Shapelock DIY N/P reducing Pellets or Nuking the tank...
- Thread starter jason2459
- Start date
jason2459
Well-known member
Cliff, thanks a lot for that input and I feel that makes the most since out of everything given in that thread. For someone new and I guess you can say unlearned, so many things make since and it's hard to figure out the truths. Which I guess some times there can be many truths. I do completely agree in trying one thing at a time though. If something goes right you need to know what it was and when something goes wrong you need to know what not to do again.
jason2459
Well-known member
Well, I have some interesting things to note. First, the duncan looks perfectly healthy again. It was very full and the three small new heads are looking great and growing out more.
I have been out of town since Friday so the tank went another three days with out being blown off and cyano overgrew everything again. Except this time I noticed it looks different. Can't really explain and pictures just don't show it but it looked wispy and thinner. I'm thinking that's a good sign.
Also, after cleaning off the glass and before I blew off all the cyano there was a good 40-60m break between and the water clarity was amazingly, well, clear. It hasn't been like that in a long time. Hopefully another good sign.
I did shake up the canister a few times last week and a foamy froth seemed to come out of it and I'm assuming that's some bacterial growth stuff. I'm so scientific aren't I. I think it's called mulm or something like that.
Tomorrow or Tuesday I'm going to pop the top off the canister and see what's there. If anything I'll get some pictures.
jason2459
Well-known member
Hope something is working toward the positive.
Opened the canister up over lunch and didn't know if I'd find some white froth or nothing at all. Turned out to find nothing at all but water and pellets. To my eyes they look the same size and are just as hard as they were before. I'll keep checking it about every 1-2 weeks or so.
Opened the canister up over lunch and didn't know if I'd find some white froth or nothing at all. Turned out to find nothing at all but water and pellets. To my eyes they look the same size and are just as hard as they were before. I'll keep checking it about every 1-2 weeks or so.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
If your phosphate level is at .5 - 1.0 (which is high), then any GFO you add will become saturated with phosphate within likely 24 hrs, as long as the flow through the GFO is adequate. You will need to replace your GFO at least weekly and it will take a while to reduce the phosphate level, since your sand and rock have absorbed phosphate as well. You should be shooting for less than 0.03 ppm phosphate. Perhaps the test kit is not reading properly though. 
Using carbon sources to increase bacterial levels will help reduce some phosphate, but this is a very slow procedure since the bacteria do not use very much phosphate. Therefore GFO kicks in as a better mechanism to reduce the phosphates.
Using carbon sources to increase bacterial levels will help reduce some phosphate, but this is a very slow procedure since the bacteria do not use very much phosphate. Therefore GFO kicks in as a better mechanism to reduce the phosphates.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
It would be interesting if you had some nitrate level, to see how quickly this carbon source can reduce the level. 
jason2459
Well-known member
I've been replacing my GFO about every two weeks. Seems to start going back up by then. I can start swapping out every week. I started out with the API test kit showing off the charts 10. Then 5 and eventually it pretty well maintained at 1. Fortunately/Unfortunately I've never had an issue with nitrates. I've only had an issue with phosphates and cyano since adding in some "reef safe" ich cure which was a big mistake on my part and learned my lesson there. Then there was a big die off from being out of town and my wife not knowing what was beeping and turned off and unplugged everything I had to mitigate a power outage. Power was out for a just over 24 hours.
Plus, I really like to feed a lot and I know it is slowing this entire process down. I don't mind as I have the patience to wait it out and see what works and what doesn't. The API test kit could very well be off but with my own eyes watching the tank and seeing the growth of cyano I know the phosphate levels are much higher then they should be. I depend on the API test kits to let me know when levels go up and down but not really the numbers themselves.
Plus, I really like to feed a lot and I know it is slowing this entire process down. I don't mind as I have the patience to wait it out and see what works and what doesn't. The API test kit could very well be off but with my own eyes watching the tank and seeing the growth of cyano I know the phosphate levels are much higher then they should be. I depend on the API test kits to let me know when levels go up and down but not really the numbers themselves.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Replacing your GFO weekly will speed up the process. You can also increase the amount of GFO you use in the reactor or filter bag to help speed up too.
jason2459
Well-known member
Just noting any observable changes and something is happening. Could be the shapelock or not but I had very little cyano growth on the glass last night and none tonight. Usually I had a nice film of it all along the bottom going about an inch to three inches up.
Edit: Yes, I am still having to blow it off all the rocks and substrate daily.
Edit: Yes, I am still having to blow it off all the rocks and substrate daily.
Last edited:
jason2459
Well-known member
I'll probably start doing that after the next two week change which is due this coming weekend so about two weeks after that. Right now I'm using about a 1.5 cups of BRS pellet GFO which I thought was suppose to be a lot for a 55g. I could also bump it up to about 2 cups? I just don't want to change what I have been doing just yet. I'd like to get a full month in with these shapelock pellets.
jason2459
Well-known member
Did have to change something with my setup today. I swapped out my ro/di res. bucket that I use for ATO. It had some type of strange growth in the bottom of it. Have no idea what it was. I started an ID thread so if anyone wants to take a guess here it is.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1837366
I decided to scrap the generic gray bucket I got from lowes with the growth on the bottom and replaced it with a white 7 gallon bucket I got from a local food distributer that guaranteed this was a food grade approved bucket. It has the number 5 stamped on the bottom in the triangle. $12 for the bucket and supposed to be an air tight seal.
What ever was in the gray bucket or leaching out of it was causing at least some type of growth so who knows what the tank has been doing with it. The gray bucket had the number 2 stamped on the bottom of it.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1837366
I decided to scrap the generic gray bucket I got from lowes with the growth on the bottom and replaced it with a white 7 gallon bucket I got from a local food distributer that guaranteed this was a food grade approved bucket. It has the number 5 stamped on the bottom in the triangle. $12 for the bucket and supposed to be an air tight seal.
What ever was in the gray bucket or leaching out of it was causing at least some type of growth so who knows what the tank has been doing with it. The gray bucket had the number 2 stamped on the bottom of it.
jason2459
Well-known member
Found an interesting break down of the number codes and where they should be used.
http://domesticgoddesses.tribe.net/thread/243d1968-ce4d-4345-9a60-286eb3705e62
http://domesticgoddesses.tribe.net/thread/243d1968-ce4d-4345-9a60-286eb3705e62
jason2459
Well-known member
My eyes are not lying. I noticed less cyano on the rocks and substrate yesterday and today. I also got the hanna checker in today, finally. It tested my phosphate levels to be 0.15. I also did a test with the API kit and it came out to the .25 level. Phosphates are definitely being reduced by something faster then they were previously. They are still high but they are going down. I haven't swapped out my GFO yet and is going on two weeks old. I've kind of been slacking on my water changes this week too as I've been really busy at work. I've done two water changes this week of about 1-2g compared to my normal every day of 1-2g.
Everything still looks healthy and full. I'm still over feeding and over stocked with fish. My skimmer is still needing to be cleaned at least every three days with nasty thick nog. Don't see any white strains or anything like other bacteria growing. When shaken my canister still looks like it's ejecting some white foam. When I open it up though I see nothing but water and pellets. Strange.
Everything still looks healthy and full. I'm still over feeding and over stocked with fish. My skimmer is still needing to be cleaned at least every three days with nasty thick nog. Don't see any white strains or anything like other bacteria growing. When shaken my canister still looks like it's ejecting some white foam. When I open it up though I see nothing but water and pellets. Strange.
jason2459
Well-known member
Nice, at least they say what the main components of their stuff is. Looking forward to seeing your results. You can post them in here if you want if you don't want to start up a new thread.
jason2459
Well-known member
This is awesome. Seems like everyday I'm getting less and less cyano growing back. Still haven't changed out the GFO but will be doing that tonight. Almost thinking about just taking it out for now and see if the cyano comes back stronger or not.
I am getting a slight growth on some green turf algae. Which I've always had a some patches of in my tank which I don't mind. It's always growing and shrinking but never had gotten out of control. So, it seems to be in a growth phase right now.
I am getting a slight growth on some green turf algae. Which I've always had a some patches of in my tank which I don't mind. It's always growing and shrinking but never had gotten out of control. So, it seems to be in a growth phase right now.
