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Tank Build! 180 Gallon Acro Tank

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by jeremy, Jan 9, 2017.

Page 3 of 6
  1. Feb 1, 2017 #41
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    That's not cooking....? Did you mean acid bath?
     
  2. Feb 1, 2017 #42
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Yup. My mistake. Acid bath. Now the rocks are soaking in rodi water for a couple days. Then it's cooking time.
     
  3. Feb 2, 2017 #43
    Dave Des Moines Area

    Dave Experienced Reefkeeper

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    I would recommend running your rock in a tub of saltwater after the acid bath to be sure the phosphates are down to 0 before adding to display and use lanthanum chloride on them if not. I love pukani but my experience has been they are chok full of phosphates! Love your build btw.
     
  4. Feb 2, 2017 #44
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Sounds good. I will order some LC today. I am soaking the rock in rodi for a couple days. I will switch it over to saltwater tomorrow night and start cooking.
    How long do you think I will need to cook it with lanthum chloride?
    I only have 1 skimmer to use but 2 tubs of rock. Think I can keep get by just adding the LC daily?
    @Dave@Dave
     
  5. Feb 2, 2017 #45
    Dave Des Moines Area

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    Probably only a week or 2. I just put it in a tub with a powerhead and dose it manually. Test every couple of days. Do a water change every week if need be. Be sure to rinse in clean saltwater before using in display to get rid of any LC particulate.
     
  6. Feb 2, 2017 #46
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Sounds good thanks.
     
  7. Feb 3, 2017 #47
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    @Dave@Dave where did you get your lanthum chloride?
    Anyone else use it? Where did you get it?
     
  8. Feb 3, 2017 #48
    Dave Des Moines Area

    Dave Experienced Reefkeeper

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  9. Feb 3, 2017 #49
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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  10. Feb 3, 2017 #50
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    I thought it was a lot longer than that, like 4-6 weeks? IIRC the purpose of cooking is not only to leech out the junk, but also to establish bacterial colonies (i.e. cycle), and since it's the bacteria that is doing the "cooking" work for you, these take time to establish (especially after wiping them out with the acid bath)

    There used to be an old article on here about the cooking process but I think it got lost in the mix with the conversion, I still have the old database but I'm also sure it's written up somewhere else better and easier to find. It involved taking all the rocks out 2-3 times/week and dunking them in a sequence of buckets to loosen all the gunk off that the bacteria have liberated from the rock, plus lots of water changes, etc
     
  11. Feb 3, 2017 #51
    Dave Des Moines Area

    Dave Experienced Reefkeeper

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    This is not cooking! The sole purpose is to eradicate phosphates. Cooking is a whole different purpose and usually takes months.
     
  12. Feb 3, 2017 #52
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Yes. Once I get the phosphates down in the barrels I will throw some live rock in with it and an ammonia source and see what happens. Last time I did that it was cycled in 2 weeks.
    I am just worried about the pukani leeching po4. I have a large skimmer and a L2 algae scrubber on the system it's going into. So hopefully no nuisance algae problem down the road.
     
  13. Feb 4, 2017 #53
    Dave Des Moines Area

    Dave Experienced Reefkeeper

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    "I am just worried about the pukani leeching po4"

    A very valid concern but between the acid batch and lanthanum chloride, I think you will be fine. I "cooked" pukani in the traditional way Bud referenced (see link below) for 6 months and the phosphates were still off the charts. Added lanthanum chloride as I described above and they were at 0 in < 3 weeks....It is now my "go to" method to get phosphates in line quickly.

    "Cooking"
    How to "cook" your rock. - The Reef Tank
     
  14. Feb 4, 2017 #54
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Sounds good. Thanks.
     
  15. Feb 11, 2017 #55
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    20170211_121301.jpg

    Qt sump done
     
  16. Feb 16, 2017 #56
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    20170216_142934.jpg

    The coral QT it up and running. Starting the cycle today.
    All I need to do is hang the light over it and cycle and it will be ready.
    Now I need to do aquascape for the 180 and build light rack and it will be ready for SPS.
     

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  17. Feb 16, 2017 #57
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    20170216_142922.jpg
     
  18. Feb 22, 2017 #58
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Qt Done. Lights up. Cycle started.

    20170222_175032.jpg
     
  19. Feb 22, 2017 #59
    jeremy Davenport, IA

    jeremy Acro Addict

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    Got all my sand. For the display. I have been treating the rock with lanthum chloride. Hope it's done next week.

    20170222_175146.jpg
     
  20. Feb 23, 2017 #60
    Actuary Adel, IA

    Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Very cool. I originally thought this was going to be a large frag tank. This is ginormous for a coral QT tank! How much coral are you going to be getting in at a time?!
     
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