Product: AZ-NO3
Manufactorer: Captive Sun
Review Type: Long Term Report
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Pros:
Nitrates from over 40 to <0.05

Cons:
$$$$$$$$$

In Depth:
Daily dosage. This product reduces nirates if less then 100ppm.

It brings down & maintains your nitrate from as high as 100ppm or more to an Absolute-Zero level. Hence the name. Safe for reef and fish-mainly marine systems. Will not harm your delicate corals. Works with an efficient protein skimmer to export the bonded nitrate compounds. An alternative way is to employ Polyfilter Pads to adsorb the bonded nitrate compounds. Also dramatically enhance the efficiency of your protein skimmer in the removal of other detrimental dissolved organics.

May not work in the following cases:

UV Sterilizer running near or above 50,000 microwatts - sec/cm2.
Ozone saturation above 40% in the protein skimmer.
Customer not changing pre-filter pads and/or filter sponges in mechanical filters before natural nitrification breaks the maltase molecule back down into it's original nitrates. So, clean your pre-filters and all pads frequently please.Under rare situations should your fish show stress, an Iodine supplement is recommended. Please bare in mind that the AZ-NO3™ enhances the efficiency of your skimmer and Iodine may have been exported. Watch your ORP while using this product and use BioOxygen Tablets if there is a need

Specs:

Similar Products Used:
other carbon, enzyme, zeo based products

Aquarium Information:
NA

This is a great product!

actually, after a few years of use, I have numerous negatives such as sps corals growth has been stunted tremendously.


try vodka, works great! here:

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22849

Just out of curiosity, how did you arive at the conclusion that the corals growth was stunted, and that this product was specifcally to blame? Not debating, but just curious.

great question.

I do not have a scientifically proven answer. just visual results, some further observations, and comments from some Eric & Randy that "I' added to my conclusion.

This is sole my opinion..........and although my opine might be correct, the logic might not flow all the way through, so to speak.

no quotes please:
1. Eric or hugo has stated that carbon dosing can cause suffocation of corals
2. Randy has stated that certain types of carbon dosing causes more "bacterial film" than others.


you know me enough to realize that like you, with certain things, I am "anal"........ok, skip the joke.........

anyway, my parems have been "Rock sold" for years..........all Heathy polyps extended, , yet really no sps growth & extreme pastel (more than ZEO). Like my tort grew less than a 1/4 inch in a year.

I transitioned from AZ-NO3 to vodka in april 2009.
The tort has encrusted the rock and tripled in size
my plumcrazy is triple
my monti cap is triple
my tenuis is growing at a great rate
purple tips have slowed a bit, not much though


so in addition, I had to clean my tunze's every 6 weeks, my return every 6 weeks, and all little pumps every 6 weeks due to the coating of slime that was so thick from the bacteria. My nitrates were always at .5 or so, but apparently, either the product was over doing it, ot I was overdosing. But I was at the level of my target. With vodka, I have none of these issues at all. I wish I would have switched a couple of years back, but I liked the fact that I had a specific instruction from a company on how to dose this product.

I believe Melev started with AZ-NO3, but switched to vodka, but i was using AZ-NO3 a couple of years before him.