Finally biting the bullet, cooking LR...

[tashier]

Well,

I finally had some spare time so here it goes. I pulled out most of my LR. I have about 200lbs total. I didn't pull out a few that had mushrooms, anenome etc. on them that I didn't want to fight with. I wanted to read up on the LR cooking thread again when I got a chance. For now, I swished and put them in bins with powerheads and heaters. I dunno if the heater is necessary but it is cold out in the garage. Here are some pics:



Tank looks pretty empty



Corals



Tubs with LR



Oh, thought I would throw the toys in there



What a mess... How embarrasing.





Reef mess... Doesn't everyone have one?

[tashier]

I'll be replacing the SB as well during this process. There was about 20 turbo snail shells scattered around. Not much luck with those guys. Yes the one acro is pretty brown but I bought it that way for $15. I bought both the acros for $15 each. The one is getting good color again and showing growth.

[pledosophy]

Watch your levels, you just pulled most of your biologicl filtration.

Good Luck.

[tashier]

Ya, that was another reason I left some in. I don't have a ton of bioload.

[tashier]

Anyone know if a heater is necessary in the totes?

[LISound]

yes, keep the heater in there.
Otherwise the rock might die if it gets too cold.
just do weekly water changes on the cooking rocks and try to siphon out all the crap the rocks spit out.

Other than that, just wait a month.
good luck.
Do you plan to go bare bottom on the tank now?

[Fly Guy]

You dont even need to go the the effort of any siphoning. The stuff doesnt sit there long enough for anything to be sucked back up by the rock. Just rinse the bucket every week during your 100% waterchange.

I find it makes it much easier if you have two containers that you keep the rock in.......one full for your rock...the other ready for the weekly water change...then its a weekly rock swishing production line from one container to the next.....

[tdwyatt]

along for the ride...

[YLChik]

so am i understanding right that people cook rock to resolve built up phosphate levels that trigger algae blooms?
are their other reasons to cook rock?

[tashier]

Originally Posted by LISound

yes, keep the heater in there.
Otherwise the rock might die if it gets too cold.
just do weekly water changes on the cooking rocks and try to siphon out all the crap the rocks spit out.

Other than that, just wait a month.
good luck.
Do you plan to go bare bottom on the tank now?

No, I don't plan on going barebottom. I really don't like how that looks. Sorry BB'ers. I plan on running a DSB again but doing it right this time. Hopefully preventing SO4 pockets and putting the rock up on PVC or Fly's fancy doohickies.

[tashier]

Originally Posted by YLChik

so am i understanding right that people cook rock to resolve built up phosphate levels that trigger algae blooms?
are their other reasons to cook rock?

Well, I'm also killing off a half million zoos and a few mushrooms. They are taking over my tank. I hope that's ok.

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by tashier

Well, I'm also killing off a half million zoos and a few mushrooms. They are taking over my tank. I hope that's ok.

FYI...unless you cook it for 10-12 weeks (or more) OR scrub and take kalk past to those zoas and shrooms......cooking your rock will not necessarily get rid of them

[tashier]

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

FYI...unless you cook it for 10-12 weeks (or more) OR scrub and take kalk past to those zoas and shrooms......cooking your rock will not necessarily get rid of them

Hmm, bummer, I may leave those ones in longer then.

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by tashier

Hmm, bummer, I may leave those ones in longer then.

5-8 weeks is plenty IMO if you take an agressive approach towards it. I actually scrub my rock EVERY swishing with a plastic grout brush.

Just scrub those suckers and put a little bit of kalk paste on the struff you dont want if there is any doubt and they wont make it...i promise. ; )

I like to test the water in the container that has been cooking every week.......IMO, youre done when Saliferts test kit reads ZERO phosphates. To be sure, that doesnt mean ALL of the phosphates are gone as Saliferts phosphate test doesnt really go low enough to claim that.....but you will notice it not be a ton in the first week, then for a few weeks it will be at an alarming number...like 2-3+ FULL points....then for a few weeks or so it will be barely registering......

thats what i have found anyway on both rock that i got in as fresh uncured as well as rock i have had since i started reefing in the first place....

Another thing that helos i think is i do the first swishing in the big container with dirty water......you cna swish much more violently in a 50-100gallon coantainer than you cna in a 5 gallon bucket......then at least 5 -5 gallon buckets of ro/di ASW worth of swishing on the way to the new container with NEW ro/di asw.

[tashier]

Kalk paste? Don't have any of that. What's it fer?

So the last few rocks in my tank are HUGE. Probably 30-40lbs each. They definately won't fit in a 5 gallon swisher bucket. I'll have to use the tub for those when they come out.

Also:

How am I going to get my BTA out of the hole he's attached in?