Vitaminc C Dosing

[-Nemo-]

I made a topic about a month ago, asking if anyone doses Vitamin C and apparently no one does
A co worker/Friend of mine suggested it to me and he, himself, has been doing it for a few months now. I read many articles on it and research and experiences from other people and decided that I wanted to try it.

The benefits supposedly being:
- Greater coral coloration and better health
- Better Zoo health including Zoos opening which never would before
- Decreasing phosphates and nitrates
- Killing Certain types of algae, including hair algae (And unfortunately macro )


Some cons from people, although not experienced by the majority:
- Increase in KH
- Cyano
- No Macro


My friend started dosing a couple months ago and had none of the cons and plenty of the pros. His nitrates and phosphates are always 0 and he has absolutely no hair algae and his corals seem to be glowing. I'm rather exciting to try this. I'm using a powdered AND buffered (to nearly neutral pH) sodium ascorbate and dosing about 1/4 tsp. twice a day. I only started yesterday and it generally takes about 1-2 weeks for the results to begin to become obvious. I'll be closely monitoring my pH and KH.

Just thought I'd share if anyone's interested as I'd never heard of such a thing before. I'll let you all know my results.

 

[seffieuk]

Interesting, what's the theory behind dosing vit C Nemo?

Seffie x

 

[-Nemo-]

Don't quote me right on this because i can't remember the exact explanation I read, but supposedly the bacteria metabolizes the Vitamin C, turning it into a organic carbon sourse which inturn drastically decreases your NO3 and Phos.

In my reading, i also found an article from 1996 which the writer suggesting to rub vitamin C on coral which has been damaged and also to dose your tank with it if having a general coral problem.

 

[seffieuk]

Sounds interesting, think I will go take a look

Seffie x

 

[fish_lover09]

Sounds interesting, think I will go take a look

Seffie x

hello i started looking in to this myself yesterday as i like the idea and was also wondering how it works i followered a few links then i found out that brightwell makes something called BRIGHTWELL AQUATICS VITAMARIN-C i also found a little info on the product.

"The benefits of vitamin-C to aquatic organisms are largely related to improved tissue growth, particularly after recently-sustained injury or illness. Corals and their allies, in particular, have been observed to benefit tremendously from regular controlled dosage of vitamin-C by increasing their rate of soft tissue growth; this aspect is of particular interest to hobbyists and researchers involved with coral propagation, in which coral tissue is damaged during the process of splitting colonies and/or individual polyps. Grow-out systems regularly dosed with vitamin-C also tend to have improved growth rates when compared to control systems with identical environmental conditions. These benefits are believed to be a result of the positive impact that vitamin-C has on the immune system; this benefit translates to fishes as well as to the remainder of invertebrates maintained in marine aquaria. Vitamins are compounds required in minute concentrations for vital metabolic reactions; the amounts of vitamins required for a given species varies. Short-term vitamin deficiencies can typically be tolerated by most organisms, however long-term deficiencies tend to result in abnormalities, poor health, and eventually even death of the specimen. Conversely, if severely overdosed, ingested vitamins can have a negative impact on a specimen by way of toxicity, though the impact is unlikely to be permanent. Decreasing the vitamin dosage typically results in full recovery of the affected specimen. For these reasons, it is recommended that Vītamarin-C be utilized either as a means of delivering vitamins to aquarium inhabitants through food or by direct addition to the water, but not both except as noted on opposite panel when using with organisms that have sustained tissue damage. Vītamarin-C does not require refrigeration, however storage in a cool, shaded area will prolong the activity of the vitamins. Refrigeration will maximize the shelf-life of the product.

Instructions and Guidelines

If using to fortify food (recommended): Place food in a clean container such as a small bowl or cup and add only enough Vītamarin-C to saturate. Allow at least 5 minutes to elapse before feeding, enabling adequate time for the vitamins to become thoroughly absorbed by the food. Liquid food suspensions may be fortified by adding 1 ml (approximately 8 drops) Vītamarin-C per 10 ml of food suspension; stir to mix and allow 5 minutes to elapse before feeding. Maximum benefit of any liquid food suspension is achieved when the food is target-fed to the intended organisms rather than poured into a stream of water and allowed to disperse randomly throughout the aquarium.
If adding directly to aquarium water: Begin by adding 2 ml (approximately 16 drops) of Vītamarin-C per 20 US-gallons of water weekly for the first four weeks of use; this corresponds to adding approximately 2 drops per 20 US-gallons each day. Then, gradually increase the weekly dosage to 4 ml per 20 US-gallons over the following four weeks and maintain this dosage. [Note: if using Vītamarin-C in conjunction with Brightwell Aquatics Vītamarin-M, decrease dosages by 50%.] Starting at a low dosage will not cause any harm to the livestock, and will enable you to notice subtle changes in the appearance of the system that indicate the effectiveness and need for the product. Note that doubling the dosage of Vītamarin-C is acceptable when fortifying food meant for organisms appearing to be in poor health, including fishes and invertebrates. Maintain the increased dosage only as long as is deemed necessary, and observe water quality carefully at all times, making adjustments as needed. No medicinal claims are made for Vītamarin-C, however vitamin-C has been consistently observed to have a positive impact on immune systems, in general"

hope this is useful to anyone intrested

 

[seffieuk]

Great, thanks - anyone else have any info to share?

Seffie x

 

[fish_lover09]

also found this link its got quite a lot of info on there
http/www.athiel.com/lib/vitC496.html

 

[-Nemo-]

Good Link
I hadn't run into that one yet.

I've already read and heard from several places that one of two of your daily doses should be when the lights are out. Apparently the corals absorb it better at night.

If you plan on doing I would just use the stuff that is made for humans. Something specifically made for aquariums will probably be much more expensive. I got a 16 oz. Container for 10$. It will last 7 months

 

[milkton]

hey nemo, when i make food for my fish, i always defrost the food in vitamin C (brightwell one). I dont know about other info but the main reason i do this is because vitamin C is supposedly supposed to prevent HLLE for tangs. i use a pipette or turkey baster to feed the fish, this way it gets the vitamin C into the tank and also get the vitamin C-absorbed food into the tank as well. I dont know if this is good for the fish but i dont see why it's not

 

[-Nemo-]

Definitely no harm Milkton. I read something similar about Vit C and HLLE

 

[fish_lover09]

Definitely no harm Milkton. I read something similar about Vit C and HLLE

hi nemo just wondering how ur getting on with the vit c dose i know its only been a couple of days but just wondered if it has done any thing nasty to ur ph,kh as i really want to try this myself but cant find any in depth info (maybe im not using the right search engine or wrong choice of words) can u point me in the right direction.
thanks very much

 

[-Nemo-]

No changes as of yet. Haven't checked pH and KH today yet, I plan on doing so later, but so far no changes. And no changes in the tank yet but everything i've read says 1-2 weeks for results.


Here's some reading

Older Article: http/www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/996/996_4.html/view?searchterm=vitamin%20c

Here's a useful calculator too: http/www.reefsome.com/articles/Vitamin-C-Dosing
Remember for water volume to include any sump/water displacement!!

I'm counting my total system as being 35G and then aiming for around 8 PPM, I rounded it to 1/4 tsp.

I'll also PM a link.

 

[-Nemo-]

So I did a full water test today. pH and KH look good. When I tested last week (prior to vitamin C dosing) my nitrates were at 20. I have done nothing since and they are down to 5 Phosphates are 0, but they generally are. Looks promising

 

[-Nemo-]

Just reporting a change of a lot and i mean a LOT of diatoms on my glass... Only my glass... Elsewhere has not changed. I read that if this happens you should cut back a bit on the dosing, so i'll be going down to about 1/6 tsp twice a day and see if that helps.

 

[seffieuk]

Keep the reports coming Nemo, am following with interest

Seffie x