Loading ...This marine hobby is a funny thing, it acts like nature.. in waves. Or in currents. How ironic, eh? So the current wave, or trend to be more precise, is Vitamin C dosing.
Why Vitamin C you ask? Well the proprieties of vitamin C, at least in human consumption, are essential for metabolic reactions. To be specific, it acts as an antioxidant and a cofactor in many enzymatic reactions. Many, if not all vegetables contain this essential vitamin as without it we would have high mortality rates and shorter lifespans.
Transplanting this information into our reefing use, we can see some correlation. Marine plants are high in Vitamin C, such as Kelp, Spirulina, and Seaweed and are being consumed by many types of fish. But what about coral? Does it have any effect on coral heath and its ability to withstand disease?
Some aquarists believe that adding vitamin C to your tank just because someone said it was good for your livestock is foolish and that you should only ever do something that has a direct and specific purpose. Generally speaking, this is good advice, although there is little to no anecdotal evidence of dosing vitamin C being harmful to livestock. It is known that insufficient levels of vitamin C are linked to spinal abnormalities and hemorrhaging, so if you see these signs, you may want to consider dosing vitamin C.
The retailers never think, they just do. They pump out products without any thought of usefulness. Case in point.. Kent Marine Marine-C. This excellent article touches on its probability of actually having any effect in your tank. So what do you do?
Here is what people are talking about on the net:
Treating with Vitamin C at ReefCentral.com
Vitamin C dosing (I am clueless) at Reef2Reef.com
Does anyone dose Vit C at TheReefTank.com
This will be very interesting to see if it does have positive effects in overall coral metabolism and health. I know that I will venture down that road and will try to put these theories to the test.
Trained by the thirteenth ring master of the Sian Xiuang Coral Temple. Currently is apprenticing the art of Acropora shaping in the ancient tradition of Ninja Fragging. Known as the SPS hero!