I read all the articles on it and swapped the water every few days for about a month, then I couldn't get my tank on the stand w/o modifying the stand, so that took a couple of months and then getting someone to help get the tank on the stand took more time..So in the meantime I just left them to soak and didn't change water. Now I put them in and put the water in and I got the huge spike. My Ph test is like deep purple. I remember reading that they said big pieces take longer. Thought I'd ask you before you take the big plunge. I'm dumping my tank and refilling.