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Vitamin C Dosing
Dosing calculator for vitamin C
Ascorbate Acid dosing calculator (twice daily):
Total tank volume in gallons:
Desired PPM:
Dosage in milligrams:
Dosage in Teaspoons:
What is Vitamin C dosing?
A new and upcoming additive for the reef aquarium is Vitamin C or Sodium Ascorbate Dosing. Vitamin C is most commonly known in the form of Ascorbic Acid, it is a vital part of almost any organisms life and can have some specific benefits for some corals as well as an overall effect on an a Reef Aquarium.
When dosing Vitamin C for the home aquarium, the preferred product is Sodium Ascorbate powder. This form of vitamin C has been buffered to be of a neutral pH and is less likely to have adverse side effects on a reef aquarium. Dosage is usually done in the 5-30 parts per million (milligrams per liter) range with variance depending on the desired effect of dosing.
What are the benefits of dosing Vitamin C?
Dosing vitamin C may provide the vitamin to corals that would otherwise not be getting it by regular water changes or other additives. Aquatic Community suggests that dosing vitamin C may help with regeneration of leather corals after fragmentation. A discussion on the Reef Central forums suggests that vitamin C dosing may help with zoanthid appearance and growth rates as well. It is also suspected to help to with Zoanthids which are not opening up or appear to have fungal infections. The most commonly observed effect of dosing Vitamin C in the reef aquarium is the reduction of excess nutrients in the water though. This process is thought to occur by Vitamin C being a form carbon dosing. Dosing a carbon source such as Vitamin C, Vodka, Vinegar, Sugar, or commercial products function to provide carbon for beneficial bacterial to consume. As the bacteria consume the carbon they also intake nitrogenous waste and phosphates. This overall process is thought to reduce nuisance algae and increase the coloration of Small Polyped Stony corals which thrive in an low nutrient environment.
How to dose Vitamin C
It is suggested in the Reef Central discussion that if you're looking to dose for overall benefit to your tank you should dose 5ppm or lower. If you're trying to dose as a remedy for Zoanthids which closed for extended durations or have a fungal infection that you should dose upwards of 30ppm.
Aquatic Community also suggests dosing in the 5ppm range when dosing to help regenerate fragmented leather corals.
As is the case of dosing anything new to your aquarium, you should always start slowly with small doses. You can raise your dosage over the course of a week or two to the desired dosage by increasing your dosages daily until you reach that ideal dosage.
Your dosing should be done twice a day when using the calculator as seen above. Vitamin C is suspected to degrade very quickly when exposed to light and water. Dosing twice a day helps to avoid this being a problem by splitting the dosage across the day so only the first half may have degraded by the end of the day, rather then entire dosage.
To use the calculator above, enter the total estimated gallons of water in your aquarium and the desired dosage in PPM. The reccomended dosage in milligrams or teaspoons is what you should be adding once in the morning and once at night each day. Your container of Sodium Ascorbate should be kept in a cool, dry, dark place to prevent the degredation of the product.
Where to buy Sodium Ascorbate:
The exact product is known as NutriBiotic, Sodium Ascorbate Crystalline Powder. Where you purchase the product is not important, but it must be Sodium Ascorbate. Online retailers such as the one below will likely offer the best prices compared to retail outlets.
