No Po x?

[member 99594]

Hey all,

I was thinking about using this product as part of my daily dosing regime and wanted to know if there were any tips you guys could provide?

I understand I should start with half the recommended dose and test from there. However any long term things in need to watch for?

Cheers!!

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Several things to watch - one is what your initial NO3 and PO4 levels are. If your NO3 is high but your PO4 levels are low, then the product may not work all that well, since it acts by boosting bacterial growth, and that growth needs 3 things - a readily available carbon source (NoPOX), nitrate and phosphate. Another aspect to consider is the performance of your skimmer. Growth of bacteria is the first condition, and actual removal of that bacteria from the system is the second that will cause a drop in NO3/PO4. While in theory bacteria can be removed with filter socks and/or an automated filter fleece roller, it's the skimmer that's the primary removal mechanism in a reef tank, so making sure that it's the proper size for the tank and is operating at peak capacity would be important.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey all,

I was thinking about using this product as part of my daily dosing regime and wanted to know if there were any tips you guys could provide?

I understand I should start with half the recommended dose and test from there. However any long term things in need to watch for?

Cheers!!

What is your goal in using it?

 

[RJinPV]

My add is that is you are not careful you can drive levels to zero and that is not good for the livestock either

 

[member 99594]

What is your goal in using it?

My thought was that this product would keep both No3 and PO4 in check. However, I am now reading that this is not really the case and that your refugium, skimmer and water changes are all better at doing this. I have been testing and my No3 is around 4ppm and PO4 is about .08. this is staying stable and I think I am pretty good atm.

 

[mta_morrow]

What is your goal in using it?

#1 most important question to answer!

 

[merereef]

Hey all,

I was thinking about using this product as part of my daily dosing regime and wanted to know if there were any tips you guys could provide?

I understand I should start with half the recommended dose and test from there. However any long term things in need to watch for?

Cheers!!

No pox is good its carbon dosing... if you do use it its great at reducing nitrates and after that will slowly reduce phosphates.. your levels are ok though. If you do want to use it make sure you stop using phosphate media and monitor phos to make sure it doesnt creep above 0.10 if it does re use phosphate media. Make sure you run your skimmer Wet

 

[User1]

I have been testing and my No3 is around 4ppm and PO4 is about .08. this is staying stable and I think I am pretty good atm.

NoPox is a pretty good product if you want to buy something off the shelf over the counter. I believe there is a thread and/or post with the DIY recipe that could save you some money. Having said that there are also some articles written by Randy that may help educate on carbon dosing. When I say educate it isn't meant disrespectful. I am not sure how much you know about dosing is all and it is something I did and continue to do. NoPox dosing you have the general idea by reducing the initial dose by half however I would recommend actually starting at 1/3rd the initial dose. So measure nitrates and phosphates, calculate based on total water volume, read the dosing instructions to see what they recommend the initial dose is, reduce it to 1/3rd, and start there. Dose daily with you taking measurements twice a week. Do this until you see nitrates start to drop and slowly increase repeating until you reach your goal. This is something that has already noted can reduce nitrates and phosphates too low and impact your tank.

Having said that the numbers you post I would ask why do you want to does to begin with. Your numbers look pretty good. To give you an idea when I started my first NoPox dose I had nitrates of 80 ppm (Nyos kit) and phosphates at .44 ppm (Hanna). By the time I stopped NoPox I lowered nitrates to 10 and phosphates down to .26.

In any case I think your numbers are a good starting point and I would leave NoPox out. If you do want to dose then please read some of the articles Randy did and see if it makes sense. I'll also let the other more educated on dosing help. I'm only giving you what I did when using it.