Is NOPOX supposed to smell?

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Have you used it? I feel like I dumped straight acetone into my tank.

Why are you using it with such a new & small tank? You should be able to keep nutrients in check with water changes alone. As others have said tread lightly and imho, prolly wouldn't use more than a 1/2 dose. You'll end up going from one problem to another.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Why are you using it with such a new & small tank? You should be able to keep nutrients in check with water changes alone. As others have said tread lightly and imho, prolly wouldn't use more than a 1/2 dose. You'll end up going from one problem to another.

Because my nutrients are very high and I have some algae issues despite water changes etc. so I’m just going to dose very little now.

 

[Tamberav]

Has anyone used it before? Why does it smell like acetone it smells so bad I just googled it…it seems like the normal smell but now I feel like it’s toxic chemicals. I’m not going to kill anything by dosing it right it’s not chemicals right? It had good reviews but what’s in it?

Sounds about right to me.

its vinegar and vodka with a fancy price tag basically.

 

[Tamberav]

Also I don't see any reason to put fish vitamins in your water. If you want the fish to get vitamins, then soak pellets in some selcon.

It is possible to grow too much bacteria causing a bloom... this can potentially decrease oxygen killing fish. Just a warning to know what to look out for.

I would never use Nopox without a skimmer... the idea of no pox is it grows bacteria in excess and the skimmer removes it therefor removing po4 and no3 that the bacteria consumed to grow.

not sure if you have a skimmer or not.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Also I don't see any reason to put fish vitamins in your water. If you want the fish to get vitamins, then soak pellets in some selcon.

It is possible to grow too much bacteria causing a bloom... this can potentially decrease oxygen killing fish. Just a warning to know what to look out for.

I would never use Nopox without a skimmer... the idea of no pox is it grows bacteria in excess and the skimmer removes it therefor removing po4 and no3 that the bacteria consumed to grow.

not sure if you have a skimmer or not.

I do and I got one before dosing. That’s true I could soak the food in it too. I just add it directly to the water though once a week following the directions.

 

[Tamberav]

I do and I got one before dosing. That’s true I could soak the food in it too. I just add it directly to the water though one a week following the directions.

I am just pretty sure adding it to your water is not providing much benefit to your fish and is more or less adding nutrients.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I am just pretty sure adding it to your water is not providing much benefit to your fish and is more or less adding nutrients.

This could be true I’ll try soaking it. Thanks.

 

[Pineapplereef]

Have you got a skimmer running? If not, do not dose nopox. The white stuff you're seeing is bacterial bloom fueled by the nopox. You need the skimmer to remove the bacteria from the water. You'll run into issues pretty quickly if you have no skimmer. Nopox is also notorious for causing issues in itself like dinos/cyano blooms. Red Sea won't list the actual ingredients so I for one will never put it in my tank. I vodka dose, this way I know what's going in.

 

[neilldrever]

Yeah I’ve used it in the past just sitting in cupboard doing nothing now I use tropic Marin Bacto balance

Cyanobacteria loves nopox

Cyano loves it because it contains Molybdenum (amongst other additional and unnecessary chemicals) which helps to increase bacterial growth.

 

[MaxTremors]

And is it supposed to create this white fluffy stuff on the rocks? It looks like smoke almost and it won’t pickup on camera. I heard of it happening but what is it. If you know.

Yes, it can, though that is usually a sign that you’ve raised the dose too quickly. It’s bacteria, it won’t harm anything (corals and inverts will eat it), and should go away as slowly raise the dose. You’ll want to follow the vodka dosing chart, I think you said you dosed 2ml twice, 2ml is about 20x the dose you want to start with, so that is likely why you’re seeing the bacteria (but again, it’s harmless).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Because my nutrients are very high and I have some algae issues despite water changes etc. so I’m just going to dose very little now.

What is your definition of high? Also how much/how often are you doing water changes. Your tank is fairly new, your numbers will seesaw as the good bacteria settles in.

 

[AydenLincoln]

What is your definition of high? Also how much/how often are you doing water changes. Your tank is fairly new, your numbers will seesaw as the good bacteria settles in.

In the 30-50s! They just keep going up. Weekly and 20% or so. I decreased feeding, increased changing my filter socks, and got a slimmer. I did notice it came down slightly since dosing.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Have you got a skimmer running? If not, do not dose nopox. The white stuff you're seeing is bacterial bloom fueled by the nopox. You need the skimmer to remove the bacteria from the water. You'll run into issues pretty quickly if you have no skimmer. Nopox is also notorious for causing issues in itself like dinos/cyano blooms. Red Sea won't list the actual ingredients so I for one will never put it in my tank. I vodka dose, this way I know what's going in.

I do have a skimmer and I didn’t realize I dosed so high so quickly until after.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

In the 30-50s! They just keep going up. Weekly and 20% or so. I decreased feeding, increased changing my filter socks, and reduced feeding. I did notice it came down slightly.

Id be using some microbacter 7 or razor bottle bac first. If you have a aio check the rear chambers for detritus, especially if it has a sponge. They pack up something fierce. BTDT.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Id be using some microbacter 7 or razor bottle bac first. If you have a aio check the rear chambers for detritus, especially if it has a sponge. They pack up something fierce. BTDT.

I have used Microbacter before but that was a few months ago and I ran out. And they aren’t terrible but I do need to clean them. Again I’ll just slow it down…slow and steady wins the race I love my fish store and they are great but I guess they told me the wrong dose too quickly.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Smells like denatured alcohol. Used when I was working as a cabinet maker

 

[legionofdoon]

I think it smells like acetone as well. I've made the DIY nopox and that also smells like acetone to me.

 

[gbroadbridge]

And is it supposed to create this white fluffy stuff on the rocks? It looks like smoke almost and it won’t pickup on camera. I heard of it happening but what is it. If you know.

If you have bacterial strings, you're adding too much NoPox.

Stop dosing until the strings go away, and then start again with one fourth of your current dose.

you are running a skimmer with it set to skim wet?
the skimmer takes out the bacteria that feed on Nitrates.

 

[AydenLincoln]

If you have bacterial strings, you're adding too much NoPox.

Stop dosing until the strings go away, and then start again with one fourth of your current dose.

you are running a skimmer with it set to skim wet?
the skimmer takes out the bacteria that feed on Nitrates.

Yes! Thanks.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Yes! Thanks.

Keep in mind that the bacteria that reduce Nitrate also need phosphate. If you bottom out phosphates the bacteria wont work, and your Nitrate reduction will stall.

You may need to add phosphate - I use anhydrous monosodium phosphate purchased from epay When i need to add phosphate

The recipe is in the chemistry forum.

Be very careful to not zero out Nitrate and phosphate.
Bad things happen.