Mike's 300 Double-D

Reef Happy said:
Very nice rock. I have heard 100lbs doesn't go very far as you would think.
Click to expand...

Doug, You are right about that! :D

We're planning to use existing rock as well to recreate the "bonsai tree" look with the rock structures like we did in the original design. This time we'll have several more "prime pieces" to choose from and we can lose some of the less-than-desirable rock we used before.

:hammer: :artist: :hammer:
 
glad to see you finally got the new tank. love the center overflow. you'll be very happy with the marco rocks, i got 100lbs as well, good stuff. can't wait to see what you do with the rockwork.
 
Marco Rock

Marco Rock

Our Marco rock arrived today. We're very impressed with the quality of the packing. Each rock was individually bubble-wrapped and the boxes were quite sturdy:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5535582585/" title="tank 924 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5535582585_b399a612fa_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="tank 924" /></a>

We got some of their new Key Largo Prime Cuts shelf pieces along with some of the Key Largo. Marc was very helpful in getting the sizes we need:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5535582653/" title="tank 925 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5535582653_131ddcee58_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="tank 925" /></a>

The shelf sizes are going to be just great for our bonsai trees!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5535582703/" title="tank 926 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5535582703_7269e0a916_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="tank 926" /></a>
 
Hi Mike,

I have a couple of questions regarding Marco rocks if you wouldnt mind.
I see that they are used heavily by what seems like most reefers in the states.
My understanding is that they are simply dried live rock, what we would call reef bones.
Do you guys treat the rocks before adding to the tank?
Normally the die off from adding live rock to a tank would start the cycle, do you experience any die off from Marco rocks?...if not do you start the cycle with additives?
Do you seed the Marco rocks by using them in conjunction with actual "live" rock?...or maybe with a cupfull of mature sand bed?
Do you suffer high po4 with using marco rocks..are you concerned that the phosphate could take hold and leech out of the rocks for some time?

Sorry that turned out to be more than a couple of questions, purely out of interest thats all. I assume there is a significant saving to be had using Marco Rocks.

Thanks

Matt
 
Rock looks great - I love that bonsai look... so much more organic. Can't wait to see the aquascape - hoping to get some inspiration from you. Are you planning on using nylon rods or epoxy or both?
 
d3hree said:
Hi Mike,

I have a couple of questions regarding Marco rocks if you wouldnt mind.
I see that they are used heavily by what seems like most reefers in the states.
My understanding is that they are simply dried live rock, what we would call reef bones.
Do you guys treat the rocks before adding to the tank?
Normally the die off from adding live rock to a tank would start the cycle, do you experience any die off from Marco rocks?...if not do you start the cycle with additives?
Do you seed the Marco rocks by using them in conjunction with actual "live" rock?...or maybe with a cupfull of mature sand bed?
Do you suffer high po4 with using marco rocks..are you concerned that the phosphate could take hold and leech out of the rocks for some time?

Sorry that turned out to be more than a couple of questions, purely out of interest thats all. I assume there is a significant saving to be had using Marco Rocks.

Thanks

Matt
Click to expand...

Hi Matt,
First I will say that I am no expert, but what I understand is it is dry calcium carbonate rock quarried in Florida and "Reef Bones" is a great way to describe it. The rock contains no organics and definitely needs to be seeded. We are using established live sand and live rock from our system to do this.

We rinsed the rock before adding it to our vats. To be honest, it was very clean. There was a bit of aragonite sand that came loose during shipping as is to be expected. You can't beat the price and we like the fact that it is not being removed from a living reef.

We mixed in Marco rock w/our rock structures in the first 300 and did not experience any spikes in Po4 or alkalinity. Honestly, there is nothing in the rock to "leech" out. :)


yoccm said:
Rock looks great - I love that bonsai look... so much more organic. Can't wait to see the aquascape - hoping to get some inspiration from you. Are you planning on using nylon rods or epoxy or both?
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris! Marc was very helpful and we are really pleased with the pieces he sent. We plan to use a mix of 1/2" and 1/4" fiber glass rods, zip ties, quickcrete and epoxy to build the structures. We'll be working on them this weekend and will post pics once we're done.

erichsu06 said:
I like the potential of this setup... keep the updates coming!
Click to expand...
Thanks erichsu06! :D
 
Saturday 3/19:
Our goal was to get the live rock out of the temporary tank and moved into vats so that we can start working on the new aquascaping structures. There was also the need to construct some kind of rack for supporting our corals, and some general maintenance that we've been putting off (like cleaning up all the Tunze stream pumps, and the temporary tank so that Rick can sell it).

Here's a shot of the temporary 350g with the new rack installed (across the back), and all of the display live rock moved out. We replaced most of the live rock with some old base rock we had in storage and had been cooking in the vat:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5542783515/" title="tt 927 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5542783515_954442efbe_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="tt 927" /></a>

And here are the vats with the live rock and the new marco rock mixed in...stewing into a nice savory blend!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5542792623/" title="tt 936 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5542792623_463d986087_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="tt 936" /></a>

The really unusual thing we've discovered this week; monti-eating nudis have attacked some of our montis. This is very surprising, in that we've not added anything to the tank for months. Anyone know why or how these pests could lay dormant for long periods?
 
Looking great!
Just out of curiosity did the Manu warrantee the tank or did you have to purchase a new one?
Glad to see your well into a rebound!
 
Update

Update

Our quartz counter tops were re-installed today:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5554290300/" title="nt 940 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5554290300_72ef70424b_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 940" /></a>

:dance:
 
prop-frags said:
The really unusual thing we've discovered this week; monti-eating nudis have attacked some of our montis. This is very surprising, in that we've not added anything to the tank for months. Anyone know why or how these pests could lay dormant for long periods?
Click to expand...

I'd bet they werent laying dormant, just in such low populations for a long period that they were of no consequence.

Congrats on the new rock and other progress. One word of caution, that both drummereef and I've experienced; that marco rock makes for great aquascaping but will take some serious time to cure. We've both enjoyed some good algae bouts in the first few months of lighted use (I cured mine for 8 months or more in a simple system with a little seed rock, and I didnt have any algae until I fired up my metal halides). It hasnt caused me any other concerns that I can obviously tell, though time will be the ultimate truth. Good luck moving forward!
 
What I did with my Marco rocks is soak it in a diluted solution of Vinegar and water and then rinsed it in freshwater as well. I believe I did this about 4 times. I did end up having, however, were some dinos. I think it was because my skimmer was undersized as well though. Add circulation and I think you would be good to go. Good advice though CRVZ.
 
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