I've Been Thinking!(NEVER A GOOD THING)

[b125killer]

I've been thinking of acid washing the rock. There's a lot of dead stuff on there. Also the pest that caused the guy to tear down his tank could still be alive on the rock. It's majano, I have been reading that it can survive months on dry rock. People have bleached there rock and still had it. It will completely rid the rock of any life forms and old coralline algae that's still built up on the rock. I'm not sure i want to take such an extreme step. Acid is some nasty stuff. Not to sure I want to be playing around with it. But if I have to tear the tank down to drill it, now would be the time to do it.

[wsantia1]

I've been thinking of acid washing the rock. There's a lot of dead stuff on there. Also the pest that caused the guy to tear down his tank could still be alive on the rock. It's majano, I have been reading that it can survive months on dry rock. People have bleached there rock and still had it. It will completely rid the rock of any life forms and old coralline algae that's still built up on the rock. I'm not sure i want to take such an extreme step. Acid is some nasty stuff. Not to sure I want to be playing around with it. But if I have to tear the tank down to drill it, now would be the time to do it.

That Majano sounds like some pretty bad stuff.; It will kill everything on that rock and then go after the corals.

[b125killer]

Yep and I'm afraid that just drying out the rock isn't going to be enough. I definitely don't want to get things going good only to have to tear it down for a third time. Also I was told that the rock could leach phosphates for a long time if it's not acid washed. Phosphates are bad in many ways and if I can reduce it by the acid washing then it's a little bonus. I would also hate to fight high phosphate too.

[Mugwump]

Yep and I'm afraid that just drying out the rock isn't going to be enough. I definitely don't want to get things going good only to have to tear it down for a third time. Also I was told that the rock could leach phosphates for a long time if it's not acid washed. Phosphates are bad in many ways and if I can reduce it by the acid washing then it's a little bonus. I would also hate to fight high phosphate too.

vodka for phosphates   

[b125killer]

But if it leaches phosphate constantly vodka isn't going to solve the problem. And I would feel funny getting drunk with the tank.

[Mugwump]

But if it leaches phosphate constantly vodka isn't going to solve the problem. And I would feel funny getting drunk with the tank.

I have a buddy who doses with an eye dropper......it doesn't take much....

[Mugwump]

But if it leaches phosphate constantly vodka isn't going to solve the problem. And I would feel funny getting drunk with the tank.

I have a buddy who doses with an eye dropper......it doesn't take much....

http://saltwater-conversion.com/pages/carbon-dosing

[b125killer]

I'm sure I want to acid wash the rock. I think this is majano. And it's already growing in the tank! The ammonia in there is off the chart. The chart only goes up to 6.0 ppm. You would think with ammonia that high nothing would survive.  I've already dried the rock and it didn't work. I was also told that the majano could survive that.
Next step now is to bleach the rock then dechlorinate it and dry it once again. Then use muriatic acid and let the rock sit in that for now more then two hours.  I need to be careful not to get any bleach in with the acid. That will make a bad task worse. If all goes well I should have a bunch of nice white base rock to start from. Then I can properly cycle this tank.
On a side note. After going through all this trouble of stripping the rock I'm pretty sure I'm not putting live rock from a lfs in the tank. Going to such extremes to rid the rock of pest I would hate to introduce new pest right off the bat. After this I'll stick with dry rock and "clean" it. Then cycle it in a q.t. tank.
This has been such a weird adventure. So many problems already and I haven't even got a fish or coral yet. I'm still doing this, I've got this far. The things I'm doing now should help immensely once I get this rock cycled.  I'm just trying to stop or reduce problems that I know could happen with bad/dirt rock.

[Mugwump]

I'm sure I want to acid wash the rock. I think this is majano. And it's already growing in the tank! The ammonia in there is off the chart. The chart only goes up to 6.0 ppm. You would think with ammonia that high nothing would survive.  I've already dried the rock and it didn't work. I was also told that the majano could survive that.
Next step now is to bleach the rock then dechlorinate it and dry it once again. Then use muriatic acid and let the rock sit in that for now more then two hours.  I need to be careful not to get any bleach in with the acid. That will make a bad task worse. If all goes well I should have a bunch of nice white base rock to start from. Then I can properly cycle this tank.
On a side note. After going through all this trouble of stripping the rock I'm pretty sure I'm not putting live rock from a lfs in the tank. Going to such extremes to rid the rock of pest I would hate to introduce new pest right off the bat. After this I'll stick with dry rock and "clean" it. Then cycle it in a q.t. tank.
This has been such a weird adventure. So many problems already and I haven't even got a fish or coral yet. I'm still doing this, I've got this far. The things I'm doing now should help immensely once I get this rock cycled.  I'm just trying to stop or reduce problems that I know could happen with bad/dirt rock.

Be careful....if memory serves me right......bleach mixed with muriatic acid releases chlorine gas....and is extremely dangerous.....extremely....

[b125killer]

That it does, This project will be done outside. I also have a respirator and protective clothing. I have seen what is capable with mixing bleach and muriatic acid. It was one of the main reasons I didn't want to do it.
This is a EXTREME project. A lot of reefers don't recommend doing it.

[Mugwump]

ooh ooh....'Back to the Future' 'Doc' clothes..... .....film it..

[b125killer]

I'm not sure about filming it, I'm  the only one doing it. I'll have enough on my mind without worrying about filming. 
I guess I'm going to clean the patio while I'm at it. That will make Michelle happy. I might have painted and stained a few stand on it. she was a little upset over that. Finally something that will help clean up some of my projects. Lol

[b125killer]

After this is finished and the tank is drilled i can set up the hole thing, sand and all. It shouldn't take that long to cycle. I'm going to get some live rock from Dan. I think i can trust his rock is clean. He knows a lot more about salts then me. It's nice to have him to fall back on, he will stand back and let me make my own mistakes. Like the overflow, he knew exactly what was going to happen. If it's going to be a costly mistake he'll give me his two cents on the matter. Most of the pvc from the failed overflow will be used with the new one.

[big b]

Can you do that vodka dose thing for freshwater aquariums too?

[Mugwump]

Can you do that vodka dose thing for freshwater aquariums too?

I don't believe so.....you can only use certain vodka's (ethanol) that are 80 proof distilled....vodka is the purest of boozes...

"The addition of vodka/ethanol is thought to increase bacterial biomass. For this, vodka addition would result in bacterial growth and reproduction. During this process nutrients in the water (including NO3 and PO4) are taken up for the formation of new macromolecules that are needed in cell synthesis and viability. Due to this rapid growth and reproduction, NO3 and PO4 can drop quickly from detectable levels by most test kits on the market. The increased biomass of the bacteria leads to a notable increase in skimmate production, removing more waste than without vodka addition. The increased skimmate is thought to remove the bacteria or bacterial biproducts that have assimilated the NO3 and PO4 within the water column leading to NO3 and PO4 depletion."


a dosing chart..