A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build
- Thread starter Dustin1300
- Start date
SPotter
Active member
Marco Rock not leaching PO4? :lol: I don't want to scare you but here's 2 pics from my tank shortly after I set it up using 100% Marco rock. I didn't do any prep to this rock at all - it was well before LaCl3 was widely used/known in home aquaria (unfortunately for me). It was the natural cycle of the rock, which lasted for months. :thumbdown I would DEFINITELY take the precautions you mentioned in the above post.
GHA is pretty normal for a new tank. My first system I used Marco and the same GHA after about 4 weeks. A good cuc was added and some manual removal took care of it all. PO4 after that was never an issue.
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Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Is it only for Marco rock or that type of rock overall. Since there are so many variations of the rock.
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Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Marco Rock not leaching PO4? :lol: I don't want to scare you but here's 2 pics from my tank shortly after I set it up using 100% Marco rock. I didn't do any prep to this rock at all - it was well before LaCl3 was widely used/known in home aquaria (unfortunately for me). It was the natural cycle of the rock, which lasted for months. :thumbdown I would DEFINITELY take the precautions you mentioned in the above post.
OUCH, had not seen that a lot. I'm planning on "cycling" it pitch dark so hopefully that minimizes algae growth and I can get the phosphates before I feed the algae. I'm hoping that the LaCl is the solution and does not take long to get it out of the rock! :deadhorse:
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Bought it used and it was a company out of AZ that used to be very well known with Acrylic but has since closed its doors.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Thanks to LaCl hopefully I won't burn through crazy amounts of GFO.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
I think it's all circumstantial. Marco rock could be mined from several areas and one could be high in phosphates and another could be phosphate free. We'll see but I've never had bad phosphate issues so hoping I continue that trend!
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
I don't like to mention names but someone who has the same name as Steve posted on a thread almost those exact same words.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
I think I might have been referencing this "Steve"...
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Is it bad that I just superglued a slit on my thumb so I don't hinder progress on plumbing today?
drummereef
Team RC
Ha! Crazy pics right. None of that stuff was GHA btw, it was a weird form of filamentous cyano that was a PITA to get rid of. I do think the LaCl will take care of any issues you might encounter. That's how I cycled my BRS Pukani rock and had great success. Complete darkness and a 30 day cycle and dosing period with LaCl. Worked great. Just wish it had been more widely understood how to use when I set my tank up, could have avoided so many headaches.
Dedication my friend. Dedication.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Ha! Crazy pics right. None of that stuff was GHA btw, it was a weird form of filamentous cyano that was a PITA to get rid of. I do think the LaCl will take care of any issues you might encounter. That's how I cycled my BRS Pukani rock and had great success. Complete darkness and a 30 day cycle and dosing period with LaCl. Worked great. Just wish it had been more widely understood how to use when I set my tank up, could have avoided so many headaches.
The algae color did look weird compared to the darker color of GHA.
As far as the dosing...I'm really happy about discovering LaCl. I'm not sure I'll ever get completely away from GFO but it will sure help with the running cost of a large tank because I won't be buying near as much GFO. The plan on this point is to drip water to the output of the skimmer pipe and that will go straight to filter tray for sump. I need to stop plumbing later this afternoon and draw up design of the tray but curious what everyone's thoughts of it will be. My current design for filter socks in sump is not like I'd like so I'm planning on building a try to add on that allows for easy maintenance and simple removal of socks without messing with valves and plumbing. Believe Gary has a similar setup on his tank where he just has a few socks in a tray....
Dedication my friend. Dedication.
Ok, I'm speaking to another "Reefaholic". I need to speak to someone out of our Reefer circle and see if that's normal
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Ok....I'm still working on plumbing but came up stairs to get everyone's thoughts on flex PVC. I'm thinking I'd like to use it to go from my 1.5 drains/returns to the 2" pipe I'll be feeding for the returns.
My worries/questions:
- I've never worked with flex PVC but I don't need any bends, it'll just have to small curve a few inches to where I have drains configured.....
- Is it as strong/reliable as the SCH 80 I've been using? Should I be worried about having it on a pressurized line?
- Any special glue you are to use?
- Source for gray/black flex PVC. Keeping the build clean looking I'd rather not use the off white PVC I just saw at Menards a bit ago! (I know, I'm OCD)
I'm wanting to use the flex just so it is not so tight/rigid and gives a little bit of flex so I don't have any points in my plumbing where it's got severe stress and the route that I'm running the flex seems like it'd make better sense to use flex....
My worries/questions:
- I've never worked with flex PVC but I don't need any bends, it'll just have to small curve a few inches to where I have drains configured.....
- Is it as strong/reliable as the SCH 80 I've been using? Should I be worried about having it on a pressurized line?
- Any special glue you are to use?
- Source for gray/black flex PVC. Keeping the build clean looking I'd rather not use the off white PVC I just saw at Menards a bit ago! (I know, I'm OCD)
I'm wanting to use the flex just so it is not so tight/rigid and gives a little bit of flex so I don't have any points in my plumbing where it's got severe stress and the route that I'm running the flex seems like it'd make better sense to use flex....
h.cordero
New member
Here you could find great info in flex pvc vs normal SCH 80 PVC, color flex pvc. Its commonly used in jacuzzi so dont worry we dont use 120+ psi. Normal pvc glue. On the left of the home page theres lots of info
http://flexpvc.com/
http://flexpvc.com/
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
Thanks, much appreciated, this is where I looked before. Basically okay as long as you don't have pressure to the pipe without any exit for it to go to as it will "Balloon" and could fail. Think I'm going to go ahead and order some of this....
FlexPVC Site says it's okay to glue with standard primer/glue. Below is what I'm using...Assume that's fine:
My glue
My Primer
FlexPVC Site says it's okay to glue with standard primer/glue. Below is what I'm using...Assume that's fine:
My glue
My Primer
I got my flex from savko, he said to use the medium not the hot solvent, not sure how that compares to the one you had. Also he said you don't prime the flex pvc only the hard fittings, i used both flex and regular sch 40 2" overflows and 1.5" returns. Couldn't get it to dry fit but it slipped in just fine with the solvent on it.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
I'm using a hybrid on my build and I use the normal PVC glue. I just let it dry longer than normal.
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
The pipe is hybrid? Is it from FlexPVC?
Dustin1300
Reefaholic
So what's considered "medium"? Do you happen to remember which one that was?
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Hybrid is using a combination of both hard and flex PVC. Where I can't get a good bend or no direct contact with a pump or bulkhead I use hard PVC. Everything else is attached with flexpvc.
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