Is NoPox necessary with refugium?

[Pete Hammersley]

Hi all,

I’ve been in the system planning stage of my rsr 750 xxl tank for a long time, it’s sat in my garage begging to be filled with fish and corals, preferably with water first I’d assume! I come home in 4 weeks after a year abroad and the first thing I will be doing is getting this long awaited tank set up. I can’t wait.
I am very lineal in thought, I don’t like confusion or complications, so I decided I liked the concept of the Reef care programme by Red Sea. I have bought the 3 foundation products, the 2 coral nutrition products and will be buying the 4 colouration products too. The main reason for choosing this was simplicity, only measuring cal, alk and mag, everything single element away from these is tied directly to the cal uptake and dosed accordingly. This is especially important to me as I want to avoid periodic water changes.
The part I’m struggling to understand is if I would have any requirement for NoPox? I have a large refugium of approx 150 litres in my diy 5 foot sump which I will be running from day 1 during my tank cycle, way before any lights get switched on in the DT. This should prevent phosphates and nitrates ever getting elevated.... shouldn’t it? If so, can I skip the NoPox?
I plan on testing for both regularly anyway so I can adjust my lighting schedule on the chaeto accordingly to ensure I don’t hit absolute zero.
So, to NOPox or not to NoPox? What are your thoughts?

 

[gotmesalty77]

I used it and will probably again in the future but during the time I was using it it stripped everthing out of my tank. Zeros. No phos no nothing. Immediate cyan bloom, followed by dinos. I don't think at the time my fuge was fully dialed in line it is now. If your going to use it I'd suggesst running the red sea reef energy a and b to make sure your system is still getting nutrients.

 

[KrisReef]

My thoughts:
I like what @gotmesalty77 said and I'm also wondering, How in the heck can you wait a year to set up a tank? I'd have to come home 4 weeks early myself.
Be careful with products that strip nutrients from your water. It's very easy to take too much out.
You may have difficulty at first getting the chaeto to grow until you have some nutrients in the system. Time, careful measurements and intentional additions are the way to succeed and since you have been able to wait and plan a year I think you will do ok if you stick to your plan.

Post a build thread along the way!

 

[SPR1968]

Nopox is just another tool for nutrient control, primarily nitrate

If your going down the refugium route, you may never need to use Nopox at all, which is basically carbon dosing, provided the refugium keeps everything under control for you.

If is doesn’t, you can always start using Nopox at a later stage If and when required

 

[Pete Hammersley]

I used it and will probably again in the future but during the time I was using it it stripped everthing out of my tank. Zeros. No phos no nothing. Immediate cyan bloom, followed by dinos. I don't think at the time my fuge was fully dialed in line it is now. If your going to use it I'd suggesst running the red sea reef energy a and b to make sure your system is still getting nutrients.

So you had Cyan and dinos while using NoPox? I thought this product was supposed to prevent or cure that? Interesting.
I’ve seen some horror story’s online where NoPox has stripped so much out of the water that they have wiped out entire tanks of all their coral while using the recommended dosage.

 

[Pete Hammersley]

Nopox is just another tool for nutrient control, primarily nitrate

If your going down the refugium route, you may never need to use Nopox at all, which is basically carbon dosing, provided the refugium keeps everything under control for you.

If is doesn’t, you can always start using Nopox at a later stage If and when required

Good advice, I’ll keep it in mind should I have any problem with keeping nutrients very very low, but not zero. If I’m struggling, I could always use that in the future?

 

[SPR1968]

Good advice, I’ll keep it in mind should I have any problem with keeping nutrients very very low, but not zero. If I’m struggling, I could always use that in the future?

Yes you can start using it whenever needed. In an established system maybe start at a lower dose and then increase it by small amounts until nitrate starts to fall.

If you get any bacterial blooms, like white slime, or cloudy water, just back off the dose a little. It’s just a balancing act.

 

[Pete Hammersley]

My thoughts:
I like what @gotmesalty77 said and I'm also wondering, How in the heck can you wait a year to set up a tank? I'd have to come home 4 weeks early myself.
Be careful with products that strip nutrients from your water. It's very easy to take too much out.
You may have difficulty at first getting the chaeto to grow until you have some nutrients in the system. Time, careful measurements and intentional additions are the way to succeed and since you have been able to wait and plan a year I think you will do ok if you stick to your plan.

Post a build thread along the way!

Trust me, the wait has been killing me! I have a small 200 litre system at home which I bought about 18 months ago just as a trial, and to learn the ropes of the whole salt water system. While I’ve been away I have had an extension built which is almost finished, and almost ready for me to do the finishing touch by adding the 6 ft tank.

I am building it all as a DIY project, I love a challenge. The tank is the 750 xxl which I found on eBay for £150, brand new but had a chip on the corner. This didn’t bother me as I will build a lip around the bottom 20mm of the tank anyway. I bought the plumbing kit from Red Sea, the cabinet is hand made, a floating light pelmet with hybrid LED and T5, and baffled out a 5 ft tank for a sump.

I would love to do a build thread while I set it up, I’ll keep lots of photos as I go along.

 

[Katrina71]

No no nopox for me. Ever again! Refugium and time!