75 Gal Rebuild Thread

[schneijt]

Well, I'm starting the long, slow process of getting my old tank up and running again. I got my RO/DI filters and parts installed, so that's back up and running. (Well, the DI isn't attached yet, since I don't want to waste DI resin making lots of water for rock cooking...) I've already made some saltwater that's heating up in my 55-degree basement, and I've got my tubs ready to start the rock cooking. Should be fun!

I've also emptied out and inventoried/organized all of my equipment, except for the skimmer that's in my trunk since I haven't finished unpacking from the move yet (I'm a bit lazy...lol).

While the rock is cooking, I'm going to clean the tank, remove the old sump, paint the back of the tank, install the new sump, and then put the tank back on the stand and level everything. Then I get to start adding sand and livestock. But, it's going to be a couple months at the earliest before I get any organisms other than bacteria in the tank.

I'm going downstairs right now to snap some pictures and check on my saltwater before I add it to the tubs full of my old, dry rock. I'll update it with pictures soon, and do regular updates as everything starts coming together!

-Joe

[schneijt]

Here are some pictures of my tubs of saltwater and tubs of my old, dried out live rock ready to begin cycling and cooking for a couple months. The idea is to have two tubs of rock cooking while the other two tubs are cleaned out and refilled with saltwater. So, I'll probably buy a Brute trash can to hold saltwater. That way, I can make it in huge batches and always have it available during the cooking process. I'll be doing lots of swishing, dunking, water changing, etc of the rocks over the next eight or ten weeks. In the end, though, it'll be worth it to have rocks with almost no organics stored inside the rock and ready to cause algae problems. Ok, I'm talking too much; here are some pictures of the really dirty tank (no cleaning done yet, so lots to be done with it before it gets filled) and my tubs for the rock cooking.

-Joe

[schneijt]

I know that there are lots of LARK members who are fairly new and may not know what I'm talking about when I talk about "cooking live rock." It's basically keeping live rock in saltwater without any light for several weeks and regularly changing out the water and swishing the rocks around. The lack of light makes the bacteria in the rock eat the organics inside the rock, and the rock basically "sheds" its stored-up organics from within the rock. So, it's almost like a "detritus detox" for your rocks. Here's a good Reef Central thread on the subject of rock cooking:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=437342

-Joe

[DwightKeenan]

Why are you cooking it?

Wouldn't it be easier and faster to give it an acid bath and start with super fresh stuff?

I did this a little over a year ago and it worked super well.

[hansmatt]

Joe...how did the move go?

[D.J.]

glad to see another ec guy back.......welcome home joe......

let me know when your ready to stock.....maybe my stuff will have grown enuff to help you with some frags or what ever......

ive always wondered about that "ACID BATH" method........what so you actually use and how long does it take?

[hansmatt]

The problem I see with an acid bath is that it truely does kill everything in the rock...and does not remove any of the phosphates etc that might be harbored in the superstructure of the rock. Cooking it allows the good bacteria to utilize phosphates etc that has been "soaked" up by the porous rock while an acid bath will not necessarily do so, and also kill the life that we are ultimately trying to foster. This would be base rock, and would require a pretty good cycle in order to get the bacteria good again. Most people start with some base rock because it's less expensive, but put nice live rock around it to help seed it with life/bacteria/coralline algae. My 2cents.

[firsthesitation]

Looking forward to seeing this up and running.

[Sndwave80]

I agree with Matt, it sounds like you are on the right track! If you can find someone who can catch you a few pods I would add them too, since they will help with the consumption of the waste.

[schneijt]

I plan to add some small pieces of fresh live rock to the tubs soon to help kickstart the curing/cooking/seeding process. The move went well. More to come soon!

-Joe

[Jrmass]

Do you want me to bring a few pieces of LR for you to borrow so you do not need to buy any Joe? This way you can get some pods, a few stars, who knows what else I've got in my rock lol. Also it would give your coraline a quick boost. Your call.

Jas

[schneijt]

Originally Posted by Jrmass

Do you want me to bring a few pieces of LR for you to borrow so you do not need to buy any Joe? This way you can get some pods, a few stars, who knows what else I've got in my rock lol. Also it would give your coraline a quick boost. Your call.

Jas

Thanks, Jason. That would be great! If you've got some small pieces to help me add some life to the rock and kick the bacteria cycle along, that would be great. I'll bring a small cooler with me to the meeting to get them from you.

-Joe

p.s. I find it extremely entertaining that I'm going to borrow live rock.

[Jrmass]

Well, figured it would be worth the offer. I was fortunate in that I was able to just steal LR from my other established tank where you are forced to start over from the beginning.

Jas

[ReefLuvR]

Hey Joe,

We've not formally met yet (probably in a few hours!), but I'm right here in EC too, so if anything comes up that you need, give me a holler.

Jennifer

[schneijt]

Well, I got home and my whole house smells like rotting fish... :-) Yeah, I'm the only one in the household who thinks that's a good thing! lol My parents aren't too happy about it.

The water is a murky yellow/brown color after only 24 hours of seeing saltwater, so I think I'm going to have to go to Menards tomorrow and buy my Brute trash can and make a huge batch of saltwater. I think that 100% water changes every two or three days are in order until the smell dies down. At that point, the rock will be "cured" and the cooking process can begin.

I also added the rock Jason sent off with me, so things are curing now and beneficial life is hopefully now spreading and seeding the dead rock. Good times!

-Joe