Pukani Rock leacing PO4 like mad

[bhazard451]

I just threw my rock into the new tank, no washing or pre curing. I let it cure and cycle in the tank. It didn't even smell the first few days. I'm running a carbon/gfo reactor since day one.

After a month before I added coral, with clownfish already in the tank within the first few days (tank was re-done and I didn't feel like giving them away or worse), I took my first measurement and my phosphates were at 0.07.

Either I got lucky, or as long as you have some sort of phosphate control, the issue seems to be overblown a bit.

 

[_Mackus_]

I've had my new 125 gal reef tank up for about 6 months now, but I'm unhappy with the aquascape (about 2/3 of my rock is branching tonga, so it kind of just looks like a birds nest).

I'd like to add in about 50-75 lbs of base rock and redo my aquascape and am considering getting either the eco rock or the pukani rock from BRS.

I've read most of this thread, but still have some questions. It seems like most of the methods people are using for this rock are when they are starting a new tank. Would curing the new dry rock in saltwater for about a month and dosing the Seaklear stuff to remove any leaching phosphate prevent any ill-effects of adding new rock to an already established tank? A cycle would be disastrous, but an algae bloom would also be bad. I don't run GFO in my tank, but I do have a fuge with a large ball of chaeto. Algae isn't a current issue (although am I battling some cyano).

 

[jerpa]

I was upgrading my setup when I bought the pukani so I cured mine in saltwater while doing the lanthanum treatment. It was in the water for about 6 weeks total before I transferred tanks. I had no cycle from it and almost 6 months later still no algae. I did one water change a few days in and that was all. Before I put it in the tank I shook it in the curing bucket, then shook it in another brute filled with fresh saltwater, then it went in the tank.

 

[_Mackus_]

I was upgrading my setup when I bought the pukani so I cured mine in saltwater while doing the lanthanum treatment. It was in the water for about 6 weeks total before I transferred tanks. I had no cycle from it and almost 6 months later still no algae. I did one water change a few days in and that was all. Before I put it in the tank I shook it in the curing bucket, then shook it in another brute filled with fresh saltwater, then it went in the tank.

Awesome. I think I'll do something very similar. Thanks for the tip.

Did you have a powerhead in the curing bucket?

Did you get it from BRS? How many pounds did your 120 gal require? I've got the same size tank, but already have 100-120 lbs of other rock, some large pieces but mostly branching tonga. Figure I'll remove some of that and get a nice base of the pukani stuff, then lay the branching around it a bit.

 

[jerpa]

Here's a picture of my tank. The purple rock came from the previous tank obviously. The rock on the left is 35 pounds of reef saver. The mountain on the right is all pukani. I ordered 30 lbs and put a volleyball size piece in my refugium so that mountain is prob ~25 lbs.

Yes I put a powerheads in the brute and a heater as well.

 

[_Mackus_]

Thanks a ton. The photo and your description of how much you used is going to be very useful for my planning and eventual additions.

 

[TeslaReef]

After the gunk that was coming out during the freshwater with LC treatments i decided to go ahead with a muriatic bath.
It's amazing how much gunk is on these rocks and (better yet) is no longer going in the tank afterwards.:eek1:

90lbs of mixed Pukani(mostly), Shelf and Branch
Also 40lbs of BRS rubble not shown

10:1 Muriatic bath (tap water) after three days of freshwater LC treatments

Second Muriatic treatment of 40lbs of BRS rubble.
One treatment was not enough

Good thing this stuff is getting flushed out the rocks

Do you guys notice that the rocks turn kind of brown after the Muriatic treatment? Is this normal?

I am doing a 24 hour 10:1 bleach bath (tap water) right now.

I am a bit confused where to go next.

Should I (option #1)
Do a few FW treatments with dechlorinator in RO/DI.
Then a couple more FW LC treatments in RO/DI
Then drying out for a couple weeks
Then SW curing


OR (option #2)
Do a couple more FW LC treatments in RO/DI
Then a few FW treatments with dechlorinator in RO/DI.
Then drying out for a couple weeks
Then SW curing

Or something different?

Thanks guys
Phillip

 

[maynardjames]

all issues aside the pukani is some of the best rock i have ever purchased. very porus with lots of holes, nooks & crannys. and being so light you get a lot for the money. i have bought live rock from several well known places on line & this is by the best looking i have bought, live or dead

 

[TeslaReef]

+1

I completely agree with this being the best rock around. All my LFS rock is terrible by comparison. This stuff just has so much character to it. Thank you to BRS for carrying it. No compaints here.

Phillip

 

[yellowtruck75]

So I have read the thread and I think I am more confused. I have a 90 gallon which is still empty ad I have 50 pounds of Pukani sitting in it. Can I cycle the rock and remove the
Phosphate in the tank(preferred), do I need to use RO saltwater and can I get it good to go for use in roughly a month?

Very confused

 

[TeslaReef]

So I have read the thread and I think I am more confused. I have a 90 gallon which is still empty ad I have 50 pounds of Pukani sitting in it. Can I cycle the rock and remove the
Phosphate in the tank(preferred), do I need to use RO saltwater and can I get it good to go for use in roughly a month?

Very confused

yellowtruck75,

You can do it in the tank if nothing "live" is in there. However, get ready for a stink fest. Make sure you have your skimmer running to get rid of the waste. Frequent water changes are ideal. Some Pukani is worse than others. I opted to do it the garage after the first couple days. I then went with acid washing due to the amount of gunk. No matter which way you go, verify your phosphates and use the LC to get rid of them quicker. Again, no living animals thoughs.

For the first "really messy" days, you don't need to waste saltwater. RO will work well. A month is pushing it for a full cycle I think though but certainly doable.

Oh yeah, make sure you flip the rocks frequently and blast them with a powerhead (or several) to loosen the gunk.

Phillip

 

[yellowtruck75]

I am going to run GFO in BRS reactor from the beginning. Should I run carbon as well? I am getting the two chamber reactor.

 

[TeslaReef]

I am going to run GFO in BRS reactor from the beginning. Should I run carbon as well? I am getting the two chamber reactor.

Good idea on the GFO and Carbon. Keep in mind that this rock is not sterile so you will have a fair amount of crud with Pukani. Also, if you go with FW only, you can't use the skimmer. Result, a smelly room. Carbon, water changes and no lights will be a must. Dual chamber reactors supposedly have a tendency to clog. I would use cheap carbon and GFO and change it often until you cycle. If you're tank is in a traffic area, I would skip FW and use SW to be able to use the skimmer.


Phillip

 

[yellowtruck75]

Tank is in our finished basement so I will start with saltwater and just do a few large water changes.

 

[OregonReefer2]

I am going to run GFO in BRS reactor from the beginning. Should I run carbon as well? I am getting the two chamber reactor.

I'm a little late here but to chime in but I hope not too late.

First off you'll spend a Fortune in GFO to clean the PO4 out of this stuff if you get a batch like mine and carbon would probably just slow the cycle

I would HIGHLY recommend NOT curing this rock in your new tank Especially if you plan on treating with LC. There are methods of doing it but that would require many 5 micron socks and a LOT of time changing them to contain the precipitates.

When I went through the LC dosing EVERYTHING was covered with the precipitates... I couldn't imagine trying to clean the stuff off your overflow, DT and sump interior (the inside of your plumbing and pumps) No one really knows the effects of the precipitate on some of the more sensitive creatures we tend to keep in our tanks

Do this: (I wish I would have taken more time on this but so far it's working out well... I'm the OP BTW... my account got borked)

1: When you get your rock place in one or more containers big enough to hold it all (30gal Brute cans work great) It wouldn't hurt to hose it off first

2: Fill with salt water and drop a heater and power head or two in there (a Power head on the bottom is better for flow)

3: Let cycle ~4-5 weeks until you get a zero reading for nitrites. At this point your rock is cycled and ready to take care of a light bioload. However, you still may have a phosphate issue...

4: Test for phosphates, no matter the reading do a 50% water change, test again (keep notes)

5: Wait 48 hours and test again. If the readings have increased then decide if you want to dose LC. If they haven't don't bother

6: If you decide you are dosing just dump a TBS in at a time. After a few minutes the water will turn cloudy with "snow" Let this settle out until the water is clear (this will take a day of two to settle)

7: Repeat #6 until the water no longer turns cloudy

8: Rinse rock THOROUGHLY with SW

9: place in tank, wait a few days to be sure you still have zero Ammonia and Nitrites

10: add clean up crew

 

[TeslaReef]

OregonReefer2,
I agree with you completely.

My tubing, pump, heater and Brute were very white with precipitate when I finished my first batch. Can't imagine what a DT & Sump would look like. I actually had to throw out the tubing. The LC works really good though.

YellowTruck75 wants to cycle in 4 weeks. He might have some difficulty with this rock in that time.

I am taking slow like the rest of the posters here. I'm done drying my rock and will start my cycle soon.
Good work on getting this thread going BTW. It helped me out alot.

Phillip

 

[OregonReefer2]

OregonReefer2,
I agree with you completely.

My tubing, pump, heater and Brute were very white with precipitate when I finished my first batch. Can't imagine what a DT & Sump would look like. I actually had to throw out the tubing. The LC works really good though.

YellowTruck75 wants to cycle in 4 weeks. He might have some difficulty with this rock in that time.

I am taking slow like the rest of the posters here. I'm done drying my rock and will start my cycle soon.
Good work on getting this thread going BTW. It helped me out alot.

Phillip

Based on my experiment I'm a firm believer in using LC to "nuke" the phosphates from heavily laden rock outside the tank.

While many have had great success using it in a running tank I've heard as many stories about it precipitating outside the filter socks... IMHO, considering the amount I had to clean up I'd never risk it and again... No one really knows what the precipitate (very fine particulates) will do to your critters long term (there's also some speculation that after a time the precipitate breaks back down and releases the bound phosphates)

@Yellowfish
You can't put a timeline on your cycle. Your cycle is going to take as long as it takes.

We all understand that looking at your rock in a bucket for 6ish weeks sucks and this is by no means the only to do it.

But, if I had a do-over I'd follow the steps I outlined above

Edit: @Phillip I'm very happy this information was helpful for you.

The real credit goes to the people here that are far more knowledgeable than me. I was looking for a solution to a problem and the wonderful people here at RC came through with a solution that worked for me

 

[Da Maui life]

I'd put it in salt water and treat it with lanthanum chloride. It will precipitate any leaching phosphate and dosing it will keep the PO4 in the water very low ,the precipitant can be swished off before the rock is place in the display. I've had rock that leach lot's of phosphate stop leaching in 2 weeks this way without water changes or more costly gfo.. There are comercial hobby liquid PO4 removers that are lanthanum chloride and water but I use Seaklear a pool product which is much cheaper.

Question on Seaklear being a pool product for dosing large volume of water, what is your method of Dosage ?

 

[bertoni]

If you're dosing into a curing container with formerly dead rock, rather than a tank with animals, I doubt that the dose is critical. You could add some, and see whether any precipitate forms. If so, a bit more should be okay. Otherwise, the lanthanum chloride will just sit in the water column until some phosphate shows up. The product should have some outlines of how much to add, and that likely will be fine.

 

[DozerDozer]

Hello all. I'm starting a new tank. Just bought 35 lbs pukani rock from brs and a Hanna phosphate checker. I plan on adding a powerhead and dosing LC for a cook. Does it matter if I use SW or RoDi fw for the process? Newb question- any idea what size powerhead I will need for 35lbs? I'm gonna dose LC and do water changes till phosphates are dealt with. Then cycle later with live sand to kickstart cycle. Any suggestions or steps I'm missing that I should add to this process. I'm trying to read all I can but it's better to just ask those who know. Thanks