Continue Cooking or Allow Cycle?

[48hughey]

I am in the process of setting up a 29 gallon nano and need some advice.

This is my first tank of any kind. About a month ago, I started "cooking" some dry Pukani rock in a bin in my garage. I brushed and picked the rock as clean as I could before putting them into heated RO/DI saltwater with plenty of circulation. My main goal was to remove remaining organic matter and as much phosphate as possible before placing the rock in my tank. I have been testing to monitor phosphate and ammonia levels, and performing water changes whenever they seemed to be rising.

About three days ago I tested for phosphate and ammonia, prepared to perform a water change, but the ammonia was lower than it had been after the last water change. So I tested for nitrite and nitrate, and found those levels both elevated. It seems like the leftover organics on the rock have started the cycle(?).

The phosphate levels are still high, so I am torn between wanting to perform the water change to get the phosphates out and not wanting to performing the change to allow the cycle to continue uninterrupted.

Which should be my priority at this point? Phosphate removal or the cycle?

I was prepared to have an empty tank for quite some time, so I can be a patient as needed to get this right.


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[mcgyvr]

How much phosphate are you measuring?

I'd base my decision off that level.. well... I wouldn't use Pukani just for the phosphate issues people seem to have with it.. So into the trash it would go..

 

[48hughey]

How much phosphate are you measuring?

It was bouncing between .25 and. .5 ppm. Though for the past week+ it has been at .25 ppm.



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[nereefpat]

It looks like the rock is going through the nitrogen cycle. I would just let it do its thing for 6weeks or so total, or however long it takes for ammonia and nitrite to reach zero. Then I would worry about the phosphates. Do you have a way to run GFO? You could start doing that in the bin it's in.

 

[48hughey]

It looks like the rock is going through the nitrogen cycle.

That is what I thought as well.

Do you have a way to run GFO? You could start doing that in the bin it's in.

I do have GFO and a reactor on standby for the display tank (preparing for the likely issues with Pukani and phosphates). I will set it up on the rock bin this evening and forgo the water changes until I see the cycle has completed.

Thanks!




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[jayball]

How much phosphate are you measuring?

I'd base my decision off that level.. well... I wouldn't use Pukani just for the phosphate issues people seem to have with it.. So into the trash it would go..

I may have had an extra algae bloom or two over the years but I would never trade that for the typical dense rock you find from most dead or live rock around.

It was bouncing between .25 and. .5 ppm. Though for the past week+ it has been at .25 ppm.

You can do the water change, the cycle may slow down but it will continue. Adding a couple drops of pure ammonia every once in a while will keep it going without introducing more PO4 from a decaying shrimp. This will allow you to monitor your PO4 and know when the decay in the rock stops.

 

[48hughey]

I wouldn't use Pukani just for the phosphate issues people seem to have with it..

I may have had an extra algae bloom or two over the years but I would never trade that for the typical dense rock you find from most dead or live rock around.

I read quite a few opinions/stories about this rock before purchasing and came to the conclusion that as long as I was willing to be extremely patient with the cooking process and prepared to be meticulous with the husbandry of the tank, I would be ok. Since it is such a small tank, I was already prepared for the latter. It was really attractive to me to have such a porous rock with so much surface area due to the small tank size and lack of space for additional filtration by way of a sump/refugium.

A lot to jump into with my first tank, but hopeful it will be worth the extra effort.


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[homer1475]

If it were me, I would stop it from cycling while your trying to leach out the phosphates. Simply dump the saltwater and just use plain RO/DI. Once the rock stops leaching PO4, then start the cycle again with salt water. Other wise your just wasting salt. I did it this way and it does take a bit longer, but it's totally worth the wait.

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[48hughey]

If it were me, I would stop it from cycling while your trying to leach out the phosphates.

So, now I have heard:

1. Let it cycle, stop the water changes
2. Let it cycle, continue water changes
3. Stop the cycle, worry about phosphate

Right now, I'm leaning towards #2. Continue water changes to remove phosphate, but keeping the saltwater to allow the cycle a chance to continue.

Anyone else? Here are the latest results from testing this evening:

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[48hughey]

UPDATE:

So I decided to keep up with the water changes and run GFO on the rock bin. But...I did not rinse the GFO and I covered all of my equipment in GFO fines. Whoops.

Got everything rinsed in RO/DI and performed a water change. All looks clear again except for some discoloration on the rocks, but they are being blasted with power heads now and will eventually be covered.

Even with my GFO fail, the cycle seems to be continuing:

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[48hughey]

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[Frank H]

For your first tank you seem to have a good grasp of things.

So this bin in the garage, is it kept in the dark?

 

[48hughey]

More or less. Lid is on but not tight to allow gas exchange, so there is a gap where light could enter. Garage is generally closed, so it is pretty dark anyway.


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