Discovering Vitamin C

[urbanfarmer]

Today is the birthday of Albert von Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt (September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986). Albert was a Hungarian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with discovering vitamin C and the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle. It has been over 70 years since his discovery, but his discovery is no less meaningful today.

Notable Publications

On Oxidation, Fermentation, Vitamins, Health, and Disease (1940)
Bioenergetics (1957)
Introduction to a Submolecular Biology (1960)
The Crazy Ape (1970)
Electronic Biology and Cancer: A New Theory of Cancer (1976)
The living state (1972)
Bioelectronics: a study in cellular regulations, defense and cancer
Lost in the Twentieth Century (Gandu) (1963)

[badflash]

Don't forget the C also removes chlorine and chloramine. Probably the cheapest way there is.

[urbanfarmer]

Don't forget the C also removes chlorine and chloramine. Probably the cheapest way there is.
Yes! However, it doesn't remove some forms of chlorine. Monohalogenated species of chlorine are not affected my ascorbic acid (in other words over 90% of how they add chlorine to water in the USA). Works on all chloramine as far as I know. Please see below:

EPA DOCUMENT ID: 600J00018
Ascorbic Acid Reduction of Residual Active Chlorine in Potable Water Prior to Halocarboxylate Determination (2000)

[Bioritize]

Nice, do you use powered vitamin C, or citrus? Peppers I hear are very high in C.

I am curious as to how you apply this to the system.

[urbanfarmer]

Nice, do you use powered vitamin C, or citrus? Peppers I hear are very high in C.

I am curious as to how you apply this to the system.
Citric acid and ascorbic acid (vit C) are 2 completely different substances. Citric acid is toxic as certain levels to aquatic organisms whereas ascorbic acid (vitC) is not.

That's why you've heard of people using citric acid as pH down only to have dead fish in a few days blaming it on a pH swing... LOL! :lol:

[davidstcldfl]

Nice, do you use powered vitamin C, or citrus? Peppers I hear are very high in C.

I am curious as to how you apply this to the system.

Read through this.....
removing chlorine from tap water with Vitamin C? (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/showthread.php?118-removing-chlorine-from-tap-water-with-Vitamin-C)

[urbanfarmer]

Nice, do you use powered vitamin C, or citrus? Peppers I hear are very high in C.

I am curious as to how you apply this to the system.

Read through this.....
removing chlorine from tap water with Vitamin C? (http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/showthread.php?118-removing-chlorine-from-tap-water-with-Vitamin-C)
Oops...

1000 mg per 50 gallons to remove chloramine. Some people like to double it to be safe.

Make sure it mixes and aerates well. Dissolve it in a smaller cup before adding it to the larger system.

GOOD LUCK!

[badflash]

I've been using vitamin C for a while now with no ill effects. I also use it to remove chlorine from the tap water for making beer. Do what I did to see if it works for you. Take the required amount of powdered C, mix it in a 5 gallon bucket, and then test for chlorine. If it shows nothing, it is good to go.

[urbanfarmer]

I've been using vitamin C for a while now with no ill effects. I also use it to remove chlorine from the tap water for making beer. Do what I did to see if it works for you. Take the required amount of powdered C, mix it in a 5 gallon bucket, and then test for chlorine. If it shows nothing, it is good to go.
It depends what they used to initially chlorinate your water. Again, it's only monohalogenated species of chlorine that don't respond to the ascorbic acid treatment (which is the most common way we do it in the USA, but not the only way). I just wanted to point out that no one should use this method expecting it to have worked and then accidentally kill $3000 koi or some breeders that you just drove 8 hours to get, for example. Of course, testing the chlorine level after is a smart idea for those of us with a test kit! :mrgreen:

Ascorbic acid (vit C) has no ill effects on the fish as far as I know and the toxicity reports for it show no response with aquatic organisms, but this is expected given the properties of ascorbic acid... Please don't confuse citric acid (toxicity of 600 ppm for carp) with ascorbic acid (no known toxicity).

[badflash]

If you actually have free chlorine in the water, letting it stand for a few days while bubbling air through it will clean it out. It is removed easily and cheaply by sodium metabisulfite. Free chlorine is being phased out in the USA in favor of chloramines. This is done without any fanfare or public announcement. A product that removes chlorine will not always remove chloramine.

I have used C to remove chlorine from pool water that is chlorinated with chlorine tablets, and my tap water since going to chloramine.

By all means test to see if it works for you. I have yet to find anyone who has tried it and not have it work.

[urbanfarmer]

If you actually have free chlorine in the water, letting it stand for a few days while bubbling air through it will clean it out. It is removed easily and cheaply by sodium metabisulfite. Free chlorine is being phased out in the USA in favor of chloramines. This is done without any fanfare or public announcement. A product that removes chlorine will not always remove chloramine.

I have used C to remove chlorine from pool water that is chlorinated with chlorine tablets, and my tap water since going to chloramine.

By all means test to see if it works for you. I have yet to find anyone who has tried it and not have it work.
Hm, interesting, I heard it was the other way around because you're right chloramines are bad!

Chlorine tablets for pools contain chlorine in the form of Trichloro-S-Triazinetrione, which is C3Cl3N3O3, which is not a monohalogenated species of chlorine; therefore, ascorbic acid would likely work according to the conclusions of the EPA document cited above, and as you have confirmed through observation it does in fact work!

And yes, chlorine does off gas unless it is tightly bound, which is definitely cheaper.

[badflash]

[Hm, interesting, I heard it was the other way around because you're right chloramines are bad!


Chloramines are more stable and safer to use than chlorine. It also lasts much longer in the pipes. They also add sodium hydroxide to keep the pH basic. Town water is a witches brew of chemicals.

[urbanfarmer]

[Hm, interesting, I heard it was the other way around because you're right chloramines are bad!


Chloramines are more stable and safer to use than chlorine. It also lasts much longer in the pipes. They also add sodium hydroxide to keep the pH basic. Town water is a witches brew of chemicals.
Yes, a witches brew and our stomachs are the cauldron!

It was my understanding chloramines are more dangerous to humans BECAUSE they are more stable. Chlorines neutralize very quickly in organic systems. It's not good to "sterilize" our intestinal tract, especially since we rely so heavily on a range of bacteria to aid our digestive process... that's why they sell yogurt with bacteria to help people poop, because they're insides are messed up!

Oh well, time will tell. And I'm sure history will remember us all as idiots! :lol: But wait, the Romans made all their eating and cooking utensils out of lead and died quite often from lead poisoning... and we don't think ill of the Romans do we? Hm...

[Shas]

...his discovery is no less meaningful today.

Indeed.
Linus Pauling used Vitamin C to cure cancer back in the 1970s.
He was immediately vilified as a quack,
yet he is the ONLY man to be awarded TWO Nobel prizes!

BTW, cheap Vitamin C tablets from the grocery store
contain a mixture of ascorbic acid and citric acid.
They both bind to our Vit C receptor sites,
but the citric acid cannot be metabolised
and prevents the uptake of ascorbic acid.
The net result is that your body receives LESS Vit C
when taking these tablets!

[bsfman]

Linus Pauling used Vitamin C to cure cancer back in the 1970s.
He was immediately vilified as a quack,
yet he is the ONLY man to be awarded TWO Nobel prizes!

BTW, cheap Vitamin C tablets from the grocery store
contain a mixture of ascorbic acid and citric acid.
They both bind to our Vit C receptor sites,
but the citric acid cannot be metabolised
and prevents the uptake of ascorbic acid.
The net result is that your body receives LESS Vit C
when taking these tablets!


Wonder where ole' Linus scored his vitamin C tabs?