redsea2012
New member
should I use ro/di water to rinse the rock or a tap water then cook it in ro/di water? should I use a brush to clean the surface of the rock before I put it back?
Pukani Rock leacing PO4 like mad
- Thread starter OregonReefer
- Start date
should I use ro/di water to rinse the rock or a tap water then cook it in ro/di water? should I use a brush to clean the surface of the rock before I put it back?
scrub and swoosh in clean water. it won't take long before it gets cloudy.
do again until the water in the rinsing bucket is clean.
also, if the rock is not alive, you can acid wash it which will eat away the precipitate. but I'm not sure if it is dissolving it back into the water.
have to check with the chemists for an answer on that. Randy?
I'm on week 2 and what a difference in my rock. I have to batches going. one live and one dead. the live rock is going to take a month at least. the rocks were covered in algae, even after scrubbing what i could off. now, just a few traces of that stiff GHA, but it's mostly white and pulls right off the rock...dead.
If i plan to set up a new tank, i will go this route again with the rock. There has not been much precipitate in the dead rock bin. so i would assume that rock is pretty clean. i gave up on testing with the cheap kits. A hanna meter is the only way to go here.
James77
Team RC
I got 50 pounds of the rock in. I soaked it in a brute barrel and changed the water several times. I also gave it an acid bath with a fairly weak solution of muriatic acid for a couple hours then changed the water each day for a few.
I tested the water it sat in after 2 full days of soaking with an ultra low hanna meter, and it came in at .076 ppm, some of whcih I cannot rule out not being from the brute itself. I have since put it in my completely restarted tank so Ill see wher eit gets me.....
Sorry, clean water meaning rodi water or tap water?
I just set up a 151 gallon custom Reef Savvy with 80 pounds of Pukani.
I got 0.48 phosphate by Hanna LR meter. I also got 0.11 out of Precision Marine Pro media reactor using BRS regular GFO. Tank is empty and lights are out. I don't intend to use Lanthium Chloride as I took 2-3 days to arrange rocks perfect. I'll just change media every 10 days as it drops.
I have to say I thrill with Pukani rock I got and would recommend it.
I got 0.48 phosphate by Hanna LR meter. I also got 0.11 out of Precision Marine Pro media reactor using BRS regular GFO. Tank is empty and lights are out. I don't intend to use Lanthium Chloride as I took 2-3 days to arrange rocks perfect. I'll just change media every 10 days as it drops.
I have to say I thrill with Pukani rock I got and would recommend it.
tap is fine.
as you get closer to the end i would start to use rodi. and even use saltwater. might as well start the curing process
redsea2012
New member
I think we should use saltwater...this will make the process of curing much faster.
24 hours after my setup with 80 lbs of Pukani and 2 cups of GFO in a 150 tank my phosphates went from 0.48 ppm to 0.11 ppm in the tank. I used Hanna LR meter. I don't find a need to for Lanthium Chloride at this rate, but tank is empty right now.
I am sure rock will continue to leach phosphate but I would disagree with LEACHING LIKE MAD. It is certainly under control in my tank.
I am sure rock will continue to leach phosphate but I would disagree with LEACHING LIKE MAD. It is certainly under control in my tank.
in regards to tap, just use it to rinse the rock of the precipitate. than back into ro/di water.
i would not use tap water to treat...just a quick rinse if you are using ro/di in the main cleansing bin.
FWIW...I did a week in rodi and now have the rocks in heated saltwater with a skimmer. you would not believe what is in that skimmate. Keep in mind i acid washed these dead rocks 3 times as well as a bleach soak and I'm still getting some nasty stuff in the skimmer. I think the rock would have cycled on it's own. but i put one live rock in there last night too. ;-)
let's see how long that GFO lasts. In a new setup, it may take a day or two for the rock to start leaching enough into the water.
keep us posted.
That sounds like a fine plan to me.
Last edited:
SPotter
Active member
Rich, warm water I believe is better and I just put a 250w heater in the brute can. The mag pump I had in there also provided some heat for the water too.
SPotter
Active member
An update on my rocks....after curing one batch for 2 months and another for only 3 weeks I was finally able to give a rinse and put them in the new tank earlier this week. I tested my po4 this morning and after 4 days my level is at 0.049. I am very happy with that will continue to monitor it.
Thank you oregonreefer....would for starting this thread!
Thank you oregonreefer....would for starting this thread!
OregonReefer
New member
I wouldn't run a skimmer with LC... Not that it would hurt but the precipitate seems to really like to stick to plastics and it would be a chore to get it clean again.
Plus you don't need a skimmer for curing
Plus you don't need a skimmer for curing
no problem on the skimmer. just a little acid wash and the skimmer is good to go. no precipitate to worry about. Same goes for the rock. if it were dead, i would give it one final acid wash.
Live rock, just swoosh real good.
my skimmer has been pulling out some crap just from the curing process. and that was after 3 acid washes and a bleach dip.
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