NOPOX or Elimi NP

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I you had it one way and one way only which would you choose? Vinegar or Vodka?

Which one should I start testing with?

I chose vinegar for two reasons:

1. It caused less cyano than vodka in my system.

2. It is used by a wide range of organisms, including corals.

 

[crazyfishmom]

All carbon dosing methods have the potential to cause cyano blooms. This is not a huge problem in a balanced system but it’s important to know this can happen. Vodka caused a lot of issues in my system, or at least I think that’s where it all started.

Elimi NP and Bacto Balance both worked well for me. With Bacto Balance there’s a little bit of phosphate and nitrate that are added in so they help to regulate the system without bottoming out.

Have you considered a refugium or turf scrubber to regulate nutrients in a more natural way?

 

[rishma]

All carbon dosing methods have the potential to cause cyano blooms. This is not a huge problem in a balanced system but it’s important to know this can happen. Vodka caused a lot of issues in my system, or at least I think that’s where it all started.

Elimi NP and Bacto Balance both worked well for me. With Bacto Balance there’s a little bit of phosphate and nitrate that are added in so they help to regulate the system without bottoming out.

Have you considered a refugium or turf scrubber to regulate nutrients in a more natural way?

I find carbon dosing to be a natural way

 

[crazyfishmom]

I find carbon dosing to be a natural way

I guess everything we do to our tanks in some way is a manipulation of sorts and you’re feeding bacteria to take care of the nutrients so your comment absolutely applies. I’ve been dealing with “fun” imbalances that I believe started due to carbon dosing so currently on an anti addition of anything I don’t consider to be absolutely necessary bend. That said, the definition of absolutely necessary is completely personal and there’s zero judgement on where someone lands on that in this reefing continuum.

 

[rishma]

I guess everything we do to our tanks in some way is a manipulation of sorts and you’re feeding bacteria to take care of the nutrients so your comment absolutely applies. I’ve been dealing with “fun” imbalances that I believe started due to carbon dosing so currently on an anti addition of anything I don’t consider to be absolutely necessary bend. That said, the definition of absolutely necessary is completely personal and there’s zero judgement on where someone lands on that in this reefing continuum.

My comment was a little flippant but I really meant it seriously.

Randy posted this article a while back, pretty fascinating.

https://reefs.com/magazine/bacteria...ing-and-granular-activated-carbon-filtration/

My comment that it’s natural is because I think tanks are carbon limited and I don’t think the ocean is carbon limited, so adding a carbon source to increase the bacteria population makes it more like the ocean. I’m sure I’m oversimplifying. But the article shows how tank bacteria populations without carbon dosing are much lower than the ocean.

I like refugiums and I’ve used algae scrubbers too. In a way, I feel like they are a little unnatural. It seems like a huge relative mass of algae cleaning the water compared to what happens in the ocean. I’ve got nothing against those techniques. It’s just another means to an end. There isn’t much skimming or GAC in the ocean either. There is little about my tank that is truly natural. All manipulations, as you said.

I struggled with carbon dosing for many years. It would work well for a while but I couldn’t keep things stable long term and ultimately moved away from it. There was a time I felt like it was ultimately doing more harm than good. I had a lot of bad outcomes. I came back to it in recent years with a little more knowledge and discipline and now I’m hooked. Now I cannot imagine running a tank any other way, and I’ve run them most of the other ways at one point or another. I can now say it’s the most stable, lowest maintenance approach I’ve used once I figured it out. I hope I find that is true in future tanks too.

 

[daniel_mourra]

All carbon dosing methods have the potential to cause cyano blooms. This is not a huge problem in a balanced system but it’s important to know this can happen. Vodka caused a lot of issues in my system, or at least I think that’s where it all started.

Elimi NP and Bacto Balance both worked well for me. With Bacto Balance there’s a little bit of phosphate and nitrate that are added in so they help to regulate the system without bottoming out.

Have you considered a refugium or turf scrubber to regulate nutrients in a more natural way?

I have been dosing Elimi NP to keep them down … but havent been able to drop Nitrates (I am happy with phosphates though..)

My phosphates are 0.08 to 0.12 which I am happy with… but Nitrates are anywere between 16.0 (after a 35% water change which is expensive for me) and 22.0 which is were my personal limit is reached….

I would like to have them between 10-15 without the need of many water changes…. But 5 ml DAILY of elimi NP + 9 ml DIALY of elimiphos rapid (Lathanum chloride) just not making this happen….

I do have a refugium with a Kessil light (Tuna) but it is a bit small and I havent been able to tumble the chaeto so It dies from the bottom part releasing everything back to the water. I just bought the Tunze waterproof refugium light to put it under the chaeto and see if this stops it from dying on me and helps with the nitrate issue a bit…..

 

[daniel_mourra]

I chose vinegar for two reasons:

1. It caused less cyano than vodka in my system.

2. It is used by a wide range of organisms, including corals.

Vinegar is used by corals? I had no idea! How do they use vinegar? Can you educate me on that please?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Vinegar is used by corals? I had no idea! How do they use vinegar? Can you educate me on that please?

They use it for energy and to build tissue. Here are some examples:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00405994
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00387705

 

[daniel_mourra]

They use it for energy and to build tissue. Here are some examples:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00405994
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00387705

Thanks!!! I will read this tonight! Thanks for the homework!