NoPox resulted in large algae bloom, help!

[g8rorchid]

Hi All,

I have a 55g tank with the large CPR hob fuge. I have never had luck with growing chaeto, but wanted to find something to lower my nitrates and get rid of a small patch of gha on the glass. Tank doesn't have any corals, but does have blue legs and zebra crabs. Prior to starting the NoPox - my nitrates were between 60-80ppm and phosphates were 0.1. I have been dosing 6ml per day for the past 18 days and nitrates are now between 80-100ppm (ugh!!) and phosphates are 0.1-0.15. Also, the gha has exploded all over the rocks and now I also have some white looking algae on the glass. Not using any carbon or chemipure, per the instructions. Can anyone help with what I should do? Is this normal? I'm attaching a couple of pics.

Thanks!

[mcgyvr]

Do you have a skimmer?
How long has the tank been setup?

[WLachnit]

That sounds like a lot of nopox for that tank volume. The white stuff is most likely an algae bloom.


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[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by WLachnit

That sounds like a lot of nopox for that tank volume. The white stuff is most likely an algae bloom.

red sea recommends 3ml/25 gallons so 6mL is exactly per their instructions..

bacteria typically looks like clear "snot" ..I can't tell if thats what we are seeing in those pictures..
Cleaning that dirty *** glass first would help

I would have started with a few 25G water changes to get those levels down more..

[g8rorchid]

Yes, I have a skimmer - Aquamaxx hob-1. Tank has been setup for like 7 years, lol.

The white stuff kind of looks like cobwebs, if that helps. My main question is what should I do? Decrease NoPox? Stop it? Continue, but add chemipure or other carbon in bag?

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by g8rorchid

Yes, I have a skimmer - Aquamaxx hob-1. Tank has been setup for like 7 years, lol.

The white stuff kind of looks like cobwebs, if that helps. My main question is what should I do? Decrease NoPox? Stop it? Continue, but add chemipure or other carbon in bag?

It is likely bacteria..

I personally would reduce the dosage in half (for now) and as I stated above do a few 25G water changes and siphon as much of that stuff out as you can...

The more water you change the better at this point..

How much rock do you have?
What is your typical water change schedule?
What else do you do for maintenance?

Whatever it is its not enough to keep nitrates low enough to not have algae issues.. Doesn't really look too bad from what I see..Nothing a small cleanup crew (mexican turbo snails) couldn't take care of..
But yes I would get nitrates lower.. its just fuel for the algae..
Running a little GFO/chemipure elite (must be elite as it has GFO I believe) will help reduce the phosphates but I personally would hold off on that as the nopox will reduce them too once it starts kicking in..

[nereefpat]

I'm not sure carbon dosing is the best plan of attack for a tank with 60-80ppm NO3. I would do some large water changes (25gallons, as suggested, is fine) a couple days apart until NO3 is somewhere in the 10ppm range.

[Hitch08]

This article should provide you with some additional information.

Well if it sounds so great, why can’t I just start dumping vodka/organic carbon into my system? Before running to the liquor cabinet, the simple answer is overdosing can cause serious and detrimental effects to the reef system. To help circumvent this potential issue a dosing regimen along with some basic equipment is needed. The absolute must is the requirement for a powerful skimmer. People that have reported beneficial results using this method all have had strong skimmer and report a change in skimmate from a light brown to a strong odiferous black sludge. This makes a good skimmer a key requirement and important for two reasons:

Gas exchange. The increased bacterial biomass and growth will decrease your dissolved O2 levels in the water column. Too much vodka can result in a drastic decrease of O2 and can cause stress to your reef inhabitants, if not death.
Exporting bacteria/macromolecule mass. Vodka addition results in lower NO3 and PO4 levels. You will want to export the incorporated nitrogen and phosphates that you are cultivating by organic carbon dosing. Efficient skimming allows such removal.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

[g8rorchid]

Here are my answers to the following questions:

How much rock do you have? Honestly, I don't recall, but I would venture to say between 80-100lbs (can be more, but not sure)
What is your typical water change schedule? I do monthly water changes, between 13-15gallons (24-27%).
What else do you do for maintenance? I usually either have chemipure or the nitrate and phosphate reducer filter pads.

Is there a consensus on what to do? I will do a water change tomorrow, between 20-25 gallons, depends on how much ro'di water I can make. If I reduce the NoPox, what schedule would you recommend? Is getting this kind of reaction normal or did I get a bad batch?

Thanks again!

[Hitch08]

As referenced in the article posted above, recommendation is to cut the dosing in half.