So, here we go. I finally feel like I am back in the hobby. I have rock in water in a Rubbermaid. My dry rock, which is probably gonna cycle like mad, and a few pieces of cured base rock I bought from The Fish Tank.
I would just say clean and inspect everything thoroughly. You don't want to inherit someone else's pests and problems. I have been cleaning and letting all the used equipment I got soak in vinegar for a week.
Manually remove as much old growth as possible from the dry rock. That will greatly reduce the amount of phosphate that leaches. I am a firm believer in "It can't break down in your tank if you remove it first."
Agree, a muriatic acid bath would remove a lot of it as well. Really like the rock. Should make for a great looking aquascape! What does an Ozone reactor do for your tank? I know it will improve water clarity, what else does it do?
So, how does one accomplish such a bath? Who's willing to take the rookie under their wing and show him how it's done Razorback style?
Ozone is the great sanitizer. It clarifies by killing what shouldn't be there. It raises the oxygenation reduction potential (ORP) in the water leading to healthier animals, though it has to be monitored because too much can be catastrophic. Great against parasites, pathogens, and nasty stuff in the water. Clarity is a brilliant side product.
Here are a couple of articles that explain it better than I can. One's a scientific sales pitch, the other's from Reefkeeping Magazine http://ozotech.com/the-benefits-of-ozone-in-aquariums/ http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php
Thanks for the kind words everyone. The older rock is Solomon Islands, I believe. Might be Marshall. The new rock is actually man made. The rubble is Fiji. Had to have the super nice coralline algae. Hope it takes off in my tank. Yes veteran reefers, I too will be bitching about scraping it off the glass here in about 6 months. Until then, "ain't that purty?!?!"
Houston, we have a confirmed cycle start. Brown algae is growing. Glad I dropped that chaeto in to starve the uglies of some nutrients.
Man, on start up I would swear you can get those uglies with negative nitrate and phosphate numbers! I've had them with every tank I've cycled and every time my nitrate and phosphate were zero. I think it leaches from the new sand or rock or the air or something!
55g is filled with freshwater and vinegar. Lets make sure it holds water and I can get it clean. Anyone help me with some ro/di water in the Cabot area next weekend. Hoping to get it set up and running by the 25th.
