Vitamin C to Dechlorinate water

tiger15

Goliath Tigerfish
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Oct 1, 2012
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Interesting read. I am wondering if the by product of Vitamin C treatment is beneficial to plants as a carbon source. One DIY CO2 generator for planted tanks is to mix citric acid (ascorbic acid) with baking soda.
 

TUCCI

Plecostomus
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Apr 13, 2018
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Interesting....@1tsp per 100 gallons....the 1 lb container of powder should last a lifetime.... Providing vit C in powder form doesn't have a shelf life ?
 

squint

Peacock Bass
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Oct 14, 2007
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Interesting....@1tsp per 100 gallons....the 1 lb container of powder should last a lifetime.... Providing vit C in powder form doesn't have a shelf life ?
I think it's about a year, unfortunately.
 
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mattison187

Redtail Catfish
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Jun 28, 2007
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A lfs closed down about 5 years ago, and i bought like 20 bottles of vitamin c declorinator. I forget the name of the stuff. But i got it for like 25cents a bottle. It worked wonderful, but i did notice that it added a bit of a brown tinge to my water if i over dosed it at all. But if used correctly had no ill affect. Ill have to dig around and see if i have any of the old bottles still around.
 

dan518

Potamotrygon
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Sep 20, 2014
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Thanks for posting. Interesting read, is anyone going to try this method?
I did notice that both articles said about chlorine but didn't say anything about if it works on chlorimine.
 

TUCCI

Plecostomus
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Apr 13, 2018
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I will be once I get my build going. Curious why everyone is using store bought dechlorinators without exploring other options. It never made sense to me how 1 drop per gallon of dechlor would remove chlorine. Figured since many are adding probiotics formulas to their systems this simple substitute would be standard practice? Further dialog is definitely warranted before dismissing what appears to be an organic alternative.
 

duanes

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For aquariums I always used bulk sodium thiosulfate, or calcium thiosulfate to remove the chlorine because (although it doesn't remove ammonia in the chloramine compound) it also doesn't alter pH.
If you are not worried about acidification, the vitamin C is perfect, if however, the lowering of pH is a concern, and neutralizing the buffers in your tank, care needs to be taken using any acid.
 
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TUCCI

Plecostomus
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For aquariums I always used bulk sodium thiosulfate, or calcium thiosulfate to remove the chlorine because (although it doesn't remove ammonia in the chloramine compound) it also doesn't alter pH.
If you are not worried about acidification, the vitamin C is perfect, if however, the lowering of pH is a concern, and neutralizing the buffers in your tank, care needs to be taken using any acid.
If you don't mind me asking, what's the name of the product your using ?
 

duanes

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I would get 5 gallon buckets of dried sodium thiosulfate crystals (the generic company brand, from Fisher Sicientific, mixing a small amount as needed, and each bucket for many lasted years.
As to the ammonia, if your biological filter is up to snuff, the 0.2 mg/L ammonia in the (my) tap water is no more than the production by fish and any other action of metabolism in the tank.
 
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