Hi all. I carbon dose my tank which is a 120 gal system with a nyos 160 skimmer and a xfilter. No3 is 3-5 po4 is 0.07. Whilst I appreciate these are decent numbers my worry is I’m dosing 25ml a day of NOPOX. thats a lot more than anything I’ve heard elsewhere. Any body any wisdom as to why this might be.
Dosing too much Nopox?
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gbroadbridge
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Assuming it's real nopox, not a diy, that sounds too high.
How long have you been dosing?
It is real Nopox, the diy stuff has no affect o my my system. Been dosing it at that amount about a year. My previous tank was stable on about 6ml a day. I’m not really seeing any negative affects. Strange thing is I don’t even feed that much (3 cubes a day). I have loads of siporax and not many fish, maybe 12, only 3 tangs…
gbroadbridge
2500 Club Member
The DIY is the same as the real deal, as long as you follow the same ratio.
Ignore the marketing nonsense
Maybe you should try plain vinegar - a lot of folks use that with expected results.
The DIY is the same as the real deal, as long as you follow the same ratio.
Ignore the marketing nonsense
Maybe you should try plain vinegar - a lot of folks use that with expected results.
I made some previously, I’m not convinced. It doesn’t smell the same and I know that Nopox has ingredients in it to help the bacterial process like molybdenum. I’ve tried every brand of carbon out there and non deal with both po4 and no3 besides Nopox and I have to dose it in really high amounts. The amounts I had to dose the homemade stuff in made it not cost affective. Lost really as to why my system is so different to others.
gbroadbridge
2500 Club Member
The only thing you are missing is the denaturing agent - methanol.
The 'other' material is just Red Sea marketing nonsense.
SPR1968
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I’m just wondering why your dosing 25ml per day and how you got to that amount as the instructions maximum is 3 ml per 100 litres (after displacement) so I would have thought the maximum would be less than 10ml but with your levels less than that?
Im not saying you can’t go above the stated maximums, I’ve been way above what your dosing in my S650 which is around 150 gal so the instructions are just guidelines really.
Your nitrate and phosphate levels are pretty perfect anyway (it makes little difference to phosphate) so I’m just wondering why your using it at all
I dose a little more than that as well. You need what you need, if the carbon is not enough to eat up the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous that is introduced on a daily basis, then it is not enough. The "maximum" is probably a safeguard against oxygen/bloom problems.
Always slowly ramp though
Always slowly ramp though
JMacedo
Active Member
Long term Nopox user here... at least for the past eight years.
On my previous 150gal tank I used to dose just 18ml daily and that was enough to keep NO3 and PO4 at undetected levels using Salifert test kits.Four years ago I upgraded to a 180gal tank and I thought 20ml of nopox would suffice to keep NO3 and PO4 at the same levels but to my surprise I need 24ml daily despite having a similar bioload and equipment. In my case the high dosing of NOPOX is due to the use of a 55w UV sterilizer, as UV helps exporting nutrients by killing large amounts of bacteria (exported via skimmer) which in turn depletes Potassium (bacteria uses some potasium).
To keep things stable on my tank I have been dosing 24ml of NOPOX and 12ml of Potassium daily ( I keep Potassium at 400ppm). So, every tank is different and it is hard to tell what is the correct dosage. I am happy as far as it is not negatively affecting corals or fish.
Long term Nopox user here... at least for the past eight years.
Four years ago I upgraded to a 180gal tank and I thought 20ml of nopox would suffice to keep NO3 and PO4 at the same levels but to my surprise I need 24ml daily despite having a similar bioload and equipment. In my case the high dosing of NOPOX is due to the use of a 55w UV sterilizer, as UV helps exporting nutrients by killing large amounts of bacteria (exported via skimmer) which in turn depletes Potassium (bacteria uses some potasium).
To keep things stable on my tank I have been dosing 24ml of NOPOX and 12ml of Potassium daily ( I keep Potassium at 400ppm). So, every tank is different and it is hard to tell what is the correct dosage. I am happy as far as it is not negatively affecting corals or fish
kind of answer I was looking for. I too run a UV, I wonder if that’s a part of it. Only thing that frustrates me with it is I want them slightly lower but don’t won’t to be dosing 30ml a day purely for financial reasons. I need the uv though for ich management. Thanks for your response
gbroadbridge
2500 Club Member
That's interesting. I have a 40w UV on my 90g system and I haven't found it affects carbon dosing at all.Long term Nopox user here... at least for the past eight years.
Four years ago I upgraded to a 180gal tank and I thought 20ml of nopox would suffice to keep NO3 and PO4 at the same levels but to my surprise I need 24ml daily despite having a similar bioload and equipment. In my case the high dosing of NOPOX is due to the use of a 55w UV sterilizer, as UV helps exporting nutrients by killing large amounts of bacteria (exported via skimmer) which in turn depletes Potassium (bacteria uses some potasium).
To keep things stable on my tank I have been dosing 24ml of NOPOX and 12ml of Potassium daily ( I keep Potassium at 400ppm). So, every tank is different and it is hard to tell what is the correct dosage. I am happy as far as it is not negatively affecting corals or fish.
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So Nitrates are at 3-5.....using NOPOX instructions, what would happen if you back off to the recommended dose?
Measured Level (ppm)..............Daily Dose ml/100 L (25 gal)
NO3 above 10 -------------------------------------3
NO3 above 2.5, but less than 10 -------------2
NO3 above 1 but less than 2.5 ----------------1
So at 120 total gallons, you're looking at approximately 10 mls. I'd dose that and see what happens.
RGoltz
Active Member
IMO you need the right bacterial culture for the NoPoX to stimulate. You may find that after adding a small amount of some new bacteria to the system (such as MB7 or Prodibio) that your nutrients will be reduced - I don’t think is your goal here - and the NoPoX dose could be tapered. YMMV and I’m not suggesting miracle in a bottle.
I know what happens, nutrients go flying up. Tried it. I think the bottle is more of a guide than exact. Tank tells you what it needs, and my levels are good, just seems excessive. I’m thinking there’s probably a required trace element missing in my system
