NO3:PO4-X

So I was asked at the last meeting to write a little bit on my experience’s using NO3:PO4-X (or what I will call No pox for short). For those of you who have never herd or used this product before, it is basically a fancy version of vodka dosing, this is the official description off the red sea website:

"Prevents nuisance algae and enables control of zooxanthellae for optimum coral growth and coloration.
NO3:PO4-X is a unique complex of carbons that are used by nutrient reducing bacteria. Each carbon in the complex is utilized by different strains of microorganisms while ensuring the correct carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus ratio is met for each stage.
The complex includes other organic bonded elements that are important stimulators in each stage of the reduction process. These metal and non-metals elements ensure steady bacterial propagation and complete nitrate reduction to nitrogen gas and the absorption and utilization of phosphate by the bacteria.
The fine control of the nitrate and phosphate levels provided by monitored dosing of NO3:PO4-X guarantees the gradual changes and accurate maintenance of the nutrient levels, preventing destruction of the zooxanthellae population that can cause ultraviolet (UV) shock and starvation of the corals.
Unlike some other low-nutrient regimes, correct use of NO3:PO4-X will maintain all of the micro fauna that are beneficial for the reef.
NO3:PO4-X is also recommended as a complete carbon source for use with carbon based de-nitrators.

Concentration:
2ml/100 liters (25gal)/day"


Firstly No Pox cost me $49.95 for 1 litter which u will see last’s quite a awhile, (nearly half a year for myself). I have used this product for about 2.5 years now and have done a water change maybe twice a year. Not because of any dangerous levels just because I figure n.s.w. has things in it I could never add in as a supplement. I perform what I call “the piss test”, i get a yellow highlighter draw on some white paper place it at one end of my tank, stand at the other end and look threw the water. If the water is clear and I can see the markings I take it to be fine, if the water has a yellowish ting and I cant see the highlighted marks I perform a water change. However after testing my tank, doing a water change is the last thing I like to do, in fact I hate doing them. If it wasn’t for this product my tank would be a glass box of death, slim and algae, lol.

My personal experience with this product have been great, I read all the instruction and directions in the manual and set off on my way. I first started dosing as the instructions said making sure I tested my nitrate and phosphate weekly to see if there was a reduction. It took about 2 weeks from when I first started to work but once it did it was grate. That was the first month… ever since that I just chuck it in, lol. I take a syringe and put in about 6mls into my 275litter tank(sump) every morning without fail (I need a dosser soon). I have had my water tested in shops and they have said to me I have the lowest nitrate and phosphate reading they have ever seen, 0. Now I know u are meant to have some nitrate and phosphate in ur tank for coral growth and the like but I am quite happy for my corals to have a slightly slower growth rate and have no hair or red/green slime algae in my tank as I use to continually beforehand(personal preference). I feed and supplement for my corals everyday as well, and they seem to be growing and looking good, I.M.O..

If at any point Cyanobacteria starts to try make its way back into my tank I add another .5 or 1ml of No pox daily. If I put any less then 6mls in my tank It seems to slowly creep back. If you miss a day with this product but the problem is going to come back even worse as the bacteria who lives off the No pox starts to die off and in turn u eventually have a nitrate and phosphate problems even worse. I remember reading up on this product awhile ago and there was a ratio at which it consumes the nitrate and phosphate however I can’t remember what the exact numbers r, however PO4 consumed to NO3 is fairly minimal. (*approx. 4-1 from memory*) :-S

When I started using this product on another tank I have I didn’t see any results and my nitrate just kept rising. After a bit of reading I learnt about this ratio (The Redfield ratio), I removed the “phosphate removal bag” of beans I had previously bought and within 2 or 3 weeks it started to work perfectly. I took this to mean the “phosphate removal bag” was actually working to well and not allowing any phosphate in my tank to be high enough for the No pox bacteria to work. If your levels of nitrate and phosphate are equal or higher I would recommend lowering the phosphate to at least a 3rd of your nitrate first just so the bacteria has the right conditions to thrive. I also have quite a good skimmer to remove the waste after, however this is quite minimal, maybe skimmer cup every 2 months.

These are just my experiences and thoughts, I am sure other people do it differently or “properly” as the instructions instruct. When something starts dyeing off or my tank starts to react badly to what I am currently doing I might change the way I do it, but while it works for me at the moment I am not likely to change anything I am doing. Personally i think I am fairly close to the proper dossing rate of No pox as I try to use as little of the product as I can while still having no nuisance algae.

Red sea sell this product as a “Algae management program” in the booklet that comes with the bottle it talks about accelerated coral growth and enhanced coral coloration. However I’m pretty sure if u could keep your nitrate at 0.25 ppm and your phosphate 0.02 ppm as stated in the book, threw another method u would achieve the same results in relation to those two aspects.

That’s about all I can think of at the moment, thanks for reading…

Simon



P.S. I have also injected No Pox directly into Aiptasia anemones and it kills them off never to return.