The "How to go Barebottom thread."

[bluebentgrass]

Show me the money! i mean tank!!
wow now that a call. Do you americans understand that?

 

[bluebentgrass]

Paul kymoyo not that it matter buyt what kindif any at all reactor media are you using and do younotice the brown spots recede with water changes?
Sounds like a micronutrient difficiency

 

[Bomber]

. It was on the starboard and rocks but cleared up about 4-5 days after it started. Now it got replaced by green algae which is only covering the rocks mainly. What do you guys think? Is this just part of a cycle? I must have phosphate in the system correct but where do you think its coming from? Fish food or the rocks (base rock from www.reeferrocks.com) or what?

Paul, it's coming from your reeferrocks.

Here's their "rock chart" showing that their rocks contain 5ppm phosphate.
.05ppm is considered hyper-eutrophic - notice the decimal and zero.

and here's a thread on those rocks discussing this

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=5852449#post5852449

 

[bluebentgrass]

Why wouldnt the ca at 400ppm quickly precipitate the po4?I understand high po4 with low ca bu high ca?? Chemically it makes no sense

 

[nbd13]

bluebentgrass- try the chemistry forum here on RC. i am sure you will find what you want there and not de-rail the threads in the SPS forum.

now can we get back on track, so far this has been an excellent read!

Nick

 

[arconom]

Bomber if it was seeded then cooked would that take care of the high Phosphate level?

I asked you this before but that was on Hirocks not reeferrocks.

I ordered 35 pounds of Reefer Rock that I plan on seeding then cooking for my 120 next year. I will be ordering more.

 

[Bomber]

You shouldn't need to seed them. Nitrification/denitrification is the process you want. It's the Pseudomonas that will migrate P for you, it's their job.

Edit: I think that might be what's confusing about this. It's the very bacteria that perform nitrification/denitrification that migrate P for you. It's not some separate process involving some separate things. You're just taking advantage of a process that's already going to take place.

 

[arconom]

So I would "cook" them just by doing the typical swish,dunk,rinse for a few months?

 

[Bomber]

I would throw in a chunk of raw shrimp to speed up the process.

 

[arconom]

So let the shrimp stay in the cooking vat for a few weeks? Then Proceed with the Typical Cook routine?


Thanks for the info Bomber

 

[Bomber]

These are base rock, right. Like a clean sand bed, right? So get it started just like you would start a new, clean sand bed. It's the nitrification/denitrification cycle that will migrate the P for you.

 

[kimoyo]

what kindif any at all reactor media are you using and do younotice the brown spots recede with water changes?

Nope, no reactor media and the brown spots didn't disappear with a water change.

 

[kimoyo]

add a source of ammonium to start the process

Just read the thread, I really wish I would have seen that thread or your explanation sooner. I thought because I didn't see hair algae all this time I was good but your right a few days after I added fish and snails the brown algae and then green started up. This is probably why my coralline hasn't picked up yet either. I really can't do the rock cooking now because I was going to do it in the tank since I live in an apartment. But I can't put my fish in total darkness. There's nothing coming off the rocks anymore so I guess I just have to wait until all the phosphate comes out. Do you think it will be long if I just do water changes and use phosban, considering its about 12.5ppm? I measured inorganic phosphate to be 0ppm this morning so it looks like its just coming from the rocks.

 

[Zaphod]

Did anyone notice bluebentgrass just moved on? about time.

Where do you guys buy your penductors?

 

[karateman]

Crank up your ca

 

[kimoyo]

Crank up your ca

Its at 420 right now and everything else seems to be ok except ammonia isn't 0.

free ammonia - 0.05 mg/L
total ammonia - 0.275 mg/L
Alk - 4.00 meq/L
ph - 8.2
Ca - 420 ppm
Mg - 1305 ppm
PO - 0 ppm
Salinity 1.026
Temp 78.0-78.9

I was talking to Randy about why my ammonia won't go down even after a water change. Took my filter sock off and going to siphon tonight and measure tomorrow.

 

[karateman]

How were you able to acheive such a high ca level?

 

[SeanT]

Bomber if it was seeded then cooked

I would throw in a chunk of raw shrimp to speed up the process.

Talking about the same thing I gather.
Erik was wanting to be sure he needed to import the bac and not just dump in inert rock.

 

[wastememphis]

SeanT,

I asked you some questions before you started this thread and have been cooking my rocks for 10weeks now, there is still some stuff comming off the rocks when I use a powerhead but the last time I swished the rocks around in a bucket it wasn't that dirty (after 3 rocks! ).

Its a 65gallon tank, has about 50-60lbs of live rock, I just got 2x250watt halides in today and on an impulse to get in on the savings I ordered snails with a group from www.keyscritters.com

Question: The snails will get here tomorrow, is it alright to put them in my tank? I have a 29gallon setup going now I can always put them in but I have 100 cerths and 50 astrea comming, I dont know how my 29 will look with that many in there hahaha

Also, I have 3 rocks in my 29gallon that I wanted to put into my new tank but they have corals growing on them, if I put those rocks with the corals in the new tank will there be a problem?

Should I have the lights on for a week before adding snails, or before adding corals?

I don't have a phospate test kit but here are my other levels.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20-25
PH 8.1-8.2
Temp 77.8
Salinity 1.025

Thanks! This should be a sticky by now!!!

 

[SeanT]

Hi,
Add the snails to your tank.
Remember to acclimate them correctly.

The rocks with corals on that you are not going to "cook" could use a good swishing in tank water that you can siphon out.
That will get a lot out.

As for the lights...if there aren't any corals I wouldn't run them unless you have some fish (and if you do have fish no need to waste halides on them use NO or something).
The snails could care less about light.

Regards,
Sean