NoPox Recipe???

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Many thanks Randy & flampton!

I have easy access to acetic acid, if I make a solution using only acetic acid and RODI water will that work? Any issues of not having the ethanol in it? Given this having only one source of carbon, what % of acetic acid would be adequate?

I've looking into some recipes but, they always had Ethanol/Vodka and Acetic Acid/Vinegar.... :)

In any case, thanks again!

I used vinegar alone for years. I see no reason to dose mixtures. Ethanol was not better in my system (worse, for cyano, IME).

Diluted acetic acid is fine, if adequately pure. The vinegar I used was 5% acetic acid. Dose it slowly on a dosing pump, or saturate it with calcium hydroxide to eliminate the pH drop when first adding it.

 

[Felix_Brown]

I used vinegar alone for years. I see no reason to dose mixtures. Ethanol was not better in my system (worse, for cyano, IME).

Diluted acetic acid is fine, if adequately pure. The vinegar I used was 5% acetic acid. Dose it slowly on a dosing pump, or saturate it with calcium hydroxide to eliminate the pH drop when first adding it.

Perfect!

Many thanks Randy, really appreciate!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

These mixtures help lower nitrate and phosphate, yes?

 

[redfishbluefish]

These mixtures help lower nitrate and phosphate, yes?

These "mixtures" provide a carbon source for bacteria to grow and multiply, and in the process, consume nitrates and phosphates. You need both nitrates and phosphates for carbon dosing to work. If either one is zero, bacteria don't grow/multiply. These bacteria then get removed by your skimmer, thereby "exporting" the nitrates and phosphates. Hope this helps.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

These "mixtures" provide a carbon source for bacteria to grow and multiply, and in the process, consume nitrates and phosphates. You need both nitrates and phosphates for carbon dosing to work. If either one is zero, bacteria don't grow/multiply. These bacteria then get removed by your skimmer, thereby "exporting" the nitrates and phosphates. Hope this helps.

It does help. My nitrates are fine, but my phosphates are always high.

 

[Ippyroy]

It does help. My nitrates are fine, but my phosphates are always high.

ChemiPure Elite will lower PO4 easily. Just throw the pouch in a high flow area, bubble traps are a great place, and pull it out in a week or 2. I would use a smaller bag to begin with.

 

[GoVols]

It does help. My nitrates are fine, but my phosphates are always high.

You could always tumble GFO inside its own reactor for phosphates.

Just start off with 1/4 of the recommended dose.

 

[Titolee]

I used vinegar alone for years. I see no reason to dose mixtures. Ethanol was not better in my system (worse, for cyano, IME).

Diluted acetic acid is fine, if adequately pure. The vinegar I used was 5% acetic acid. Dose it slowly on a dosing pump, or saturate it with calcium hydroxide to eliminate the pH drop when first adding it.

Hey Randy.. what's the best way to saturate with calcium hydroxide? Im using Nopox and its causing a PH drop from 8.11 to 7.85.. then the PH stays low for about 12 hours.. Just about the time the PH is back up it's time to dose Nopox again and the cycle of low PH starts all over again.

 

[ddc0715]

why is water added to the diy no pox recipe? and if some do not use it what do you replace it with, more vodka or vingar.

 

[redfishbluefish]

why is water added to the diy no pox recipe? and if some do not use it what do you replace it with, more vodka or vingar.

The water was added to closely match the concentration found in commercial NOPOX. But this isn't rocket science. If you read earlier posts you'll find people using only vodka (ethanol) and vinegar (acetic acid), and some, like Randy, only using vinegar.

 

[AVCORALS]

Based on an NMR of NOPOX, a diy mix of 500 mls vinegar (5%), 375 mls vodka (80 proof), and 125 mls RO/DI matches the ratios.

Looking into making this today. Is there any particular brand to aim for? Or just straight up any vinegar, any 80 proof vodka ?
Thanks a bunch !

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Looking into making this today. Is there any particular brand to aim for? Or just straight up any vinegar, any 80 proof vodka ?
Thanks a bunch !

Any unflavored brand is fine. Distilled white vinegar 5% acidity for the vinegar.

 

[killer2001]

I used vinegar alone for years. I see no reason to dose mixtures. Ethanol was not better in my system (worse, for cyano, IME).

What is the reason that companies like Red Sea for their NoPOX formula are including ethanol to begin with?

 

[AVCORALS]

Any unflavored brand is fine. Distilled white vinegar 5% acidity for the vinegar.

Thank you!!!!!!

 

[Uncle99]

To me, the value of Nopox is it’s very consistent in concentration batch to batch. Iam a lousy mixer, or maybe lazy for that matter, so for me, very convenient.

In Canada, Nopox is cheaper than Vodka (heavily taxed)

Using Nopox 5 years now, just 8ml day.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What is the reason that companies like Red Sea for their NoPOX formula are including ethanol to begin with?

I do not know how they arrived at their recipe. I suspect the small amount of methanol and isopropanol are present to make the ethanol untaxed and undrinkable

 

[Saltyanimals]

Curious. Why both ethanol and vinegar? People have dosed both of those products for years as a single carbon source, so why combine them now? I assume one is better for Phos and the other for nitrates?

And based on the DIY is there a dosing amount instruction as this could vary based on ingredients. I would just look up the NoPox label and dose to those instructions that's assuming water was 1/3 of the ingredients since someone mentioned the water would make it closer to name brand nopox. BTW. Doesn't that suck if you think about it? RedSea could have sold a more potential product, but why when you can water it down 1/3 and have 1/3 more profits.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Curious. Why both ethanol and vinegar? People have dosed both of those products for years as a single carbon source, so why combine them now? I assume one is better for Phos and the other for nitrates?

There's no evidence of that, and I'd be surprised if it is true.

Doesn't that suck if you think about it? RedSea could have sold a more potential product, but why when you can water it down 1/3 and have 1/3 more profits.

Perhaps they use the cheapest readily available commercial sources of these ingredients, and do not worry about the water content, but another possible reason is to make the product less potentially damaging to plastic tubing, etc (by leaching out plasticizers).

 

[Saltyanimals]

There's no evidence of that, and I'd be surprised if it is true.



Perhaps they use the cheapest readily available commercial sources of these ingredients, and do not worry about the water content, but another possible reason is to make the product less potentially damaging to plastic tubing, etc (by leaching out plasticizers).

Sounds like no real explanation of why BOTH vinegar and ethanol is use maybe just to differentiate the product from a sales and marketing perspective. Since it appears to work for years successful, sure why not. I finally see a reduction in Nitrate now on week 5 of daily dosing still finishing off the Biofuel bottle. Actually went from 33.8 to 12.7 on a HANNA over 6 days. I did not test in between so not sure of the rate, but it is down now close to where I want to be. You were right when you said earlier that it may take time for this to happen. Can't figure out why mine took 5 weeks where some see drops in days. Lesson learned here is to stick to the course and not slow down or change products and give up too quickly.

Everyone doses carbon daily to give it a constant dose and stability, but is there any research on dosing it weekly instead? I'm sure this has been asked before, but I wasn't able to find any real discussion on it. I'm trying to avoid a doser head if a weekly maintenance dose is sufficient. I dump bacteria, trace and other supplements once a week. Would be nice to add this to my dosing day only.

 

[reefsaver]

Fantastic thread, thanks @redfishbluefish. Extraordinarily helpful info here.