NoPox. a good idea?

J

Julian.Rad17

New member
My nitrates are currently about 25, and with my current maintenance schedule (weekly water changes, cleaning skimmer/sock) they have been maintained this way but not lowered. I recently introduced some acro frags about three weeks ago and plan to add more similar sps in the future. I have lost some acros in the past due to what I think was elevated nutrients. I have been considering using NoPox as it seems straightforward and appears to have a good reputation. I am very cautious with products similar to these because of past experiences, so if I do end up using it, I plan to start off with less than half the recommended dose and ramp it up if necessary. Right now the tank (including the acros) are doing great but I want to make sure they stay this way and dont slowly decline and die like my previous acros did. I also have a few spots of green hair algae on the rocks and powerheads that I would like to get rid of. Let me know if you think this product is worth using and if it could be a solution to this issue.
 
People have been successful with that product. It's a mixture of vinegar and ethanol, and there's a DIY formula, if you're interested. The general approach of dosing organic carbon seems to be safe if you are careful, and ramp up slowly, as you suggested. You could give it shot, but be prepared to dial back the dose if corals starting losing color or receding. Half the recommended dose likely is safe enough. What are the dosing instructions that they give?
 
bertoni said:
People have been successful with that product. It's a mixture of vinegar and ethanol, and there's a DIY formula, if you're interested. The general approach of dosing organic carbon seems to be safe if you are careful, and ramp up slowly, as you suggested. You could give it shot, but be prepared to dial back the dose if corals starting losing color or receding. Half the recommended dose likely is safe enough. What are the dosing instructions that they give?
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They say 3ml for 25 gal. I have a 28 gal so I'll start off with 1ml. Or should I do less?
 
NoPox. a good idea?

I swear this product has done the job for me. I was in the same shoes as you if not worst. My nitrates tested close to 50ppm last year in the fall and this was after using aquaforest products for a good over 6 months as well as using Biopellets before I started using AF products. My nitrates never receded and than I came acros Nopox and did the same thing as u mentioned started half the dose recommended gradually increasing a little bit. Be prepared in the beginning the corals might not seem happy but eventually they bounce back just go slow and test your nitrates every day for a good week to get hold of your level and dosage. I am now on my maintenance dosage of 4ml a day on my 150G display with sump comes to 220G. I am finally able to keep and GROW SPS. Tank been good and healthy. I don't see any algae on my glass. My nitrates started going down after a month or so. I try to keep my nitrates between 2-5 ppm and Phosphates under 0.03ppm. Good luck.


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Potatohead said:
Just start very slow, roughly 1/4 what the instructions say. It is good stuff but very potent.
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+1 Just started using yesterday and woke up to a cloudy tank stressed corals and fish fighting for air. Don't start off at the recommended amount. IMO use less than 1/2 of what label says. Make sure you greatly increase oxygen to the tank. An air stone will not be enough.
 
carrots said:
+1 Just started using yesterday and woke up to a cloudy tank stressed corals and fish fighting for air. Don't start off at the recommended amount. IMO use less than 1/2 of what label says. Make sure you greatly increase oxygen to the tank. An air stone will not be enough.
Click to expand...

yes i plan to start off with a very small dose like 0.1 ml just to be safe. how should i increase oxygen in the tank?
 
Your chief oxygenator, outside of cheato and a really, really potent skimmer, which you should rely on when you use this stuff, is your downfall of water from the tank and your gas-exchange via roiling of the tank surface. The potent skimmer is a must when using NoPox.
 
Oxygenation problems seem to be rare when dosing NOPOx. Water cloudiness is more common. If the tank has a good skimmer and the water surface is free of films, there shouldn't be a problem. As Sk8r stated, a bit of water movement on the surface is a good way to keep aeration up.

If I was worried, I'd try a very small dose, like the 0.1 ml you suggested, and see how that goes. If that causes oxygenation problems, there's something wrong with the setup somewhere.

You might need to back off on the phosphate adsorbers when dosing NOPOx. The bacteria that consume the organic carbon in the NOPOx will need some phosphorus to grow, and likely will get that in the form of phosphate from the water column. Depleting the phosphate might cause problems for corals, although every tank is different. I'd watch for signs of trouble. You could test the phosphate level, as well, although that's only a rough guide.
 
bertoni said:
Oxygenation problems seem to be rare when dosing NOPOx. Water cloudiness is more common. If the tank has a good skimmer and the water surface is free of films, there shouldn't be a problem. As Sk8r stated, a bit of water movement on the surface is a good way to keep aeration up.

If I was worried, I'd try a very small dose, like the 0.1 ml you suggested, and see how that goes. If that causes oxygenation problems, there's something wrong with the setup somewhere.

You might need to back off on the phosphate adsorbers when dosing NOPOx. The bacteria that consume the organic carbon in the NOPOx will need some phosphorus to grow, and likely will get that in the form of phosphate from the water column. Depleting the phosphate might cause problems for corals, although every tank is different. I'd watch for signs of trouble. You could test the phosphate level, as well, although that's only a rough guide.
Click to expand...

Ok now that you say that I don't think I'll have an oxygen problem because I have tons of surface agiatation in my tank and my Skimmer is pretty effective. My phosphates are about 0.05 is that enough or should I still remove all my medias? Btw my medias(Phosgaurd, purigen) seem to be pretty gentle and don't strip phosphate too agressiveley.
 
I'd probably leave the media in the tank for the time being, but I'd consider removing it if the measured phosphate level is zero or within the noise limits of zero. Generally, the corals should tell you when it needs to be removed, but being cautious is fine, too.
 
Excellent point Bertoni. You really don't need to remove the Phosphate absorbing media. Just keep an eye and test your water regularly. You really don't want to deplete your tank completely with Phosphate. I try to keep it around 0.03


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Sk8r said:
Your chief oxygenator, outside of cheato and a really, really potent skimmer, which you should rely on when you use this stuff, is your downfall of water from the tank and your gas-exchange via roiling of the tank surface. The potent skimmer is a must when using NoPox.
Click to expand...

Well said..IMHO it is widely underappreciated how big a part the smooth overfall of weir water plays in gas exchange..probbaly much more than a skimmer according to some sources which I can readily bring to mind. For that reason I always maximise the distance the water falls before draining.
 
I have a 370 ltr tank (98 US gallons) and I have had great success with NoPox. My Nitrates remain pretty constant at around 2-3 and Phosphates at 0.03.

I would say that it is very strong stuff and easy to overdose. I followed the instructions and the nitrates fell to literally zero (Oooops!) I backtracked rapidly and then started from 1ml a day and slowly increased by 0.5ml per day per week.
After a few months and fine tuning i now am at 3.7ml a day and the nitrates and phosphates remain stable.

The instructions also say not to run any phosphate remover concurrent with the NoPox, I did exactly that and removed the GFO prior to starting.

Start low and slowly work up!
 
I use more than that. In 390 litres I use about 13mls a day to hold the level steady but I have about 12 fish and feed them reasonably generously.

I have never stopped running Rowaphos, always running for me alongside NOPOX. Totally agree easy to overdose, quickly gives thready bacterial slime.
 
This stuff has been amazing for my tank. Over the first 3 weeks of using, I saw most nuisance algae disappear. Since then coralline has taken off and I've started getting a number of yellow sponges appearing. Corals are looking better than ever. Big fan.
 
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