The "How to go Barebottom thread."

[ezhoops]

I'll start mixing water today

 

[Reefingismyweekends]

Great thread,
i have been cooking my roch for a while now, and it only just recently hit me that i am just using tap water and salt, will this affect the out come of the rock?

Thnks

 

[brentp]

Great thread,
i have been cooking my roch for a while now, and it only just recently hit me that i am just using tap water and salt, will this affect the out come of the rock?

Thnks

Test your water for phosphate before mixing it with the salt. If you have phosphate in the water I would not use it.

 

[steve.bridges]

Hi guys

Ive just ripped down my 90g ssb (sick of HA) and am gonna go with a starboard bottom. The tank is being drilled at the moment for more flow. I am gonna use a dart for a closed loop and a mag 24 for the return.

I am having the tank drilled at the base for a 3' spray bar along the bottom rear of the tank, this will be tee'd off of the dart ( i will have 2 outlets over the top of the tank from the dart also) do you think this will help to keep D suspended?
Can you see any problems with this setup?
The return from the sump will also come over the top of the tank and i am thinking of using two eductors on the two dart outlets.

 

[SeanT]

So long as you cook your rock and have a strong enough skimmer it sounds good. :thumbsup:

 

[steve.bridges]

Ahhh rock cooking, not certain about that, i think ill be syphoning for a while.
i hope my lifereef will be big enough.

 

[steve.bridges]

whoops

 

[mattrix]

The rock cooking FAQ at the start of this thread mentions that ammonium cycling is not a major concern. Is that true of newly established systems? In other words, will a new setup with freshly cooked rock go through a month-long ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle?

Thanks.

 

[Weatherman]

In other words, will a new setup with freshly cooked rock go through a month-long ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle?

Thanks.

Nope. No cycle, since the rock cooking eliminated the main cause of the cycle - all that dead and dying stuff decaying away in your tank.

Fully cooked rock will have a thriving bacteria population, which should be able to easily handle the load of a relatively nutrient poor tank right away.

One of the nice things about bare-bottom tanks, with fully cooked rock, is that you can add delicate animals immediately. You donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have to wait for several weeks or months for the biological filtering mechanism of a sand bed to ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œmature.ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚

 

[steve.bridges]

how long would you have to wait if you dont cook the rock? My live rock is in a dark tote at the moment with a p/h and heater but it is only likely to be there for two weeks max, i have to start getting the tank back together then.

would i need to do a w/c in this 2 week period or should i run a skimmer in the tote?

sorry bout all the ??/? and thanks for any advice.

 

[Weatherman]

Not easy to know for sure. It all depends on how much dead, dying and decaying stuff is on it. If the rock is very clean, maybe a few weeks. If the rock is freshly shipped from the ocean, it could be several months.

With rock cooking, the faster you can remove nutrients, the faster the process will reach its conclusion. Skimmers help a lot to speed up the process. Frequent water changes and detritus removal also speed up the process. However, there's no preferred schedule for performing any of these activities.

 

[ezhoops]

my LR has been in my tank for a couple years, about how long in the cooker to remove the phosphate

 

[SeanT]

my LR has been in my tank for a couple years, about how long in the cooker to remove the phosphate

4-8 weeks, following the prescribed instructions.
Basically, when detritus shedding has slowed to virtually nothing...it is clean.

Sean

 

[SeanT]

and thanks for any advice.

I strongly advise you to slow down and 'cook' your rock.

Remember, when going BB you no longer have the temporary cushion a DSB affords you.
There is nothing to biologically process all the nutrients, P, seeping out at that rate.
Unless you plan to siphon daily, you may well have the same unfortunate problems that other reefers experienced who also didn't 'cook' their rock.

Sean

 

[steve.bridges]

I strongly advise you to slow down and 'cook' your rock.

Remember, when going BB you no longer have the temporary cushion a DSB affords you.
There is nothing to biologically process all the nutrients, P, seeping out at that rate.
Unless you plan to siphon daily, you may well have the same unfortunate problems that other reefers experienced who also didn't 'cook' their rock.

Sean

What problems can be encountered sean?

 

[Travis]

What problems can be encountered sean?

phosphates and nitrates building up to dangerous levels in the water column...

 

[steve.bridges]

This is because of leaching from the rocks or because of poor husbandry ie lack of syphoning detrius?

Can you give me a link to a thread?

thanx.

 

[SeanT]

Leeching of the rocks.

 

[SeanT]

It is what I believe to be the problem PUGriyale had when he went BB.

I can't find his thread...PM him.

Sean

 

[Travis]

This is because of leaching from the rocks or because of poor husbandry ie lack of syphoning detrius?

Can you give me a link to a thread?

thanx.

Leeching from the rocks is correct. It is explained in this thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=644382&highlight=barebottom