Shapelock DIY N/P reducing Pellets or Nuking the tank...

I'm surprised I haven't taken a picture of the pellets. Sorry about that guys. I thought I did. :thumbdown


Next time I open up the canister up I'll get some pictures. In the mean time here's a couple pics from tonight.


2qd8rxl.jpg


Problem with point'n shoot is they look a lot more in focus in the little screen on the back. But you can see the duncan is finally starting to come out again.
j9u4ch.jpg


The torch is doing really well. There are two heads there and each one now has two mouths which I assume that means they are about to split?
2q21t9k.jpg
 
Ya I'm not sure on the relation between the two as far as consumption time. It probably depends a lot on surface area, and varies from tank to tank plus we don't really know what the bio pellets are made of.
 
Broke out the Hanna checker today and po4 came to 0.09 +_.04. Down from the 0.15 from last weekend. Heading in the right direction. Spreading of the algae has slowed down drastically but don't think it's receding yet.

Cyano is still present but only the little of what is remaining from the massive outbreak. Nothing new is growing. Duncan is looking like normal again and the three new baby heads look bigger.
 
Thanks. So far so good. I still think if anyone where to try shape lock and you have any kinds of corals to watch them very closely. At least out of the three corals I have only the Duncan seems to have reacted with any negativity.

Here's the Duncan starting to look itself again. The new heads are getting bigger.

2ro6c5s.jpg
 
well like what the other posters said on the io thread, i would be iffy if they are so sensitive about even releasing their MSDS document.

not all biopolymers are the same and some may leach something into your tank. maybe thats why the duncans aren't reacting well. this form of polymer could be, as mentioned, non-hobbyist grade.
so cheaper doesn't mean better if it wipes out a 10,000 dollar investment to save 25 dollars.

so gotta weigh the risk vs rewards.
 
Psionicdragon said:
well like what the other posters said on the io thread, i would be iffy if they are so sensitive about even releasing their MSDS document.

not all biopolymers are the same and some may leach something into your tank. maybe thats why the duncans aren't reacting well. this form of polymer could be, as mentioned, non-hobbyist grade.
so cheaper doesn't mean better if it wipes out a 10,000 dollar investment to save 25 dollars.

so gotta weigh the risk vs rewards.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Though I truly don't know what's causing the duncan to close up and retract more often like it has. Could be from the pellets or just they are a lot more sensitive to fluctuation in phosphates and nitrates. This is definitely not a science experiment but just an anecdotal reference.
 
Shapelock does repeat itself over and over again on their FAQ sheet they send with it and their site that their product is "Super Tough, Safe and Non-Toxic" what ever that means.

And the closest we get from shapelock of what their product is is this
"What is ShapeLock?

ShapeLock is an Ultra-High Molecular Weight Low Temperature Thermoplastic.

What does "Ultra-High Molecular Weight Low Temperature Thermoplastic" mean in laymans English?

ShapeLock is a super strong plastic similar to Nylon or Polypropylene in toughness.

However, unlike the two former plastics it does not need high temperatures or high pressures to form into useful shapes.

ShapeLock is easily hand-formed into shape at just 150 degrees Fahrenheit
"
 
Well I got my friendly plastic today in the mail.. so now I just need to setup my media reactor whenever I have some free time :beer:
 
Flavordsm said:
Well I got my friendly plastic today in the mail.. so now I just need to setup my media reactor whenever I have some free time :beer:
Click to expand...

Awesome. Can't wait to read your results with it.


Btw, I had something white and mucous/stringy waving in the current stuck to a piece of rock. I was about to get a picture of it to see if it might be bacterial or just something else but by the time I got the camera out one of my clowns ate it! :hmm2: Crazy clowns. I'm thinking it's what ever comes out of the canister filter when I shake it up and it made it into the display before getting filtered out. I did get a slight white haze on the glass again last night but not as much as before.

Algae is holding fast but not really growing anymore. I think my tank inhabitants would be mad at me if it did all go away. The clown fish have made a bed out of one patch and it seems like everyone but the mystery wrasse and mandarins like to nibble on it.
 
Ya im pretty excited to see how it turns out too.. The stuff you describes a bacterial strand but can't be positive without seeing it of course but im pretty sure thats what is is. Is your output of the pcl close to the skimmer inlet?
 
I understand this is a DIY thread to find cheaper alternatives than the NP Reducing Biopellets. With a third entry into the commercial market of EcoBAK pellets, the price of commercial ready biopellets are now much more affordable and safer. At $60 a liter that will last 6-9 months, I think the cheaper alternatives are here. I cannot post the link of the EcoBAK but you can google ReefBuilder.com and find out more. I use NP BP myself but I am glad there are cheaper alternatives out there already.
 
Things are cruising right now. No changes at all. Still the same amount of algae and no regrowth of cyano. I need to open the canister up and swap out the GFO but have been extremely busy with other things right now. I've been wanting to do it since Monday but will probably not get to it until tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I'll get some pictures of the pellets when I do that.
 
SimonSKL said:
I understand this is a DIY thread to find cheaper alternatives than the NP Reducing Biopellets. With a third entry into the commercial market of EcoBAK pellets, the price of commercial ready biopellets are now much more affordable and safer. At $60 a liter that will last 6-9 months, I think the cheaper alternatives are here. I cannot post the link of the EcoBAK but you can google ReefBuilder.com and find out more. I use NP BP myself but I am glad there are cheaper alternatives out there already.
Click to expand...

The EcoBAK looks interesting and glad they are coming in at a much lower price point. We still don't know what's their product either other then they say it's not the same material as the NP BP product.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847060

Looks like 250ml/50g of water is their recommendation. Which is interesting in that I'm using 250ml/~45g of water right now and working pretty well. It's also in a much lower flow then what I've seen people using for reactors with the NP BP product. I've probably got a little less then 200gph of flow though the pellets right now.
 
Finally got around to changing out the GFO Wednesday afternoon. I believe the pellets are starting to get slightly smaller. A few are starting to slip down through the slits in the carriage the pellets are resting in.

Got a picture of the pellets. Visually they look the same size to my eyes but the fact they are starting to fall through tells me differently.
f2085y.jpg



Also, tested the phosphates tonight and it's coming to 0.01! :bum:

Of course I'm sure the algae in there is eating some up but I'm finally getting caught up to at least that point.
 
Oh yeah, the duncan closed up very soon after changing up the GFO but it was already coming back out this morning and looking much better tonight. On the plus side while it was closed up I noticed there are four more heads. That's 7 total since I got it and four since starting the shapelock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
High Phosphate leaching from rock - persist or replace?
Replies
2
Views
1K
griss
griss
J
PO4 can't get it right
Replies
3
Views
1K
Timfish
Timfish
D
New- skimmer question
Replies
3
Views
1K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
D
Help with new tank cycling
Replies
12
Views
611
wvned
wvned
C
High Zinc in ICP Test & Switching to ATI Essentials – Need Advice
Replies
17
Views
2K
Reefing102
Reefing102
Back
Top