All that work for nothing.

[fernalfer]

So i had my Marco Dry Rock which was leaking phosphates really bad in 2 44 gallon brute containers filled with RODI Saltwater, heater, and powerhead for almost 3 months. I was dosing it with phosfree to rid it of its phosphates. I started with a reading from the Hanna Checker of 0.123 and got it down to 0.02 which was great. It had stayed between 0.02-0.03. Now the rock is in my tank as i'm starting my cycle and just went to check the phosphates and they are back up to 0.09. Not sure how to deal with this in tank. I have no livestock, corals or inverts obviously because i'm cycling. What do you suggest is the best course of action for lowering phosphates before i start stocking.


Not sure if i can dose the Phosfree because the tank is fishless. Not even sure i feel comfortable doing that anyways.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[scuzy]

You'll get phosphate during cycling. I'll say once you finish cycling irking lower by itself.

 

[Sk8r]

Understand, rock doesn't leach out all it has to give at first go. As it soaks, it'll give it up until finally it has given all it has and there isn't any more. Ditto the sand, which is crushed rock, eh?--- comes in with a phosphate load all its own, which it has to get rid of. And you are using ro/di for the fill, right?

 

[fernalfer]

Understand, rock doesn't leach out all it has to give at first go. As it soaks, it'll give it up until finally it has given all it has and there isn't any more. Ditto the sand, which is crushed rock, eh?--- comes in with a phosphate load all its own, which it has to get rid of. And you are using ro/di for the fill, right?

Yes RO/DI for fill.

 

[JWClark]

Just run GFO while cycling and keep sucking it out. I'd advise against dosing phosfree directly in tank--I'm assuming it is just Lanthanum chloride.

I used Lanthanum chloride on my BRS pukani dry rock before putting in the tank. It coated everything including my pump. While the precipitate washed off the rocks it stuck to the inside magnet impeller of the pump ( Magdrive 7).

Well, last night I was mixing water for my auto water change station and this pump crapped out. I think it seized and fried the motor. I had to dump the 40gal of salt water and start new, wasting 1/3 bucket of salt and half my stored RODI.

This pump was only 2 yrs old and was a spare back up for my lifereef canister filters on my last system. It was only used to mix salt water 1-2 days per month prior to the month of rock cooking.

Anyway, I know folks will advise a slow drip into a micron bag to collect precipitate but after this I'd worry about residual precipitate gumming up my pumps. If you do go this route be sure to check and clean your magnetic impellers on all pumps when done.

 

[scuzy]

you can dose Lanthanum into a a filter sock to filter out the phosphate.

 

[kgeig001]

I wouldn't worry about your phosphate levels during your cycle. .09 is not that bad for a cycling tank anyway. Let the tank do its thing...believe me it's gonna go through a lot of phases especially after the initial cycle. Just make sure you have a good skimmer, run GFO, set up a refugium and do regular water changes.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Bent]

You will be insanely thankful for all that work after the cycle is over. I would have killed for a .09 during initial cycle.

 

[fernalfer]

You will be insanely thankful for all that work after the cycle is over. I would have killed for a .09 during initial cycle.

Well this is encouraging. I hope working on them in tubs prior to them going into my tank has helped. We will see i guess.