Vitamin C help

[2_zoa]

I need a little help please. I purchased this vitamin C product (http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/c-1000-powder-1000-mg-8-oz-powder/vs-1056#.U2boe65j6So) in hopes of being able to use it in at least one way for my reef.

I'd like to be able to use it as a carbon source, either stand alone or as part of a mix such as VSV, VS, VSVVc, etc....I have a fairly new tank and I've decided to switch things all up and run a carbon based tank. Something new.

I'd like to use it as a food soak. I believe I will need to make a stand alone solution first, so I can control the potency?

I'd like to maybe add it to the DIY iron supplement that I make using Fergon tablets (thanks Randy) so maybe it will stabilize it for longer shelf life? Something like an Iron citrate solution.

In the past I've used brightwell Vit-C. I would like to not have to use their product any more because I know I can do so much more for a lot less and have far more control over the products I use if I make them myself. The problem is I've never made many DIY supplements and having zero experience with that. I may as well try to solve a nuclear physics question as I have nothing to relate to.

I will not do all of the above. I'm looking to know how to do those things (if possible) with the product I have.


Cheers.:beer:

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid. I'm not sure what will happen if you mix vitamin C (ascorbic acid) into ferrous gluconate solution (Fergon).

FWIW, I mix up the iron solution one pill at a time, so shelf life isn't really an issue as it seems to last fine for a couple of weeks in the little plastic container with lid that I mix in.

Vitamin C dosing was quite the fad a couple of years ago, but I don't hear so much about it these days, although I'm sure some people still do it.

FWIW, If I were going to try, I'd fine a bottle of vitamin C tablets that didn't seem to have stuff that worried me, dissolve it in water, and dose it by itself or with other organics. Bear in mind that vitamin C isn't especially stable in solution. Since it is an antioxidant, it itself easily becomes oxidized in air.

[lj1064a]

Randy, based on your comment, what would the shelf life be of a iron mix using fergon tablets? Thanks

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't know. It depends on how well you keep air out. As long as you are not getting a lot of colored precipitate (not the usual white precipitate) or it turns strange colors, it is probably OK. :)

[2_zoa]

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid. I'm not sure what will happen if you mix vitamin C (ascorbic acid) into ferrous gluconate solution (Fergon).

FWIW, I mix up the iron solution one pill at a time, so shelf life isn't really an issue as it seems to last fine for a couple of weeks in the little plastic container with lid that I mix in.

Vitamin C dosing was quite the fad a couple of years ago, but I don't hear so much about it these days, although I'm sure some people still do it.

FWIW, If I were going to try, I'd fine a bottle of vitamin C tablets that didn't seem to have stuff that worried me, dissolve it in water, and dose it by itself or with other organics. Bear in mind that vitamin C isn't especially stable in solution. Since it is an antioxidant, it itself easily becomes oxidized in air.

How would I know that it would be a bad thing short of smoke or a loud bang. LOL!! I guess mix it and use it and watch/test the effects? Potency/shelf life of the iron solution?

I can't use up all the Fergon tablet in a matter of weeks. The 100ml solution is too much for my 65 gallon tank. No sump. I thought about cutting the tablets in half but I was concerned about how well it was mixed before it was pressed into tablet form.

I've read about others using VSVVc mixes, and I remember reading a couple years back about folks dosing Vit-c without any other products per-se. Just looking for another tool that I can have and use if I choose too, or give that extra carbon source to help diversify the bacteria in carbon dosing.

I bought that powder cause I thought it was as close to pure ascorbic acid as I could get. Without going and buying it direct from a lab supply house. I figured the tablets would have binders and such in them. That powder lists what's not in it.


I don't know. It depends on how well you keep air out. As long as you are not getting a lot of colored precipitate (not the usual white precipitate) or it turns strange colors, it is probably OK. :)


This confuses me a little bit. I have a green liquid right away or shortly thereafter. My tablets are green in color and they never mix up completely. Should I be transferring it to a different container after the 24 hour soak? What if I put it in a small mason jar and use my food saver to vacuum seal the jar?

Edit; I'm using a small 4oz HDPE bottle to mix in.

[2_zoa]

I also wonder, if anyone could maybe tell me what the carbon content is for or compared too....
Vit-C
Vodka
Vinegar
Sugar

[bertoni]

If you mean sucrose, it's about 42% carbon by weight. Acetic acid is about 40% carbon by weight, and ethanol is about 52%. I think the vinegar we uses is about 5% acetic acid, but to be precise, I would need to remember the exact method of measurement. These numbers should give you a good enough estimate, though. They act differently, so exact carbon equivalence isn't critical.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Many times, folks really mean the total organic content when asking about carbon content. In that case, sugar and vitamic C tablets are 100%, vodka is typically 40%, and vinegar is typically 5%.

This confuses me a little bit. I have a green liquid right away or shortly thereafter. My tablets are green in color and they never mix up completely.

That's normal. If it turns brown then it is being converted into Ferric ion. If you get additional new precipitate, that is probably iron oxide.

[2_zoa]

Thank you bertoni and Randy!!! You guys always chime in and speak with authority. Very much appreciated.

Prost.:beer:

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

:thumbsup:

Happy Reefing. :)