Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Has anyone used Vitamin C to remove chlorine and/or chlorimine from the water? Does it work? Really can't spare the $40 for the ClorAm-X 5lb tub. It's the only product that I've found that states "APPROVED FOR USE ON FISH AND SHELLFIS FOR HUMAN SONSUMPTION." I do hope everyone is checking the ingredience of products before just pouring them in because it says it'll do the job. Some of these products contain FORMALDEHYDE..

Yes and yes.. it works...

Hi RupertofOZ,

Just to be safe please verify:

Put 1 500mg Vitamin C capsule into 5 gallon bucket of water, then let sit for 12 hours before adding to FT.

My water level is low so how many Vit C would be overkill for adding 30 gallons, for a 260 gallon IBC.

Thanks,
Katherine

Haven't used it Katherine... so not sure what dosage... search the forums for those that have done so...

Yes I have been successfully using it as a chloramine and chlorine remover for my fish, it works well. There are also studies backing it up.

"1000 mg Vitamin C tablet will neutralize chloramine in an average bathtub"
- http://www.sfwater.org

So that's roughly 1000mg per 200 litres of water. Just check the label with the ingredient breakdown on the back of the vit c bottles as some have other stuff added

Seems to work quite quickly too, I think 12 hours would be overkill. Crush it up first to help it disolve quicker, stir it into the water and wait 20 mins I reckon

My wife also adds it to the bath and claims it stops her smelling like a public swimming pool afterwards and leaves her skin feeling softer

Another cheap option is using an activated carbon shower filter which last for months. Can be attached to any regular tap with parts available from hardware store. Here's one:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-x-SHOWER-W ... 3a83a3014e

hope this helps

Thank you Jono81

I'll use the vit C for the fish tank as I'm not a bath kinda girl. And I'll start looking for the filter on my next Home Depot trip.

YES, vitamin C works to dechlorimine water. I've been using 1000 mg to treat 52.8 gallons (200 ltrs) when water got real low.
So for when just adding due to evaporation I half it, always dissolving the capsule in a cup of water first.

Thanks to a couple of very helpful guys... Thanks ya'll.....

Why not buy the effervescent tablets and throw them in? Dissolves in a few minutes.

I've yet to see effervescent vitamin C tablets. Are they pure or are there chemicals add to make them bubble and hiss to dissolve quickly?

The "chemicals" in effervescent tablets are basically citric acid and sodium bicarbonate... not dangerous to anything.

You can usually pick up water soluble vitamin C tablets that are like Berocca, but just vitamin C

I understand that citric acid is antibacterial, so if effervescent tablets of Vit C have that in them, i would not use them in aquaponics.

By the way, I also just realized that the pH Down from General Hydroponics also uses citric acid to lower the pH - fortunately I learned this before I started my system - but not until after I bought it...

I also was told when reading my worm farm manual not to put citrus peels in the worm bin for the same reason - it kills bacteria (which you obviously want in a decomposition environment).

Best,
Brandon