NOPOX Pros - need dosing advice

[drmdvl]

I have a 125g FOWLR setup with a fairly heavy bioload/feeding schedule and decided to start dosing NOPOX. I am currently on week 4.

Starting param:
Temp 78
Salinity 34-35ppt
pH 8.2
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 0.03

Based on NO3, instructional dosing is to start at 3ml/25g; however, given all the threads of side effects that I went through on this site - that can an aggressive dose. So I started at a 25% dose and escalated each week by 25%. DT displaced water volume and sump estimated around 130g so I am dosing for 125g. I am dosing on a doser.

Week 1 - 3.75ml total, no issues
Week 2 - 7.5ml, skimmer starts going a bit crazy toward the end of the week, no change in water params.
Week 3 - 11.25ml, skimmer is going absolutely *BSC and overflowing after each dose within hours - uggggh. Octo Essence 130 - raised the skimmer to 7" from 7.5" and run it wide open now - skims wet then settles to dry and have to close it down. And an expected thin glaze on interior walls that wipes right off. no change in water params.
Week 4 - yesterday was my first full 3ml dose, so 15ml total. 4 hours later, I have the white film on the glass (no biggie), but notice some very small amounts of white stringy slime coming from the power heads and a thick clear snot ~1/8" thick clogging 3 mesh filter socks which had just been changed the day before, its also coating my return pump and the entire contents of the skimmer.

I read up and there are a lot of "nopox slime" threads with all kinds of courses of action.
The water is not cloudy but there is intermittent white sediment in the water column from the power heads and return, there is no white or slime accumulation in low flow areas or on the coral insert, pH is stable, po4 0.04 (GFO off at beginning of treatment), NO3 15.

I did not over-react, just dismantled and cleaned the return pump, skimmer and changed filter socks.
I cut the dose back in ~1/2 and dosed 8ml today with no issues. Fish look fine.

My question is.... is this expected and has to be managed this way every day with dosing full strength or is this a sign of overdose?

Thanks!

 

[Tombones]

It sounds like what happened to me several years ago. Using NOPOX will lower PO4 much faster than NO3 and PO4 will lower to 0. Now when I use NOPOX I watch my PO4 closely and add phosphate to help lower the NO3. When the NO3 gets down to where I want it I will stop dosing Phosphate. .03 could be 0.00 as it is in the +/- error range.

 

[SPR1968]

With Nopox you will get a haze form on the glass after a few days that just needs cleaning with the normal glass cleaning you would do.

The white slime is bacterial flocks forming. You can either reduce the dose slightly, or what I do is increase water flow to the affected area to disperse it. Mine normally forms at the water surface in my sump, and normally at high doses (about instruction levels) so I ‘ripple’ the water surface with the output from a reactor and that keeps it clear.

It shouldn’t affect the skimmer, and you just need to wet skim or it won’t work as well.

 

[drmdvl]

It sounds like what happened to me several years ago...

Thats a good tip! I thought NOPOX lowered NO3 much faster than PO4 though? I use the hanna checker and it says +/- 4% accuracy at 77° so I would assume my reading would be as low as 0.02 maybe - since I am fowlr, my only visual cues on nutrients is my macroalgae in the sump and its still growing. Either way, I will try to monitor and maintain a balance without bottoming out one or the other. I know PO4 is needed for nopox to work on NO3. Thanks for the help!

With Nopox you will get a haze form on the glass after a few days that just needs cleaning with the normal glass cleaning you would do...

Thank you! Why the flocks accumulated in high flow areas (filter socks, skimmer chamber, power heads, return pump) is beyond me... every system different I guess. Great tip, I put the return lines from my reactor/UV a little closer to the sump surface. My dose reduction certainly helped. Back to wet skimming and just a little bit of haze on the glass and clogged filters every couple of days instead of hours.. I think Ill just keep it here and monitor for effect for a couple of weeks and titrate up slowly as needed.

 

[Tombones]

I thought NOPOX lowered NO3 much faster than PO4 though?...
You may be right. I think it depends on how much PO4 is locked up in your rocks and sand. If you have almost striped out the PO4 with GFO or something carbon dosing will use what small amount left over quickly. Then phosphate dosing would be required.