anyone used Red Sea NO3:PO4-X Biological Nitrate and Phosphate Reducer?

C

Cloudburst2000

Active member
Hey everyone, I got the Red Sea package for my birthday that includes the Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit (KH, Ca, Mg) and Algae Control Test Kit (N-NO3, P-PO4). Apparently, it also comes with a 500mL bottle of the nitrate and phosphate reducer mentioned in the thread title. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Good/bad? Also, I was reading the directions and it said it should not be used in conjunction with sulfur-based de-nitrators or phosphate and nitrate removers. Would this mean I would have to remove gfo and phosban from the aquarium to use this product?
 
There are various reviews on it, mostly positive. It's a form of carbon dosing, like vinegar and vodka. You might or might not have to remove the GFO from the system, depend on the amount of phosphate in the water column. It's possible in theory to drive the phosphate level low enough with GFO to keep bacteria from being able to consume the carbon source and nitrate.
 
I started using it about a month ago. So far, I love it. I now rarely have to wipe down the glass, and what does form is a very light "white" haze, which easily wipes off. And a big plus, unlike other carbon dosing mothods I've tried, I get no cyano.

I prefer to keep a little bit of NO3 registering in a test, so I dose NO3:PO4-X at a rate slightly less than recommended.
 
eskymick said:
I started using it about a month ago. So far, I love it. I now rarely have to wipe down the glass, and what does form is a very light "white" haze, which easily wipes off. And a big plus, unlike other carbon dosing mothods I've tried, I get no cyano.

I prefer to keep a little bit of NO3 registering in a test, so I dose NO3:PO4-X at a rate slightly less than recommended.
Click to expand...

Did you remove all phosphate removing products from your aquarium (gfo, Phosban, PhosGuard, etc) before using this product?
 
I also started using the NOPOX lastnight. Hopefully, I will rid my cyan algae. Heard nothing but good reviews.
 
Very good for me. With NOPOX I have less problems than with vodka or vinegar because nitrifying bacteria growth is much less.
 
hmmm...I just might give it a try then. I'll be out of town the next ten days on vacation so I might try this when I get home. I have gfo on one aquarium and a bag PhosGuard on my smaller aquarium. Would you remove these before using this product?
 
I used it for a while.I found that it would bring the nitrates down to zero but the phosphates would not go any lower then .06 This would be fine in most cases except for i had patches of algae that i could not get rid of.I was dosing this so i would not have to run gfo so i stopped useing it and went back to gfo-Kieth
 
I have been using it for about three weeks and I also run bio pellets also. My nitrates went from 10-15ppm to what my average is now which is about 1 ppm. My phosphates also dropped from .16-.18 to my average of .06. Now for the record when my levels were high I was controlling my phosphates with GFO and an occasional Lanthanum chloride treatment. Basically I had three things going at once to control my levels. I now just dose the NoPox and use the BioPellets. If this gets better I will either start feeding more or take the pellets offline. But I personally like the pellets and NoPox combination myself. But my disclaimer is what works in one tank doesn't work in another tank. Hopefully my pellets kick in and also help reduce the phosphates I have. Maybe I should find phosphate free food to feed my fish. Well good luck with that. Yes I just answered my own question in the first person.


Sent from my iPhone using Siri and Tapatalk.
 
Cool. Then I might take the gfo offline on the larger aquarium. I'm running low anyway. Luckily, I hadn't yet placed an order with BRS for more gfo. I might keep the bag of PhosGuard in the smaller aquarium otherwise the extra spaces in the media rack would be empty. I'll see how this works for the short term. I won't be able to start dosing this stuff until 4/02 as I am leaving town tomorrow for vacation.
 
bertoni said:
What is the measured phosphate level now?
Click to expand...

umm...pretty high :hmm3: I recently was out-of-town for work for close to a month. I showed my mom how to feed my tanks and refill the top-off water. She took my cat home with her though. She stopped by every two days but majorly overfed the tanks. They were covered in cyano and hair algae when I got home. The corals were loving it though. I swear I saw the best growth out of them while I was gone, but the tanks looked like crap. I have done several large WCs since and have made a huge dent in the algae problem. I know the numbers are still higher than recommended but I haven't actually tested the water in a few days. I have done two WCs since the last test so those numbers won't be accurate anymore. I'll test later today and give you some concrete numbers. And no my mom will NOT be caring for the tanks while I am gone this time. One of my co-workers apparently used to have a marine tank he had to break down to move. He heard me complaining about my mom over-feeding the tanks and offered his services if I ever went out-of-town again. Made my day :beer:
 
I'd probably use GFO after finishing off the PhosGuard. As long as the phosphate level is high, it's safe to use it in conjunction with the carbon dosing.
 
It does work as advertised but my more sensitive SPS die from it so I stopped using it.
 
what does it contain any one tried making one at home from smell it smells like vinigar some vodka and some sugar
 
one thing about the red sea program is to decide what levels of NO3 and PO4 you want. They provide guidelines for growth versus color and for the different types of corals, softies, lps, sps.


IMO, decide what nutrient level you want for your corals and target that and not cyano. The cyano should come under control, and, IMO, it's more important to keep your corals happy
 
It contains vinegar and vodka, and there's a DIY formula in the stick note at the top of the forum, if you want to give making some a shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Red Sea weir overflow
Replies
9
Views
278
griss
griss
U
Rock full of nitrates and phos
Replies
10
Views
2K
SantaMonica
S
J
Calcium very elevated
Replies
9
Views
2K
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
Formulator
8 year old tank with 2.0 PO4 and zero Nitrate
Replies
7
Views
2K
Scotty333!!!
S
R
Cyano and nutrients
2 3 4
Replies
77
Views
11K
Elmareefer
E
Back
Top