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View Full Version : Taking tank down and stripping phosphate from rock for rebuild- advice needed


Badfish_Reefer
01/13/2014, 10:37 AM
My 75 gallon mixed reef has been up and running going on 7 months now. I am now dealing with the consequences of many novice mistakes that I made while setting up (this is my first reef tank).

My main mistake was that I used dry rock which was formerly live rock in another tank, but had been left to dry out when the tank was taken down. However, I just added it right to my system without taking any time to let it cook, or taking steps (bleach, acid bath, etc) to strip it of phosphates.

For months now the dead material from the rock has been seeping out into my tank (I think) and I've been battling cyano for months on end. I've had enough. I took my water to get tested and Phosphates were off the charts- literally. I use RO with a relatively new unit so I'm pretty sure the rock is the issue.

Yesterday I took the tank down and successfully transferred all my live stock to a 40 breeder. I mixed 20 gallons of fresh made saltwater with 20 gallons of water from my old tank to avoid cycling again. I bought a phosban reactor and hooked it upto the new tank to get rid of any left over phosphates from the old tank water.

There's about 30 pounds of liverock I bought from the LFS that has been in my old tank and has been put in the 40 breeder.

The other 70 pounds of rock I have is the rock that came from someone's tank and was left to die out, and which I stupidly added to my tank without doing anything to it.

SO, my question is. What do I do with this 70 pounds of rock? Do you guys think this is definitely the source of my phosphate problems? Should I give it a bleach bath followed by treatment in muriatic acid? Or, is that too extreme?

What would you all do in my situation?

slgcmg
01/13/2014, 11:06 AM
Were you using a bio pellet reactor? I would have tried done this and it took care of all my cyano and phospates. It took my system 6-7 months before all the algae blooms got under control.

since you've already taken it all down, the acid bath seems to be what I read people doing the most. Not sure about bleach.

HumbleFish
01/13/2014, 11:31 AM
If you are taking the tank down and starting over, this post from sirreal (with links) should help: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21186623&postcount=2

Badfish_Reefer
01/13/2014, 11:44 AM
Thanks guys. I was not using a bio pellet reactor since I was running GFO and Carbon. It does seem like the acid bath is a pretty common method, I'm just worried about it eroding away too much of my rock.

Humblefish- just the kind of thread I needed a link to, Thanks!

tkeracer619
01/13/2014, 02:32 PM
At this point I wouldn't dry it out or bleach it. I would probably just go with the LC treatment outlined in the thread Humble linked.

It can take a very long time otherwise to remove the phosphates. Going straight from backyard to tank results in a huge amount of dead material being introduced.

The LC works well getting rid of high levels of phosphates and then you follow up with some gfo to get the last bits.

I would only bleach it or acid bath the rock if there is something on it you don't want other then po4. If not you are probably pretty far along already with the phosphate removal. GFO does nothing to 70lbs of loaded rock. It is usually exhausted in an hour or two and would take hundreds worth to drop it to an acceptable level.

Biopellet reactors and carbon dosing is NOT a good way to reduce the levels. It is an excellent way to keep the numbers low and in check. It will lower the levels but will use more nitrates then phosphates so you will still end up with problematic levels of phosphate and no further reduction once the nitrates are under control.

Tanks do take a while to mature and the recent trend of cheaper dry rock has not made it any easier on the noobies. Don't be too hard on yourself about it. Look at it this way, when you are done, you will be 10 steps ahead and much more knowledgeable about water quality, nutrients, and what happens when you let conditions deteriorate over time.

Badfish_Reefer
01/13/2014, 02:59 PM
thanks for that advice tkeracer. The acid bath and bleach does seem like an extreme measure to me, I've been reading up on it and seems to work well but I am hesitant to completely nuke my rock that has been developing for the past 6-7 months. Glad to hear there are other options. I'd rather not have to do acid bath but that red slime has me going crazy and ready to take drastic measures.

Luckily, transferring to a 40 breeder allowed me to in essence do a 50% water change. I also picked up a Phosban reactor. Do you think that is a worthwhile investment?

I'll read up on the LC treatment in the meantime while I contemplate my next move...

tkeracer619
01/13/2014, 03:43 PM
Yup, the reactor was worth every penny.

Cyano will be easy to deal with after removing the phosphates. You might need to use some chemi clean to get it completely gone. I usually don't go the chemical treatment route but if you have resolved the source I think it is perfectly acceptable.

Badfish_Reefer
01/14/2014, 03:53 PM
Glad to hear the Phosban reactor was money well spent. I agree, pointless to add red slime remover until you get to the root of the problem. Otherwise it's just a bandaid, not a real fix...not to mention a waste of money.

Some good news. I successfully transferred my livestock from my 75 to my 40. Tank looks great. Got the water tested today and everything is in check for the most part. Going through a slight mini cycle but the good news is my phosphates are way down. Last week they tested at .45...today they were at .09!

Looks like my reef is on the way to recovery. After advice on here and at the LFS I've decided against the muriatic acid route for the rest of my rock that is leaching phosphate. It is too extreme and pointless for my purposes and situation.

tkeracer- I think I'll probably wind up doing your cooking method