How much LR with Dead Coral?

[RichT]

Dr. Mac,
I am new to the hobby and am currently setting up a 150g reef tank. Robert Castagna of New Jersey Reef Club, of which I am a new member, suggested I get in contact with you. I read practically your whole site and found it very informative. Being new to the hobby and wanting to do things right, I have done a extended amount of reading lately, your information was very clear and understandable. Anyway, I have access to quite a bit of long dead large corals that I was considering using as base rock for my tank to help ease the budget a little. My question is, what should my ratio of LR to coral skeleton be? Or should I not use the skeletons at all? It has been suggested, on the chemistry form, that I give the skeletons a quick acid bath (vinegar) then place them in a circulation tub for a week or so to get rid of any undesirable residue (if any). I will be in contact with the original owner of the skeletons soon and I will be able to get more information on the corals history. Any suggested questions for the original owner to help identify potential problems will be greatly appreciated. I do know they came from a fish tank, that's about all I know at this point.

I also would like your opinion on what rock would be best to seed the skeletons. And since my tank is a new set up, would not uncured or semi cured rock be best for cycling my tank?

Next weekend (Jan 8th) while my wife is at the Rehobeth Outlets, I'm going to shoot over an get a in person look at the live stock and hopefully, if your not to busy, get a chance to meet you.

You can see my current progress at:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=489833
and
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=493192

Your input in these threads would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and I look forward to hopefully meeting you.

[Dr. Mac]

I did not get a chance to read the entire threads that you linked, more than happy to dicuss any issues with you when you come out, we will be open Saturday from 11-5. On the rock, the best one is Tonga rock and I would think you would want maybe 1/3 skeletons and the rest Live Rock. If the skeletons were of live corals recently then you might need to do some cleaning, but if they have been dead for quite a while then I don't think you would need to do anything beyond a simple water rinse. Look forward to seeing you next week.

[RichT]

Dr. Mac,
Thank you for your quick responce.
See you next week.

[RichT]

I was able to contact the original owner of the skeletons. Turns out they have always been dead and were used in a FO aggressive tank for about 6 years. He also stated there were no cooper based treatments either.

As I would like the more open reef scene, I am going to use 1.5 lb of rock per gallon of water in the display tank. That would be 150 lbs of rock and 75 lbs of skeletons. Is this correct? and would that be enough rock to efficiently cycle the tank? My sump will hold an operational volume of 38g +/- including a 20g sump (20x14x15deep). Which refugiam package would you recommend? I understand that I should not add the live sand until after the tank cycles and I am assuming this holds true for live part of the fuge package as well. Will I need to purchase the fuge package in too parts or is the rubble fully cured and ready for the sump after the tank cycles? Also, I am going to put together a DIY denitrafication chamber. Should I have the chamber hooked up during the cycling process or should I wait until after? I was thinking the cycling process would be the opportune time to begin the establishment of the bacteria in the chamber.

Again, thanks for all your help and I'll see you next weekend!

[Dr. Mac]

I think that would be plenty of rock to seed and cycle the dead skeletons. On the refugium kits, either the small one or the middle sized one should work well and you can add all of the items at the same time and it would be best to add them a few weeks after adding the rock initially. Not sure about your DIY chamber, I would think you want it running from the start.