can someone tell me what im missing?

smitten with ocean life

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2024
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
4,832
Location
northern ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
im baffled. obviously im missing something here. my nitrates and phos consistently run high. nitrates 46 , phos. .42. im trying to lower them with no pox. and everytime i use it i start losing coral. they seem to hate it when i use the stuff. what am i doing wrong? another member suggested my rock might be phosphate bound since water changes dont seem to change my numbers.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
72,100
Reaction score
69,741
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You and all reefers with high phosphate have lots bound to rock and sand, but that is not a coral problem.

If you have a problem bacteria that hurts the corals and likes one or more ingredients in NOPOX, that could be an issue. I’d stop using it.
 

findingsimple

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2023
Messages
711
Reaction score
3,904
Location
South Australia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You and all reefers with high phosphate have lots bound to rock and sand, but that is not a coral problem.

If you have a problem bacteria that hurts the corals and likes one or more ingredients in NOPOX, that could be an issue. I’d stop using it.
I have a mate i suspect has a problem bacteria we have been trying to problem solve. What would you suggest to tackle this? We’ve both run multiple successfully tanks but this one is giving us issues.

(We’ve got everything dialed in chemistry wise, done full water changes, ICP results ok, lighting tested with Apogee PAR meter - yet some corals still die off)
 

Reefering1

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
3,222
Reaction score
5,058
Location
Usa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Go slower?
Need more info... how much are you dosing? How long? Are the numbers coming down? Were the corals doing good before? If so, why are you doing it? If everything was happy but numbers are a little high, why not just do some extra w/c or gfo or something?
 

paragrouper

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 9, 2023
Messages
1,667
Reaction score
7,326
Location
Shady Shores, TX
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
thanks, randy. so what would you recommend to take care of this problem?
How are your corals doing when you do not dose Nopox?

If they are faring well, I would cut down on feeding a tad to address your nitrates and use GFO to slowly bring down phosphates. The key is to take your time.
 
OP
OP
smitten with ocean life

smitten with ocean life

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2024
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
4,832
Location
northern ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
everything looks pretty good when i am not dosing it. once in awhile ill loose a random coral but otherwise looks good. id like more fleshband on my torches but they look happy otherwise. i dont deal with any problem algae. the tank is 125 gallon and i was dosing 2 tsp every 24 hr. but want to quit because now im losing stuff. yeah, it helps get the numbers down. i havent used gfo because it looks daunting to me, i guess. never have tried it. i can do more wc but it never seems to change the numbers a whole lot. i just want to get them down because i feel like im always on the brink of disaster with them so much higher than everyone else :smiling-face:
 

Reefering1

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
3,222
Reaction score
5,058
Location
Usa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It's very easy to starve the system with carbon dosing. You almost have to feed alot while dosing it. But if everything is happy, no algea problems, and it's just a number thing- I wouldn't be doing much. Thin fleshband could indicate lack of nutrition. Try feeding more and dosing less
 

crazyfishmom

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 29, 2023
Messages
2,832
Reaction score
4,569
Location
North Andover
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
With those levels I would try to use a bit of GFO and try to up water changes. Anything else has meant trouble for me. That said, phosphates sit at around 0.2 these days and nitrates are around 30 and I’m super happy with how all my corals look with those numbers. Every tank is different.
 

Reefering1

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
3,222
Reaction score
5,058
Location
Usa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
you mean dosing carbon? does that help take it out of the sand and rocks? thats what im scared of- creating a whole nother problem.
Research Organic carbon, that's what nopox is. I like vodka, others prefer vinegar or sugar(there are more). Supposedly nopox is a mix of them. If you keep taking n&p out the water, as it leaches from rocks- sooner or later it will leach less and less at equilibrium with water. But you have to make sure to feed the tank heavily. Heavy in heavy out.
But again, if the corals are happy, I probably wouldn't be trying to drastically reduce anything.
 
OP
OP
smitten with ocean life

smitten with ocean life

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2024
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
4,832
Location
northern ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
ok. i have some of this. is this what you mean?
Resized_20240720_192602_1721528790838.jpeg
 

crazyfishmom

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 29, 2023
Messages
2,832
Reaction score
4,569
Location
North Andover
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
ok. i have some of this. is this what you mean?
Resized_20240720_192602_1721528790838.jpeg
Phosguard works very similarly to GFO. If you’re going to use it just make sure to go slowly and use half the recommended dosage until you see how your levels respond. Gradual decline is the game.
 

crazyfishmom

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 29, 2023
Messages
2,832
Reaction score
4,569
Location
North Andover
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
ok great! hopefully my corals like this better. i cant figure out where to put it though. it says to place in your filter
It should go inside a media bag in a high flow area. If you have filter socks you would put the media bag inside the filter sock. You can also use it in a media reactor.
 

ChrisfromBrick

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 29, 2024
Messages
1,026
Reaction score
1,287
Location
Brick, NJ
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
everything looks pretty good when i am not dosing it. once in awhile ill loose a random coral but otherwise looks good. id like more fleshband on my torches but they look happy otherwise. i dont deal with any problem algae. the tank is 125 gallon and i was dosing 2 tsp every 24 hr. but want to quit because now im losing stuff. yeah, it helps get the numbers down. i havent used gfo because it looks daunting to me, i guess. never have tried it. i can do more wc but it never seems to change the numbers a whole lot. i just want to get them down because i feel like im always on the brink of disaster with them so much higher than everyone else :smiling-face:
GFO is not anything to be afraid of but its pretty powerful stuff. Look at GFO reactors. Its a very simple reactor to set up, plus you can do carbon with a GFO reactor. My advice with GFO is that you start with less than the recommended amount and go very slowly so as to not bottom out your phosphates.
 

Pod_01

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 10, 2022
Messages
1,144
Reaction score
1,085
Location
Waterloo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just to add Phosguard is Aluminum oxide.
GFO is Granular Ferric Oxide (Iron based).

Both reduce phosphate, with Aluminum oxide I would use reactor and try to pack the media so it is not rubbing / moving to reduce Al getting into the water. From reading there is always a possibility that some aluminum can get into water and may irritate your corals.

Out of the two I prefer GFO, if some iron gets in the water your algae may grow better…

Rinse either before use.
 
Back
Top