Treating with Vitamin C
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Pufferpunk
New member
VITAMIN C DOSING CHART
Here are the directions:
Use this product:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=10178&at=0
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. 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. 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!
Here are the directions:
Use this product:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=10178&at=0
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. 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. 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!
Pufferpunk
New member
It's frustrating... 
Jeff
Premium Member
When you get the white stringy stuff, it is an indicator of a bacterial bloom from overdosing. You just cut the dose by half until it clears up and then slowly raise the dose to a lower amount.
Is it neccesary to dose twice a day? Would dosing a couple times a week be beneficial as well? I have skimmed this thread a while back. I contemplated vit C dosing and opted for vodka dosing. I'm sorry I even messed with the vodka dosing. My tank has never looked worse and it's taking months to correct what I screwed up trying to play like the big boys....obviously not knowing what I was doing (though following directions to the T)
A friend gave me vitamin C because she decided not to do it. I also got prodibio bio digest and started off with that (to bring my tank back around) Wish I had taken before pics.....it was pretty ugly. About 2 weeks after starting the prodibio (wonderful stuff btw), I was reminded of this thread when someone in my reef cub posted about vit c dosing and Pufferpunk posted and asked how it was going. I decided to give it a shot. Started out with (in a 110 gal) about 3 tsp a day. Noticed a bit of a hike in my alk. I've been dosing 2 tsp daily (I have missed a day or two here and there though) since and prodibio every 2 weeks as suggested in those instructions. What an improvement! Corals are starting to look healthier, and I can actually see the coraline on my rock, rather than brown gook, cyano, and hair algae. There now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. My skimmer is skimming like crazy and my water is much clearer now rather then a little cloudy.
I'm hoping this continues to be a good thing for my tank. I plan to continue using both.
Back to my original question.....it's time consuming and tedious to dose daily....is there any benefit to dosing a couple times a week?
A friend gave me vitamin C because she decided not to do it. I also got prodibio bio digest and started off with that (to bring my tank back around) Wish I had taken before pics.....it was pretty ugly. About 2 weeks after starting the prodibio (wonderful stuff btw), I was reminded of this thread when someone in my reef cub posted about vit c dosing and Pufferpunk posted and asked how it was going. I decided to give it a shot. Started out with (in a 110 gal) about 3 tsp a day. Noticed a bit of a hike in my alk. I've been dosing 2 tsp daily (I have missed a day or two here and there though) since and prodibio every 2 weeks as suggested in those instructions. What an improvement! Corals are starting to look healthier, and I can actually see the coraline on my rock, rather than brown gook, cyano, and hair algae. There now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. My skimmer is skimming like crazy and my water is much clearer now rather then a little cloudy.
I'm hoping this continues to be a good thing for my tank. I plan to continue using both.
Back to my original question.....it's time consuming and tedious to dose daily....is there any benefit to dosing a couple times a week?
Jeff
Premium Member
Good question actually. I have been dosing VC for a couple years with great results but I now dose for a couple weeks and go off it for a couple weeks. When I do dose, it is only 2-3 ppm so I dose low. The reason I do it this way is that I do not have any of the problems that some people are having with their corals. I dose simply for the benefits of colorful corals, quicker frag healing and a small amount of nutrient reduction. I am running a massive skimmer that is way over-sized on my tank as well as a small algae turf scrubber so nutrients are not a problem in my tank. I also don't have melting zoas, sky rocketing nitrates and phosphates so I really don't need all of the benefits that VC has to offer.
You could be a test subject and just dose a couple times a week. Take a few before pictures and after a few months, lets see if growth seems above normal or coloration increases. I don't think dosing VC is tedious or time consuming personally but I do understand that a more hands off approach is better in some cases.
I just may be the test subject. ATM my reason for dosing is to bring my tank back around so that it can support coral life let alone growth and color. My tank has recently been the tank of death. For whatever reason and then neglect due to frustration and discouragement......the nutrient levels and parameters in my tank got way out of control. Like I said, the tank is on a come back......so maybe I'll post a pic of what it looks like now (part way into that come back,.....and once that's all coming back to normal......I'll start dropping dosing back to bi weekly. We shall see huh?
Pufferpunk
New member
I don't find it tedious either. Labor of love for me. I did get lazy & was only dosing at night, when I dose ca & alk & I noticed my zoas starting to close again. I am pretty faithful 2x/day now & they are looking better again. Guess I just have that kind of tank...
ludnix
New member
You would be mixing an acid with a base, which I understand as a bad thing, but vitamin C must be dosed soon after being mixed with water so it probably would work out.
Here's the calculator again for those who want to double check their math:
http://www.reefsome.com/articles/Vitamin-C-Dosing
Pufferpunk
New member
No, you can't, because the VC would break down in the container before it had a chance to be disbursed. Starts as soon as it hits water.
Hi, I read all the post and I want to try vitamine C. I found something called pure ascorbic acid. The only difference is it as no sodium in it. Is thi okay if I put 1/4 tsp of ascorbic acid 1/day? I have no NO3 and no PO4. It's only for the color and growth of corals. My aquarium has 250 usg.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Pufferpunk
New member
Unbuffered ascorbic acid has a pH of 4! Don't use it. I don't think you'd see any difference using 1/4 tsp in a 250g system.
ludnix
New member
Woops, that was supposed to say "Wouldn't work out".
Okay so I'm 5 days in on dosing VC, noticed last night ALL of my caulerpa in my fuge is bleached & about 90% dead....I did read that my macro may stop growing & so was expecting that but wasn't expecting a total die off.....no KH problems & all my inhabitants seem to be fine but I have to be honest, I'm a little worried that there is no more macro in my system, should I be? Also, how long in before I can expect to see results from the dosing? I'm sure just like anything else it depends on the system & what not but I am interested to know for those of you dosing that do in fact see results what the time frame may be.....thanks in advance.....
Pufferpunk
New member
Sounds like you are seeing results. I haven't had macro in my fuge in 2 years. Didn't die though, just disappeared until it was all gone. I used cheato, so that might be the difference. Be sure you pull out the dead stuff.
I think it took about 3 week, before I noticed a really big difference in my corals but some have reported zoas opening up that were closed for some time, days after dosing.
I think it took about 3 week, before I noticed a really big difference in my corals but some have reported zoas opening up that were closed for some time, days after dosing.
Thanks for the response Puffer, yes I am definately seeing something, like you said I started seeing increased skimmate almost immediately & now the macro die off so although I am not seeingany change in my zoas I know that the sodium ascorbate is definately being absorbed in my system, I am keeping an eye on my KH & it has been just as stable as usual so no concerns there, so I guess so far so good.....thanks again....
