NoPox conversion

[dh350twin]

Hello any one out there that could advise me on how many Ml of vinegar I would need to replace a daily dosing of 30ml of red seas NoPox?
Thank you

 

[Lenny_S]

If you were dosing 30ml of nopox you have a 250 gallon system? Most vinegar dosing depends on system volume. If that's your volume then you would probably start at about the same amount of vinegar, 30ml. FYI ethanol has a much higher carbon content and you can dose far less.

 

[dh350twin]

If you were dosing 30ml of nopox you have a 250 gallon system? Most vinegar dosing depends on system volume. If that's your volume then you would probably start at about the same amount of vinegar, 30ml. FYI ethanol has a much higher carbon content and you can dose far less.

Thank you for your reply
It's a 300 gallon and I have heard you would need more vinegar then say vodka or NoPox?

 

[Lenny_S]

Yes, a little more. Most articles I've read suggest 15ml per 100 gallons for vinegar, so start with 45ml and monitor what your nitrates do and watch for bacteria blooms. Then adjust accordingly... It's really the same with anything, you start with what the average tank would need then adjust for your specific system.

 

[dh350twin]

Do you think this is a bacterial bloom?

 

[dh350twin]

Sorry for bad pics

 

[dh350twin]

I added some new dry rock and it appears to be worse on them so I figured it was Phosphates leeching out of the rock

 

[Lenny_S]

Yes, hard to see without more white light, but looks like cyano. I run a bio pellet reactor and GFO to manage excess nutrients. My reactor feeds directly into a second skimmer in my system. The cyano will go away, but GFO and mega skimming helps make it go away faster. The GFO helps because as the bacteria uses the carbon to process nitrate, they only use 1 part phosphate for every 16 parts nitrate. The excess phosphate will fuel a lot of other undesirables. So the formula is carbon+phosphate+nitrate, with no limit on those 3 components the bacteria go hog wild. I use low/0 phosphate as the limiting factor. If I see my nitrates start to rise, I suspend the use of GFO until I start to see it go down again or until I see the phosphate start getting over .05ppm

 

[dh350twin]

Yes, hard to see without more white light, but looks like cyano. I run a bio pellet reactor and GFO to manage excess nutrients. My reactor feeds directly into a second skimmer in my system. The cyano will go away, but GFO and mega skimming helps make it go away faster. The GFO helps because as the bacteria uses the carbon to process nitrate, they only use 1 part phosphate for every 16 parts nitrate. The excess phosphate will fuel a lot of other undesirables. So the formula is carbon+phosphate+nitrate, with no limit on those 3 components the bacteria go hog wild. I use low/0 phosphate as the limiting factor. If I see my nitrates start to rise, I suspend the use of GFO until I start to see it go down again or until I see the phosphate start getting over .05ppm

I have never had luck with GFO it turns hard I can't get it to tumble. How do you use yours and what type are you using?

 

[dh350twin]

I will take pics tomorrow when the halides are on. It's long green at the base and then grayish white.

 

[Lenny_S]

I have never had luck with GFO it turns hard I can't get it to tumble. How do you use yours and what type are you using?

I use rowaphos in a NextReef MR1 reactor. Tumbles fine for me, although I feed it from my manifold so not sure how much flow is going through it... Maybe like 250 GPH

 

[dh350twin]

I use rowaphos in a NextReef MR1 reactor. Tumbles fine for me, although I feed it from my manifold so not sure how much flow is going through it... Maybe like 250 GPH

I have only used the dual bulk reef reactor and a maxi jet 1200 and always had issues. Plus I used there gfo they sell

 

[biom]

Hello any one out there that could advise me on how many Ml of vinegar I would need to replace a daily dosing of 30ml of red seas NoPox?
Thank you

in terms of carbon content you will need almost 4 times more vinegar than NOPOX (3.85 times more to be precise) i.e. 115 ml vinegar

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, I agree it will take a lot more vinegar to match the NOPOX.

Why are you switching from NOPOX and why do you want to match the dose?

I dose only vinegar, but if you want to make a DIY NOPOX (which is a fine way to go) using the two main ingredients (ethanol and acetic acid), here's my recommendation:

Mix one part vinegar to one half part vodka and one half part water. If you want to get even closer, add a little more vodka and a little less water.

 

[dh350twin]

Yes, I agree it will take a lot more vinegar to match the NOPOX.

Why are you switching from NOPOX and why do you want to match the dose?

I dose only vinegar, but if you want to make a DIY NOPOX (which is a fine way to go) using the two main ingredients (ethanol and acetic acid), here's my recommendation:

Mix one part vinegar to one half part vodka and one half part water. If you want to get even closer, add a little more vodka and a little less water.

Simple. Tired of spending money on something I can get done cheaper. Thanks Randy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Good luck and let us know how the transition goes.