NOPoX Dosing and Bacterial Bloom

[afm32607]

If this is better asked in the chemistry forum please advise.

I have a 43 gallon reef with an bacterial bloom going on. I have started NoPoX dosing (2 ml /day) a few weeks ago in an attempt to control a constant algae issue I have been having.

My tank has seen a massive amount of algal growth (largely due to a year of relative neglect). Since being able to do more work on tanks recently I have pulled out as much as I can and in the past few weeks have begun carbon dosing.

Since beginning the carbon dosing the algae has not made new growth, and much of it has died off (prior to dosing I would pull it out weekly by the handful and within days it would be back). However the last few days has seen a huge bloom of bacteria. My question is do I cut the dose back to 1ml? Or do I suffer through the bloom, assuming it is working to eliminate the rest of the algae?

I have bubble tip anemones and a pair of clowns in the tank.

Notes on System:
43 gal Red Sea with Vertex 130 (?) skimmer
N and P are non-existent
Ca 440
78.5 degrees
pH 7.5
Alk 7.5 dkh
Sg 35 ppt
RO/DI max/cap water

 

[Piper27]

Gotta cut the dose in half and skim wet til it clears, if it doesnt start dying off after a day then cut it back 1/4 dose. Once it's gone retest nutrients and observe corals yo decide if you need to lower more, keep dosing, or up the dose. Maybe stop dosing for one day and start again with a half dose. One or two days never hurt anything for me.

 

[afm32607]

That seems to be the general consensus from other sources too, just looking for practical experience.

 

[Piper27]

Yea, the longer you have been dosing, the larger your changes to your dosing amount can be without seeing issues. So if you haven't been dosing long make small changes. I have been dosing heavy for years now and I can dump 30ml of vodka and 30 ml of vinegar in my tank at once with no issues at all. It's probably 200 gallons of water.

 

[jda]

Keep the bacterial blooms down. They can use up all of the oxygen in the tank and suffocate the other inhabitants and then start a downward spiral of death => ammonia => nitrite => etc.

Some granular activated carbon can also bind some of them up for removal... along with water changes.

You can build up to where you dose a lot, you just do not want them to multiply too quickly.

 

[afm32607]

for closure, I gut dosing in half as recommended. The bloom went away, though I think I still irked all my anemones, as they now wander the tank aimlessly.