnt seem worth it.
Just my Opinion from the reading of this forum that has taken me 2 days. just doesnt seem worth it.
Octopus8
New member
I dosed vitamin C for a couple of months with good results in 2008 then gave up because daily dosing was a hassle. Over several months my Zoas started getting smaller and thinning out. I also started getting red bubble algae on one rock and lots of red turf algae over 30% of my aquarium. Two months ago I started dosing again. 1/2 tsp in my 24 gallon aquarium every morning without fail. Now all of my Zoas open all day every day. They are bigger and reproducing quickly again. The red bubble algae stated turning white then died off completely. The last tiny piece disappeared just a few days ago. The red turf algae died off quickly and is being replaced by red coraline algae. The only algae in my aquarium now is a little green hair algae on my Koralia Nano powerhead right in front of the impeller. The only negative I've experienced is a decline in the growth rate of my Pulsing Xenia and GSP. I believe most would consider that a benefit.
Jeff
Premium Member
Good to hear Octopus8 
.
Therman, it's too bad that this cheap little trick didnt work for you. Innovative testing by hobbiests goes a long way in this hobby and this little tip that Pufferpunk started testing and touting has really helped out the vast majority of people that tried it. There are some exceptions though and it's not for everyone. There are a few people that did not have success with it but I suspect that there were other problems in the tank including impatience and not following her advice (not that this was the case with you).
. Therman, it's too bad that this cheap little trick didnt work for you. Innovative testing by hobbiests goes a long way in this hobby and this little tip that Pufferpunk started testing and touting has really helped out the vast majority of people that tried it. There are some exceptions though and it's not for everyone. There are a few people that did not have success with it but I suspect that there were other problems in the tank including impatience and not following her advice (not that this was the case with you).
According to reports it does seem to benefit tanks that are having problems with zoas and algae, but seems to have the reverse affect when there are no problems in a system and it is added.
Must be something going on with either salt content, maintenance, trace elements...something obviously.
I don't know about you statement Jeff but the slime in my tank is going away, my ph has returned to normal and all my zoas are doing great.
Must be something going on with either salt content, maintenance, trace elements...something obviously.
I don't know about you statement Jeff but the slime in my tank is going away, my ph has returned to normal and all my zoas are doing great.
According to reports it does seem to benefit tanks that are having problems with zoas and algae, but seems to have the reverse affect when there are no problems in a system and it is added.
Must be something going on with either salt content, maintenance, trace elements...something obviously.
I don't know about your statement Jeff but the slime in my tank is going away, my ph has returned to normal and all my zoas are doing great.
Must be something going on with either salt content, maintenance, trace elements...something obviously.
I don't know about your statement Jeff but the slime in my tank is going away, my ph has returned to normal and all my zoas are doing great.
martinphillip03
New member
Is anyone vodka and vit. C dosing?
Jeff
Premium Member
What reports? This 131 page thread is the only information about vitamin c dosing in the last few years that I know of. The method that Puffy came up with has been tested and refined by herself, myself and other Reef Central members over the last 2 years. If there is any other information out there, please post it, I would like to see how others fair with it.
I have said it before, exporting the dead bacterial and it's waste are paramount in this method. Efficient skimming and water changes are the only way that I know of to do this. It is the exact same thing with vodka, sugar, or vsv dosing. I proved this to myself when I upgraded my skimmer and decreased vc dosing. When feeding something like beneficial bacteria in a closed environment, you must have a way to export the dead organisms or you wont see the results you want. Until something new comes down the road, skimming and water changes are the key step here. "The solution to pollution is dilution" (unless you dont pollute in the first place that is).
The slime in your tank going away and the zoas doing great are typical results of dosing the vc. The corals doing better is normally immediate as is the slime going away slowly.
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I won't bother arguing with you on this. There are other forums and other pple besides just this site that have had both good and bad results for the use of Vit C. I will let you have your moment and think that you have the absolute cure all, really , because it makes no difference to me one way or the other. It didn't work for me, you only know what you have seen in your own system, you are no chemist and no expert though you want to be, but as I said, doesn't really matter to me. It did more harm for my system than good, whether you want to claim otherwise or not, I am glad it works for you, try to accept the fact that your system and some others that it works for are not gospel.
I stopped using it almost a week now and that is when my tank started to improve and getting better by the day. It was doing great until about a week after I started dosing.
