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02-24-2005, 08:03 AM
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#1
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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curing concrete
How have you guys cured your concrete...I've heard water for 3 weeks, vinegar with water, heated vinegar....I just wanted to know which way you guys had positive (or negative) experiences with.
-Thanks.
JeepJon
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02-24-2005, 05:30 PM
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#2
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Good boy
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 7,889
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Three weeks wasn't enough for me. More like 6-8 weeks. If you had a constant supply of water running over it it might cure faster. Any creeks or rivers nearby?
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02-25-2005, 08:30 AM
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#3
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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I've got a pond...but it's frozen right now....maybe I'll add vinegar to the water...see if that doesn't dissolve it too quickly
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02-25-2005, 12:47 PM
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#4
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Pretty In Pink
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: portland or
Posts: 3,262
Reviews: 6
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Some guys have use the toilet tank method - constant running water 
It took our rock about 8 weeks to finish leaching. Did a water change once a week. |
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02-25-2005, 04:53 PM
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#5
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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so you guys didn't try cycling the tank and curing at the same time, did you? I have just freshwater in there now, it's cycling through with a filter...and I'm just going to change the water weekly...but I wanted to try to speed things up..the water smells horrible right now, but I'll wait and see what happens...I wasn't planning on setting the tnak up for a while anyway...
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02-25-2005, 05:53 PM
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#6
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Good boy
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 7,889
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I found that the more often I changed the water the faster it cured. The tiolet tank method works great if you don't have much rock.
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02-25-2005, 08:32 PM
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#7
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Master of Perplexity
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Panama City Beach FL
Posts: 3,436
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Rick O
I found that the more often I changed the water the faster it cured. The tiolet tank method works great if you don't have much rock.
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I can't do that because they've put phosphate in the water and I don't want to set up a bad deal right off the bat.
In the "Kids, don't try this at home" category, I've made fragging plugs, thin about the size of a golf tee, and soaked them in the sump for a week and then glued the frags right on, and they seemed to work fine. I've also soaked in daily changed RO/DI water and used quite large pieces after 4 weeks. But when I used them, I only used one at a time, and monitored my pH to make sure the pH didn't get out of hand. I made a flat piece and drilled a hole in it and stuck a Pavona colony in it (no tissue touching) after soaking for two weeks and 6 weeks after I made it, it had corraline on it!
Last edited by yardboy; 02-25-2005 at 08:34 PM.
Reason: damsel bit my finger and it hurts to type a "t"
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02-25-2005, 10:07 PM
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#8
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Good boy
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 7,889
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by yardboy
Last edited by yardboy : 02-25-2005 at 08:34 PM. Reason: damsel bit my finger and it hurts to type a "t"
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02-26-2005, 11:43 AM
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#9
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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Well, Half of my concrete is in the tank (as in permanently installed on foam in the tank to make ledges, so it's in the tank curing for now...I'll just keep changing the water...OH BOY...
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02-28-2005, 01:49 AM
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#10
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learning
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 343
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ive hear muriatic acid swimming pool acid.. .mix it with water and dip or soak it for awhile.
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Ro/di units are soooo coool, highly recommended
Dominic
much to learn..there is.. 
my tank
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02-28-2005, 05:42 AM
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#11
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Master of Perplexity
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Panama City Beach FL
Posts: 3,436
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very little of that would go a long way.
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02-28-2005, 09:07 AM
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#12
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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Would that contaminate the tank if it was put in the tank? I have the concrete in the tank, as it is part of the aquascape permanently installed...and i have to cure in the tank...I don't want to end up having a useless tank...I mean, it's muriatic acid..so there would only be acid and muriate (sp?) that i have to worry about, and i can check the toxicity of the conjugate base...
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02-28-2005, 09:09 AM
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#13
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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Well, muriatic acid is just HCL...soo...not toxic after the acid has been buffered. If i knew it was just HCl...that's not bad...some muriatic and vinegar...and the curing might go faster, but I don't want to dissolve the concrete.
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02-28-2005, 10:21 PM
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#14
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Master of Perplexity
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Panama City Beach FL
Posts: 3,436
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well, muriatic is not pure HCl, I'd go with vineagar instead. You'd have to dilute the Hcl so much it'd be no stronger than vinegar anyway. Besides, soaking for a long while helps leach and cure the concrete deep inside the rock, not just neutralize the surface.
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03-02-2005, 05:52 AM
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#15
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Nano reefer and Jeeper
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Posts: 784
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I think I'm just going to cure it in water normally. I won't be tempted to spend money I don't have to start the tank up...I don't have the time or money right now to have the 2nd tank set up....soo...I'll just let it cure over two months in FW.
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