Red Sea NOPOX vs Vodka vs Vinager Sugar

[ZoWhat]

After watching RedSea's vid on NOPOX, it seems to me that NOPOX is another form of carbon dosing to accelerate beneficial bacteria to reduce NO3 and PO4 but not eliminate it all together. (Having trace amts of NO3 and PO4 still hanging around)

Anyone want to take a shot at explaining to me in layman terms why NOPOX is better than Vodka carbon doing? Better than Vinegar Sugar carbon dosing?

Doing the Cost Math:
NOPOX 500ml bottle at $17 vs
750ml of 80proof vodka at $12-$14 a bottle vs
Vinegar Sugar at ??? a mixture

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Forget gfo I went gfo for high po4 0.30 still can’t figure out how it was so high but it never helped then I pulled it and got nopox and got my po4 down to 0.02 in a week. Corals have looked the best ever

 

[lejeune981]

I've dossed nopox and vodka... currently vodka.. same results with both

 

[lejeune981]

Both brought my N03 down.. neither had much effect on P04..
With vodka and gfo tank stays steady at .07 P04 and everything seems happy

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

NOPOX is mostly ethanol ( like vodka) acetic acid (like vinegar) and smaller amounts of methanol and isopropanol (perhaps from their possible use of denatured ethanol in the product).

I’ve not seen any evidence or convincing reason to think it is better than vodka or vinegar alone.

I personally prefer vinegar for several reasons, including the fact that many higher organisms (e.g., corals) can use it and that it may be less prone to lead to cyano than vodka ( perhaps because of the first reason I mentioned).

 

[mcarroll]

What Randy said, for sure. Vinegar if you're going to do it.

@skimjim Personally I'd consider it as a last resort and start slowly if you do it...especially on a new tank.

There's no form of carbon dosing that won't drop your nutrients to zero if you let it.....has nothing to do with what you dose....has to do with bacteria vs other consumers. So you have to watch closely and make only small changes. (If you're doing that in general you should be able to avoid any need for carbon dosing though!)

 

[ZoWhat]

So reading in btwn the lines.....lol....

Vodka is 40% ethanol (leaving 60% h2o?)

And NOPOX is just a high % of different forms of alcohol making NOPOX like 60-100% alcohol?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So reading in btwn the lines.....lol....

Vodka is 40% ethanol (leaving 60% h2o?)

And NOPOX is just a high % of different forms of alcohol making NOPOX like 60-100% alcohol?

No. NOPOX is weaker, not stronger, than vodka.

Here's my DIY recipe that gets pretty close to NOPOX (at least the 2 main ingredients):

"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."

 

[lion king]

As an average hobbyist I'm using nopox because it has easy to control calculations. It's been easy for me to determine and adjust dosing per the calculations from Red Sea. I'm sure other forms of carbon dosing will get you there, but for me I was afraid of the trial and error. Any recommended dosing of other carbon sources were all over the place from my research, and didn't leave me with much confidence.

 

[Michael Llabona]

I use NOPOX. I dose less than 5ml a day for a 90g. It works. You pay extra but I only need to get the larger bottle ($28 or less on sale) every six months. A few dollars isn't worth the stuggle for me to switch to vodka.

 

[lejeune981]

I didn't know corals could utilize vinegar...
Hmmm that's food for thought to switch to vinegar..
Though... dosing myself along with the tank won't be nearly as fun!

 

[mcarroll]

Any recommended dosing of other carbon sources were all over the place from my research, and didn't leave me with much confidence.

@Randy Holmes-Farley I can't recall a title, but don't you have at least one article that goes through the specific details on vinegar dosing right down to the starting method?

 

[Jack.lin92]

NOPOX is mostly ethanol ( like vodka) acetic acid (like vinegar) and smaller amounts of methanol and isopropanol (perhaps from their possible use of denatured ethanol in the product).

I’ve not seen any evidence or convincing reason to think it is better than vodka or vinegar alone.

I personally prefer vinegar for several reasons, including the fact that many higher organisms (e.g., corals) can use it and that it may be less prone to lead to cyano than vodka ( perhaps because of the first reason I mentioned).

Thank you
Can you tell me how to use it?
How about dosage ? Is it like nopox ?

 

[TangingOut]

Here's the DIY NoPox recipe I've been using for a few years. I switched straight from red sea NoPox without changing dosage. In my new system I just started dosing and used red sea's instructions.

50% vinegar(5% acidity)
37.5% vodka(80 proof)
12.5% RODI

Or to make 1 liter:
500ml vinegar
375ml vodka
125ml RODI

 

[Jack.lin92]

Here's the DIY NoPox recipe I've been using for a few years. I switched straight from red sea NoPox without changing dosage. In my new system I just started dosing and used red sea's instructions.

50% vinegar(5% acidity)
37.5% vodka(80 proof)
12.5% RODI

Or to make 1 liter:
500ml vinegar
375ml vodka
125ml RODI

Thank you so much
How many cubes of this solution are needed per gallon of tank ?
? ml per ? Gall
Thanks in advance for your help

 

[TangingOut]

Thank you so much
How many cubes of this solution are needed per gallon of tank ?
? ml per ? Gall
Thanks in advance for your help

Here's their dosing chart.
https://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/algae-management-program/no3po4-x/

 

[Jack.lin92]

Here's their dosing chart.
https://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/algae-management-program/no3po4-x/

I am sincerely thankful

 

[Alanhobbs23]

Here's the DIY NoPox recipe I've been using for a few years. I switched straight from red sea NoPox without changing dosage. In my new system I just started dosing and used red sea's instructions.

50% vinegar(5% acidity)
37.5% vodka(80 proof)
12.5% RODI

Or to make 1 liter:
500ml vinegar
375ml vodka
125ml RODI

How much are you dosing at once? Daily or weekly?

 

[Superd513]

Forget gfo I went gfo for high po4 0.30 still can’t figure out how it was so high but it never helped then I pulled it and got nopox and got my po4 down to 0.02 in a week. Corals have looked the best ever

That big of a drop didn’t bother everything?

 

[Rob3D2018]

I've dossed nopox and vodka... currently vodka.. same results with both

I know this is a very late post...did you just switch nopox to vodka or did you slowly made the transition?