Nopox drove down my phosphates to undetectable?

[4sylvester]

So i have been running for weeks battling nitrates and phosphates after using some chemiclean to get rid of cyano. It worked great but for almost 3 months after i have been battling high nitrates (20-30) and phosphates (0.1 to 0.35). My latest reading was 25 on NO3 and 0.12 on PO4. I started to dose some Nopox at HALF the prescribed dose (7.5mL per 125 gallon tank). AFter 6 days i checked NO3 and it dropped to 18. However, my PO4 dropped to 0 with a Hanna Ultra Low. I was shocked because i thought nopox doesn't have much effect on PO4 compared to NO3. Regardless i stopped dosing Nopox immediately. Has anyone else seen their PO4 plummet with NOPOX? I am running a SKIMZ contained algae reactor with some chaeto in it but it's never grown very well. I don't have any other phosphate removing stuff.

 

[lapin]

Bacteria use nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate to build new cells which result in NO2 and PO4 reduction.

 

[ScottB]

I'll admit that I have PDSD (post dinoflagellate stress disorder) but I would strongly recommend you dose some PO4 back into your system pronto. You are running a very high risk of joining me over in the big dino thread and the related emotional support groups necessary for a full recovery.

 

[4sylvester]

i was considering dosing some back in. I am just afraid to shock my system at this point. Maybe dose with a target of 0.02 ppm?

 

[ScottB]

i was considering dosing some back in. I am just afraid to shock my system at this point. Maybe dose with a target of 0.02 ppm?

Personally, I would err to the higher side.

You will likely be surprised how much you will need to dose. The rock and substrate will soak it up for a good long while before it becomes available.

btw, if you dose aminos you should stop immediately.

 

[LesPoissons]

I am in the same boat, coming out of dino darkness into the light. I would def dose some phos though!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i was considering dosing some back in. I am just afraid to shock my system at this point. Maybe dose with a target of 0.02 ppm?

I doubt you can shock things with adding phosphate.

Assuming it really is zero now and not test error (the sudden drop has me suspicious), I think you may be the one shocked when you add phosphate multiple times and still detect none due to consumption and binding to rock/sand.

 

[Crustaceon]

It’s the same with any carbon dosing. Once the bacteria bottoms out your phosphate level, it’ll stop reducing nitrates and can actually allow them to rise until enough phosphates enters the equation again. This is why if you’re planning on reducing a large number of nitrates using nopox/vinegar/vodka/biopellets, you should always test phosphates and be ready to dose a little bit of phosphates back in every day to keep the bacteria propagating. You may have to elevate your phosphates to .1ppm. Don’t be surprised if you see zero phosphates again the next day.

 

[4sylvester]

It’s the same with any carbon dosing. Once the bacteria bottoms out your phosphate level, it’ll stop reducing nitrates and can actually allow them to rise until enough phosphates enters the equation again. This is why if you’re planning on reducing a large number of nitrates using nopox/vinegar/vodka/biopellets, you should always test phosphates and be ready to dose a little bit of phosphates back in every day to keep the bacteria propagating. You may have to elevate your phosphates to .1ppm. Don’t be surprised if you see zero phosphates again the next day.

Sounds right.. but what happens if i keeping dosing phosphate... NO3 will keep coming down even if i am not using nopox? eventually nitrate will be gone? or since i am not dosing nopox that won't happen?

 

[Boochika]

I've had the opposite effect with NoPox, where my nitrates bottomed out and my Po4 hovers around .03-.08.

I've reduced my nopox dose to 2ml per day for an 80 gallon system. Thinking about ditching it all together and just doing religious weekly water changes at this point since I have the time. I've been doing biweekly at 30-40%.

 

[Marc2952]

I'll admit that I have PDSD (post dinoflagellate stress disorder) but I would strongly recommend you dose some PO4 back into your system pronto. You are running a very high risk of joining me over in the big dino thread and the related emotional support groups necessary for a full recovery.

I fully agree with you, just hearing the word dinoflagellates gives me ptsd lol

 

[ScottB]

I am in the same boat, coming out of dino darkness into the light. I would def dose some phos though!

Yes I recall your battle with the darkness. Glad you are in recovery now.

 

[Crustaceon]

Sounds right.. but what happens if i keeping dosing phosphate... NO3 will keep coming down even if i am not using nopox? eventually nitrate will be gone? or since i am not dosing nopox that won't happen?

You probably still have all of that residual carbon source floating around in your tank. If you dose phosphates now, it’ll be consumed and you’ll see a drop in nitrates along with some really nasty skimmate being produced. The trick here is that you should do a phosphate test before dosing nopox or similar. If your phosphates are under .05ppm, it’s good practice to also add a little bit of phosphates at the same time as nopox/carbon dosing to compensate for the drop in phosphates that will surely happen. Things change a little bit when you’re just trying to maintain nutrient levels when carbon dosing. Typically your nutrients are close to where you want them and a small carbon dose is enough to make up for what amount of nitrate and phosphate has been recently produced. Phosphate-loaded rocks and sand will often leech a little bit and act as a buffer at this point.

 

[Crustaceon]

I've had the opposite effect with NoPox, where my nitrates bottomed out and my Po4 hovers around .03-.08.

I've reduced my nopox dose to 2ml per day for an 80 gallon system. Thinking about ditching it all together and just doing religious weekly water changes at this point since I have the time. I've been doing biweekly at 30-40%.

That can absolutely happen as well. This is the nature of carbon dosing and why I’m going the same direction as you and will be relying a little more heavily on water changes for nutrient export. I have a biopellet reactor running right now, but as with any form of carbon dosing, it’s just a balancing act whereas water changes aren’t.

 

[charlesk]

I'll admit that I have PDSD (post dinoflagellate stress disorder) but I would strongly recommend you dose some PO4 back into your system pronto. You are running a very high risk of joining me over in the big dino thread and the related emotional support groups necessary for a full recovery.

LOL. I have been in dino therapy many times

 

[John Hernandez]

I'll admit that I have PDSD (post dinoflagellate stress disorder) but I would strongly recommend you dose some PO4 back into your system pronto. You are running a very high risk of joining me over in the big dino thread and the related emotional support groups necessary for a full recovery.

Had the same thing happen to me. Dinos are the plague. I will never use NoPox again. On a positive note, I installed an algae scrubber and haven't had an issue with Nitrates or Phosphates since. In fact I have to dose at times.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

If your phosphates are at zero hold the carbon dosing you need both nitrates and phosphates present in the water column

 

[srad750c]

So i have been running for weeks battling nitrates and phosphates after using some chemiclean to get rid of cyano. It worked great but for almost 3 months after i have been battling high nitrates (20-30) and phosphates (0.1 to 0.35). My latest reading was 25 on NO3 and 0.12 on PO4. I started to dose some Nopox at HALF the prescribed dose (7.5mL per 125 gallon tank). AFter 6 days i checked NO3 and it dropped to 18. However, my PO4 dropped to 0 with a Hanna Ultra Low. I was shocked because i thought nopox doesn't have much effect on PO4 compared to NO3. Regardless i stopped dosing Nopox immediately. Has anyone else seen their PO4 plummet with NOPOX? I am running a SKIMZ contained algae reactor with some chaeto in it but it's never grown very well. I don't have any other phosphate removing stuff.
[/QUOTE.

That wasn’t my experience, mine was a slow progression from .130 ppb to .013 ppb. I have a 90 and used 5 ml daily. I didn’t do any H2O changes to prevent a drastic change. It took almost two months to get my PO4 to my target of >.020. Unfortunately I didn’t monitor my nitrates as closely as I should have. My NO3 is undetectable with a Red Sea test kit. I used to run my tank around 5.0 ppm of NO3. My red planet coral recently died from lack of nutrients.

 

[Plandauesq]

Can I ask a possibly dumb question? How do you dose phosphates? I had something terrible in my 300 gallon tank and the only thing that helped save the day was NOpox. I’ve been running it for a few months now, should I stop? Phosphates read zero but tank looks great?

 

[John Hernandez]

Can I ask a possibly dumb question? How do you dose phosphates? I had something terrible in my 300 gallon tank and the only thing that helped save the day was NOpox. I’ve been running it for a few months now, should I stop? Phosphates read zero but tank looks great?

Not a dumb question at all. I am using Seachem Flourish Phosphorus.