Aquascaping

[fernalfer]

Ok i have had my Marco Dry Rock (Dead Rock) in 44 gallon Brute tubs dealing with phosphates leaching from them before starting up my new tank (Would rather deal with them now then inside my tank battling algae)

They have been in there for about 2 months and have finally got the phosphates down to a steady 0.025 per the Hanna Checker. They are now ready for the tank. They have been in Heated saltwater with a power head and heater the whole time.

Is it ok to know take them out of the tub and begin my aquascaping in the tank? Or is the any reason i should keep them in the saltwater right up to filling my tank?

I wanted to take my time aquascaping so the rock would again dry out, if this is ok then this is what i'll do.

 

[homer1475]

I'm going to assume that since you've had them in SW while leeching the Po4 out that you have a good amount of bacteria built up already.

If you let them dry out while aquascaping that's fine, but understand that you will kill any bacteria that have already populated the rock. You will start the cycle in the tank all over again. As long as you don't mind that, then your fine to let them dry out while you aquascape.

 

[fernalfer]

I'm going to assume that since you've had them in SW while leeching the Po4 out that you have a good amount of bacteria built up already.

If you let them dry out while aquascaping that's fine, but understand that you will kill any bacteria that have already populated the rock. You will start the cycle in the tank all over again. As long as you don't mind that, then your fine to let them dry out while you aquascape.

Yeah i don't mind starting again. The reason being i have 130 lbs. of dry rock and want to take my time aquascaping the first time so i don't have to do to much moving around later on.


Do you really think the rock has populated bacteria even though it was complete dead rock mined from a quarry? No organisms on it whatsoever and it has been in a dark tub all along....

http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/marcorocks-key-largo-dry-rock-50lb-box/

 

[homer1475]

More then likely, yes. But to what extend they have populated the rock is unknown without testing it with an ammonia source. Light doesn't play a part in the cycle, we tend to keep lights off during a cycle so you don't get a ton of algae blooms.

If it were me, I would just aquascape as you need to, then plan on cycling the rock in the tank.

 

[fernalfer]

More then likely, yes. But to what extend they have populated the rock is unknown without testing it with an ammonia source. Light doesn't play a part in the cycle, we tend to keep lights off during a cycle so you don't get a ton of algae blooms.

If it were me, I would just aquascape as you need to, then plan on cycling the rock in the tank.

Would it help if i kept like 4-5 pieces in the saltwater and put those in after tank is filled. Would that help populate the other rock i let dry while aquascaping?

 

[pyithar]

Would it help if i kept like 4-5 pieces in the saltwater and put those in after tank is filled. Would that help populate the other rock i let dry while aquascaping?

yes. it would shorten the cycle time assuming there're bacteria on those rocks. ghost feed the Brute tubs to get the bacteria population going.

 

[fernalfer]

yes. it would shorten the cycle time assuming there're bacteria on those rocks. ghost feed the Brute tubs to get the bacteria population going.

I thought of doing that but do you think it will be worth it seeing i will be starting to fill tank with water within the next 5 days? Also i will only be using like 3-4 rocks left in the saltwater while using the rest which will dry out while aquascaping.

 

[homer1475]

Like I said in my previous post, "there is more then likely some bacteria in the rock, but to what extent is unknown". With that being said, any amount of rock you keep wet will help populate the dry rock when added to the tank.

 

[davocean]

When I build pillars I set up a ply table/template of my tank, usually in a nice shady area so I can work comfortably and helps keep rock from drying out.
I have my rock submerged in brutes, and I pull a few pieces, see what fits well, and I use acrylic rods to secure them.
Once I have a nice structure I take that whole piece and set it in a brute submerged.
This way it does not really dry out and still contains plenty of life.
This works for me, maybe you can do something similar.