The "How to go Barebottom thread."

[easye123]

Hey SeanT,
i have not been happy with my sps tank the past several months due to an old sand bed that doesnt seem to be helpin with sps. (old pictures can be seen in my thread) Ive had my tank set up for two years and for the first year and a half I was getting great color and growth then went down hill from there. Soo I think its time to go BB.
Heres my current equipment:
90g rr, 3000gph of flow, ER rs 135 skimmer, 30g sump.
I have a 120lbs of LR that will need to be cooked for 5-6weeks im assuming. That will be perfect to get some anoying majano anems that have grown. I will need to add tons more flow so I think its that time I need to get that vortech I allways wanted. I need to get some filter socks goin. I usually run my skimmer wet soo that will be good. I will need to get in the habit of siphoning bi weekly or weekly. I have 8 fish, 6 or soo lps, and two sps colonies(gave everything else away) Will they be fine in the tank with no rock or sand for a while. Should I keep my fuge goin until the rock is cooked? Im part of a big clube here in the Dallas/Fort worth area... would it be a better idea to have somebody house the fish and corals till my tank is ready? AM I missin anything.

 

[SeanT]

Hi easye,

Pre-build a few frag racks from PVC and eggcrate to place your corals on, make the height close to where they are now.

I would take the rock out in segments.
The top layer of rock first, that which isn't in contact with the sand bed.
This will help keep the storms and other things to a minimum.

Start "cooking" that straight off.

Then, piece by piece begin removing the rest of the rock.

At this point I would definitely leave the fuge online to help water quality.
Whether you wish to remove the sandbed right away, or wait a little later down the road is your call.
When you do, drain as much of the tank water as you can before you scoop it out (saves on making so much RODI).
I find that a regular old dustpan works GREAT for taking out the sand.
To get the last bits of grain in there, you can either take the tank to the yard and hose it out, or wet-vac that bad boy.

You may find yourself with too much rock at the end of this.
Remember a lot of flow is fun, but the most important thing is how you use it.
Vortechs, like Tunze can be placed at the bottom of the tank to keep detritus in suspension, into the overflows and into the skimmer. The "Poop Loop."

If you want to go gangbusters, by some acrylic rods from an online vendor like US Plastics (a few pennies per foot).
Drill a few 3/4" deep holes in the bottom of your base rock to keep it elevated off the bottom of your tank.
It is a lot cleaner looking than eggcrate, and detritus won't pool like it does if the rock is in direct contact with the glass.

Whether you chose to line the bottom of your tank with Starboard or not is your call.
IMO, it is purely for aesthetics...I like black, makes corals pop.

Siphon weekly after you put the rock back in until it is done sluffing.
Then siphon as needed.

Filter socks are great for the first few months but after that you should not need them and can easily siphon the area in the sump where detritus settles, generally in front of a baffle.

Once you notice your macros stop growing/receeding. it is time to ditch the fuge. Turn it into a frag growout tank.

If you want to have a babysitter for the corals thats cool.
The fish will be fine.
Throw some larger PVC couplings in the tank so they have "houses".
Less stress on the fish that way.

Hope this helps,
Sean

 

[easye123]

Thanx for all the info!! Great information in this thread. The only part im still pondering about is starboard or no starboard. Does it really trape detritus that much? Also right now i only have twenty astreas, 4 turbos, and various red leg hermits. I will be taken out all crabs though eventually. How many astreas and ceriths would be a good start? Cant wait to get this process goin and get my tank back in gear. My tank was lookin soo good for a couple years getting great growth and color, then bam looks nothin like it once did.
Another thing I was thinking about is relocating my sump so that I can elevate it for easier siphoning if anything were to build up over time. Its not that hard though to drain my 30g(probably only 20g of actually volume). I wet vac the last bits.

Ill keep ya updated.

Evan

 

[adtravels]

Heres an update on mine nitrate still reads 0 and I dont test for phosphate as I always get 0.(It has been exactly 1 month since I removed my sand and the bottom is already covered in coralline).
I have continued with bioclean (prodibio) since I removed the sand, the flow is a vortech and a 1500gph return, I am waiting on a second gen two vortech and a grotech dosing system also a lumenarc mini reflectoer and some 12 k reeflux bulbs to go with my 400watt coralife ballast.
The detritus has really dropped off over the last week, and the corals color is starting to return.
some pics

 

[SeanT]

Starboard really does not trap detritus, but like I said I feel it is mainly whether you like the look of it.
Keep your cleaning crew as is, but be prepared to add more.

 

[Coralmex]

Great thread SeanT.... Kinda like a LOOOONNNGG novel..LOL.... Still making my way through it all...

I was just sent a link to this thread a couple days ago by a friend and it addresses an issue I am going through at this time.... I have a 265 display tank with about 150 lbs of live rock... The reef has been running for about 5 years.. But in the past 9 months I got a huge Bryopsis breakout… Tried everything .. And nothing worked…

About 3 weeks ago I took all my live rock out and was barely able to place it in both my 42 gal fuge and 45 gal frag tanks (nothing else in these tanks of course). Scraped as much algae off the rocks... Rinsed them and covered the tanks to get total darkness... But these tanks are still in line with my whole system...
(265 display / 55 gal sump / 40 gal DSB / 42 gal fuge and 45 frag)

To date nothing has spiked…. 99% of bryopsis gone…. I have not “swished”, but I intend to do so… Especially that I have notice a lot of “stuff” at the bottom of the tanks, which I have siphoned a few times.

Therefore by putting the rocks in total darkness we get:

“ "cooking" your rocks is to have the bacteria consume all (or as much) organic material and PO4 stored on, and in, the rock as possible” and “The new environment you are creating for your rock is to take it from an algal driven to a bacterial driven system.”

Question: IYO do you think that a stagnant tub (as you suggest) or my in line tanks make much difference in the “cooking” process???

I have had a few people tell me that they placed the rocks in darkness for a couple of months.. Replaced them in their tank… And the bryopsis came back…

What happened with your rocks and the bryopsis???

 

[SeanT]

My bropsis has been gone since I first "cooked" my rocks...thankfully.

What you are doing is a form of "cooking" I suppose.

But the two drawbacks you have are:

1. With the rocks in-line with your main system there is plenty of P in the water column, giving the bacteria a free and easy source of fuel.
What incentive do they have to burrow into the pores to eat?
Would you work for that Big Mac if someone was just handing them out?

2. You are not dunking and swishing your rocks.
Try this on a few of the rocks and you will SEE why it is beneficial.


Did the other tanks "cook" their rocks per the instructions or just keep them in the dark, in-line, like you are doing?

Sean

 

[Coralmex]

I think the other tanks just kept the rocks in darkness...and in line.... One almost 6 months.... And the Bryopsis came back...

 

[SeanT]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12986561#post12986561 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Coralmex
I think the other tanks just kept the rocks in darkness...and in line.... One almost 6 months.... And the Bryopsis came back...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12981085#post12981085 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeanT

1. With the rocks in-line with your main system there is plenty of P in the water column, giving the bacteria a free and easy source of fuel.
What incentive do they have to burrow into the pores to eat?
Would you work for that Big Mac if someone was just handing them out?

 

[volivier]

It is very hot here, 101 today, if i put some of my old dried rock into a tank in the garage, in salt water, with a power head. Is that all i'd need to do? No need to worry about the heat? It is some rock i took from my tank last year due to hair algae. Been in a box in my basement

When you do the dunk and swish, do you have to use saltwater? or would ro be ok.

 

[SeanT]

Needs to be "seeded" with some live rock with bacteria.

The dunking and swishing needs to be done in saltwater.

 

[volivier]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13009555#post13009555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeanT
Needs to be "seeded" with some live rock with bacteria.

The dunking and swishing needs to be done in saltwater.

okay, and can the water in the buckets be kept for the two dunkings each week? What about the heat? not a problem?

 

[SeanT]

Water, no, it will be dirty after the dunkings.
As said in the instructions, be prepared to make a lot of it.
Heat, not a problem.

 

[volivier]

Great! I guess i'll get ready tomorrow.

 

[SeanT]

It is a chore.
But you WILL be so happy with the results when it is over.

 

[Patis46]

Ok im almost ready to set up my tank 55G and put water in it for the first time and then i discover this thread. So now i have a couple questions.
I have seen this stuff called (base rock) it is dry and looks like there is nothing at all on it. Could i use that in my tank for most of the rock and seed it with say 10ish pounds of cured un cooked LR to get the whole thing up and running?
I do not plan on adding fish/inverts fast but slowley over months.
Thanks
Pat

 

[prodman]

I have some rocks(from a fellow reefers tank) that were in a circulated heated tub for several months without regular water changes. I bought them and have been doing the recommended procedure for cooking. Its been over 2 weeks now and not much is coming out of the rocks. I have done this before and a lot more crud came out. Also there is still some green algae surviving the process. How long should it take for it to go away? I have the rocks in the heavy duty Rubbermaid tubs outside.
Thanks

 

[SeanT]

Patis46,
Are you asking if you can just seed base rock, cure it, and start your tank?
The answer is yes.

The best bet is too "cook" the base rock first, seeding that with some live rock rubble.

Sean

 

[SeanT]

prodman,

Being that they were in tubs for several months, I would surmise they are semi-"cooked".

About the algae:
Are the rocks in total darkness and covered?
Are the rubbermaid tubs new?

Sean

 

[prodman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13026772#post13026772 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeanT
prodman,

Being that they were in tubs for several months, I would surmise they are semi-"cooked".

About the algae:
Are the rocks in total darkness and covered?
Are the rubbermaid tubs new?

Sean

I would agree with the semi cooked. And for the algae they are old rubbermaids, and they covered. But they are outside I dont think light is penetrating the tubs but I could be wrong.