new but old tank???

[luv4scjjt]

I just purchased a 180 gal from a gentalman and we moved it yesterday. I was only able to keep about a quarter of the water but all the live rock and sand stayed in water. My question is what can i expect from my water chemistry? I have started from scratch before but this is my first time with moving a tank. There were only 2 fish in (he kept them so not in there anymore) and no live coral to be seen. there was only traces of coraline and lots of hair algea. Will it take a few months for the tank to straiten itself out or because of the live rock and sand will it happen faster....or even slower?

[HighlandReefer]

Usually when you disturb a sand bed like you have you will get spikes in nitrate and possibly ammonia. The rock, if not kept wet in water, could have some die off. This mean more ammonia, nitrate and possibly phosphate. If the guy had high phosphate levels in his tank, then the rock would have absorbed phosphate as well as the sand. You will need to use a product like GFO to pull the phosphate out and it will take time, changing it say every three days or so until your phosphate levels are undetectable.

The algae situation will depend on what species of algae is in there. It will come with the rock and gravel. If it is an easily controlled specie of algae, you will need to scrub any new growth and reduce your nitrate, ammonia & phosphate levels to undetectable levels. If it is a tough (hard to control specie of algae) you can have quite a battle on your hands.

HTH ;)

[HighlandReefer]

FWIW, personally I would trash the sand and for the rock, I would use a bath of bleach to kill the algae (perhaps several bleach soakings) and use a bath of acid to remove any phosphate and/or copper or other heavy metals that were possibly used in the tank. ;)

[luv4scjjt]

wow. so just because you have live rock dont mean its safe and healthy...When you say an acid bath what is that? How would i get the bleach out of the rocks if i bleached them like suggested. I have a hard time getting bleach off my hands so how do u get it out of the rock. I just want to do this right this time. This is my second atemp at sw and I really really want it to work. I love the hobbie so much and our first attempt was a complete disaster. So what are the propper steps to make it safe?

[spieszak]

I wouldn't nuke the rock if the algae isn't terrible... regardless, you can use de chlor (the water additive for removing chlorine) on bleached items... if it were me, I'd probably try to salvage the rock for a couple weeks. if the algae remained bad, then I would try alternatives, like cycling it in a large bin with fresh water and no lights to kill the algae.

[bertoni]

You might be able to kill off the algae over time without killing the rock. It's a question of patience. If you want to try the slower approach, I'd add a GFO reactor and spend a few minutes every week getting what hair algae was easy to pull out, if any.

Are you adding any fish or corals any time soon? If so, what kinds?

[HighlandReefer]

wow. so just because you have live rock dont mean its safe and healthy...When you say an acid bath what is that? How would i get the bleach out of the rocks if i bleached them like suggested. I have a hard time getting bleach off my hands so how do u get it out of the rock. I just want to do this right this time. This is my second atemp at sw and I really really want it to work. I love the hobbie so much and our first attempt was a complete disaster. So what are the propper steps to make it safe?

First soak the rock in 1 part bleach to 10 parts rodi water. Let it soak over night. Then clean all dead & other debris of the rock. Repeat until clean & white. Then soak the rock in clean rodi water over night. If you still smell bleach or to be sure, you can then soak the clean rock in rodi water with a de-chlorinating product like Amquel.

For the acid bath, soak the rock in 1 part muriatic acid and 10 parts rodi water over night or if the rock continues to bubble, longer. The acid bath will remove the out surface of the rock which may contain phosphate and/or copper (heavy metals). You can repeat if you like. After satisfied, soak the rock in rodi water and add baking soda to neutralize any remaining acid.

[luv4scjjt]

I took the live rock out last night and scrubbed it of all visable algea. I emailed the gentalman i got the tank from to see if he used any copper med's in the tank. Hopefully not.:rolleyes: If so then i will do the acid wash on the rocks and get new sand. I don't plan on putting any fish or coral in anytime soon. I want to do this right and not needlesly kill any fish or coral. I have an established thriving 20 gal that i can use some live rock from to give the 180 a kickstart. I just wont be putting in any of the fish and coral. How long should i wait to put in the live rock from the 20?

[HighlandReefer]

It's hard to say how long it will take to be ready. Put the rock in and give it a few days in the new salt water. Then run some tests on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate to see if you have any detectable levels. If any of these parameters are high you will need to wait until they are undetectable. You can also run a polyfilter which are cheap and if the polyfilter turns colors, you know the heavy metals are too high. :)

I would add a good light to the tank with this new rock in to see if algae grows. If so, you may want to use AlgaeFix Marine at this time before you add fish and coral. AlgaeFix does not control all algae, but it does control many of the hair algaes. AlgaeFix will break down within 24 hrs. You would need to follow the label to control the algae if it does continue to grow. If AlgaeFix is going to work, usually you start to see results after about 6-7 doses at the recommended every 3 day intervals. ;)

[luv4scjjt]

I will check that out. I keep reading people mention a gfo reactor. I have never heard of that. what is it?

[HighlandReefer]

GFO is short for granular ferric oxide, more properly called Iron Oxide Hydroxide. It is used to bind phosphate and remove that from your water column when phosphate levels become detectable. Using GFO in a reactor assures that water will go through the GFO so as to contact all the GFO which is necessary for the phosphate to bind to it. Using GFO in a filter bag may not provided full contact to all the GFO and the water can form channels thought it.

Randy provides more details in this article:

Iron Oxide Hydroxide (GFO) Phosphate Binders
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.htm