Tank Journal Archive

[Lesley]

With the new tank about 8-10 weeks away I thought I would start a new journal in the large reef tanks section :)
My first " help " question of many I assume

Over the last 12mnths we have gathered rock. Some live we left outside , people's shut downs & base from Lfs

We purchased an ibc today and need to start curing
I've never done this before as our first tank was already an established one and that moved to this tank

I have been researching and am not keen on acids , bleach or chemicals in general

It's the phosphates I need to worry about
I placed a new piece I liked in my sump and the phos went through the roof on my tank and it's now literally covered in gha
The thought of running rowa in a 3,500lt system is daunting with such high levels

So I've been told soaking in rodi that's changed weekly "should " remove through leaching ?

Is this true ?
Has anyone had success?
Do you need Heat , flow & darkness / light ?

Totally stumped

Any advice would be appreciated !

Thanks

P.s
The ibc will obviously be power washed before the process begins

 

[192k]

I am in the process of soaking all my base rock in ro/di at the moment also.

In the past I have just soaked the rock and tested it for phosphates after 7 days. Then I change 100% of the water and test again after about a week.

The numbers will start to decline and eventually you will see very low numbers. Be patient and wait until it reads zero. It can take 4-5 weeks for the numbers to start dropping.

The only reliable way I have found for testing the phosphates is with a Hannah tester.

I do not heat or circulate the water.

After you are happy that you have zero phosphates, you could start curing the rock in saltwater. That is the next step I take that involves heating and circulating the water. Curing can also be done in the display tank if you want.

 

[Lesley]

I am in the process of soaking all my base rock in ro/di at the moment also.

In the past I have just soaked the rock and tested it for phosphates after 7 days. Then I change 100% of the water and test again after about a week.

The numbers will start to decline and eventually you will see very low numbers. Be patient and wait until it reads zero. It can take 4-5 weeks for the numbers to start dropping.

The only reliable way I have found for testing the phosphates is with a Hannah tester.

I do not heat or circulate the water.

After you are happy that you have zero phosphates, you could start curing the rock in saltwater. That is the next step I take that involves heating and circulating the water. Curing can also be done in the display tank if you want.

Thanks for your reply
I will start that process asap
As I really do think numbers are high
Will be interesting too see
Cheers

 

[192k]

All good :)

I am pretty sure the phosphates from one of my previous soakings maxed the Hanna at 2.50ppm :rolleyes

The solution is dilution!

 

[Wrangy]

Ro soaking is the way to go :) I did 100% water changes every 3 days for the first two weeks then it was once a week :) I also ran a small pump just for some circulation so water would pass through the pores of the rock but I don't know if that actually made a difference haha

My one tip for once the rock is in the tank would be run an aluminium oxide phosphate remover for a month or two to take the silicates out of the rock, as they can be just as annoying as phos lol

 

[Wrangy]

I would run a pump in your ibc to avoid stagnation as it is a large amount of water

 

[Mattres]

I reckon some lanthanum would work well with that much water and in addition to the RO soaks. Dropped into some fine filter socks to prevent the precipitation spreading amongst the rocks. Might help save on some RO water?

 

[Lesley]

Ro soaking is the way to go :) I did 100% water changes every 3 days for the first two weeks then it was once a week :) I also ran a small pump just for some circulation so water would pass through the pores of the rock but I don't know if that actually made a difference haha

My one tip for once the rock is in the tank would be run an aluminium oxide phosphate remover for a month or two to take the silicates out of the rock, as they can be just as annoying as phos lol

Seachem phosguard ?

Great tip thank you

 

[Lesley]

I reckon some lanthanum would work well with that much water and in addition to the RO soaks. Dropped into some fine filter socks to prevent the precipitation spreading amongst the rocks. Might help save on some RO water?

We weren't going to fill the ibc
We're going to go Just above rocks
Approx 400ltr

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Hey Les. I soaked mine in NSW and placed a a stocking with GFO in it . I replaced the GFO every few weeks for about 3 months.
The GFO absorb the PO4.

 

[Wrangy]

Seachem phosguard ?

Great tip thank you

Yep, phosguard would be spot on :) Seeing as you have 8-10 weeks of lead time here, I would suggest the following so that it's pretty much ready for you when the tank is there:
Weeks 1 & 2: Soak all the rock in RO with a pump/powerhead, 100% water change every 3 days.
Weeks 3 & 4: Continue with RO, change 100% once a week.
Weeks 4-10: Change the RO to NSW (adding the goodies that you get with it) and start up the phosguard, changing it once a week to remove any and all silicates along with stripping the phos. The other thing I would be doing would be dosing bacteria, such as Dr. Tims Nitrifying Bacteria, ZEOvit ZEObak or AquaForest Bio S (not pro though). This will build your rock into a more usable and product place to start with the capability to actually process things from the beginning :) I'd continue with flow in the IBC and add a heater and a small skimmer if you have one to spare :) If you have a skimmer I'd also ghost feed the rock or dose pure ammonia as this will be immensely helpful and you'll pretty much be able to start a tank instantly with a month/6 weeks of productive and active cycling of the new rock :)

I hope that makes sense lol