My Tank: The Plan: Base Rock: The Basics?

[Newman]

Hello guys, I have been reading over many threads on this forum and several others before i put water/rock in my new 110 gallon tank. This will be my first reef build ever! I am very excited to get it on its way, but im also an extremely patient man that likes to take things slow and get it right the first time. With that said: The plan is, after much debate to go bare bottom. I want to make my first tank simple, yet effective. I am going with a really basic sump, with no refuge at all, it will contain the heater, a Reef Octopus NWB 150 Classic Protein Skimmer, and the return pump, most likely a mag 7. I am doing a coast to coast full 59 inches of my tank (Inner DIA) over flow. I am doing beans over flow, which is probably going to be the most complex thing this tank will consist of. I will be siliconing some starboard to the base glass of my tank, This star board will be sized and purchased after i purchase my rock. The flow(bring on the powerheads!) will be produced by vortechs, im going to slam two vortech mp40's in this tank in hopes that it will get the job done. With that said, yes the goal is to have corals, sps and some lps mainly, with like three clowns, a kole tang, yellow tang ( i know i know these two guy might not work well together but my girlfriend loves these yellow beauts so i will give them a go), and some of those cute little blennies. I also want a sick little clean up crew that sticks to the job 85% of the time, the other 15% is their time to have some fun . My lighting, is from build my led, i made the spectrum after hours of research, it should keep my corals and other creatures happy.


I see my tanks as apart of my family, I invest so much time into them it is as if they are a second relationship( i know that sounds really odd lol)



Now that you know a little about my thoughts, and plans for my new tank which i gave to you so you know what i am after for i am new to this forum, i also want you to know as any reefer i am striving for stability.


I have one fear of going saltwater, and that is live rock lol. Not really a fear i just have heard many many horror stories that came from that one simple thing, a beautiful yet deadly live rock. The organisms that could possibly live on that rock, could be great, orrrr....not so great. It is a gamble, now when i am putting a lot of money into something that i truly do care about the gamble just doesnt seem worth it. I love surprises and i love the idea of a unique new friend just popping up to say hi, but when they start over taking my creation, eating my eye candy, and making me sad, then...its just not fun anymore.


With that said, there is a clear and obvious solution to put my mind at ease. That is starting a tank with just base rock. When i say this though, i mean JUST BASE ROCK. I dont want to seed, using live rock. Which is where my question comes into play. Will this work? Will this be okay? My thought process is, sure its going to take a lot longer for my rock to look gorgeous, and do the job it needs to do. It will set me back several months before i can put fish and corals into my system, but i am okay with that. My question is, if i dont seed with live rock, and gradually add crabs with some coralline algae on their shells, Will it spread slowly? I know that when i go to coral suppliers to check out there goods, their frags have a base to them, that has some pretty pink algae on it, wouldn't this spread eventually? Basically what im asking, is can i not seed my base rock with live rock, and still be successful? By successful i mean, will my base rocks some day look beautiful, with some pinks and reds like real live rock does, just pest free? Could it be real! lol.


Now, once i get some nice base rock, i have read that it needs to be still cooked or cured? or both. Im rather confused on that. I know that these base rocks, need to be stripped some how of the Phosphate that is within them at high rates. I really want to know an effective method of doing this in lets say brute trash cans or something. Not in my display just yet. If someone could please give me some insight on this that would be great! It could be as simple as a link to what you may think will work well. I have looked i have found some things, but im still rather confused on this subject.


Lastly, now that you have read my rambling self, could someone with experience let me know if my thought process of going about this whole salt water reef tank is on the right track or not so much.
I love me some constructive criticism.


Thank you all for taking the time to read this post.


Newman

 

[Squishie89]

I will try and address at least some of your questions. First off, congrats on your new reef tank and for going slowly! Patience is really important in this hobby. Second, no you do not need to use live rock to seed the tank. You can get bacteria in a bottle to do this. I would also suggest putting in a bottle or two of copepods to help get some microfauna in your tank. See if other reefera nearby can give you some of the cool micro fauna like limpets, stomatellas and brittle stars so you have an active system. Yes coraline will eventually spread. See if someone can give you some coraline shavings or rubble with it. You can dip the rubble to get any nasties off, feel free to scrub that sucker. Keep your calcium levels up and it will get there. I will come back later to help more.

 

[Nurse Payne]

Some people recommend cooking their rock with a mixture of muriatic acid (sp?) and water. The method looks extremely simple and they usually do it in a brute can, as you suggested.

That being said, I didn't know it was recommended to cook mine first, and so far, cross my fingers, I've not had any problems. In my newly set up tank I only had about a 2-5 day outbreak of diatoms (which is normal in a newly cycled tank). As soon as I turned on my skimmer, it had disappeared within 2 days. I worried since I ordered a clean up crew based on the algae outbreak. I thought it would last a while. I did use ro/Di water tho. Maybe that helped me in the long run? If you have the time, I don't see what that acid bath would hurt, and had I known, I would have done that just for preventative measures.

Otherwise, your plan sounds great. I used all dry rock and asked a reefer for a few cups of sand, some live rock rubble, and bought some chaeto from him. My tank has pods everywhere so it isn't hard to "seed" your rock.

Can't wait to see your progress. I will try to find that acid link for you.

 

[Nurse Payne]

Here is some info from another site. I am not sure on rules posting links to outside sources, so I copied and pasted and left off the actual link....

METHOD:

1. 1. • Clean the rock of excess algae and scrub it as clean as humanly possible. This will speed the process up a great deal and make the process easier to watch. The cleaner the rock to begin with the less murky the water will get.

1. 1. • Put the rock in a plastic container like a bucket or a large tote. The container has to be large enough to fit the rocks so they are completely submerged. Keep in mind you will need to be able to dispose of the acid so do not use something that you won’t be able to move easily.

1. 1. • Fill the container with water and measure the volume as you go so you know exactly how much water you have. This will be used later on to calculate how much muriatic acid to pour in.

1. 1. • Do the math: The equation is fairly simple.C1 x V1 = C2 x V2, where
        C1 = concentration (%) of the first solution
        V1 = volume (L or oz) of the first solution
        C2 = concentration (%) of the second solution
        V2 = volume (L or oz) of the second solution
      • Add the Acid. 3% is the target percentage. Make sure to check the acid’s % on the package to make the correct ratio. Too much is going to be overkill and not enough may not work. The acid should bubble when it is added to the water and when it is no longer boiling the acid is completely done dissolving the rock’s outer layer.

1. 1. • Drain the acid bath into containers that can be safely disposed of. Muriatic acid makes terrible lawn food unless you like the dead look. Take the acid to a pool supply store to take the responsibility off your hands. They are professionals.

1. 1. • Rinse the rock in new water as much as possible to get any excess acid and debris left behind. Keep your gloves on just in case.

1. 1. • Soak the rocks in new water. The longer the better. Change the water a few times to ensure that all the acid is diluted out.

1. 1. • Dry the rock. Set them out of aim of bird droppings and bugs that could potentially contaminate them if they die inside one.

1. 1. • Once the rock is dry you can start your reef tank from ground zero. Bigger, better, and cleaner than before!

The Acid bath takes certain precautions but is fairly simple. The hardest part is actually convincing yourself to go through with such a drastic measure in the first place! With help and the right tools you can easily bathe your rocks like a pro. No more dealing with problems found in old or dying rocks!


Now, to make that easier to understand, you would use 9 gallons of water to 1 gallon of acid Hope that helps some. You should take pics of the process and document so you can make a thread to help people.

 

[Squishie89]

Seems the rock curing is covered.
I did want to mention that since you are doing such a great job thinking ahead and being careful to also set up a quarantine tank, not only for fish but for corals (separate tanks and filtration).

 

[Newman]

Thank you for the replies thus far, i will have to find someone that is willing to give me some friendly little critters that will help spice up my base rock then. Thank you very much Nurse Payne for taking the time to post that method, sounds very effective. I have been taking photos throughout my process this far to eventually share with everyone in hopes to help new members such as myself. I have a 40 gallon breeder aquarium that i had planned to use for my quarantine tank, now for that i really am trying to go basic, with some really cheap powerheads. Do you run a sump on your quarantine aquarium? Also is a skimmer needed for a quarantine? I was thinking of maybe just getting a hang on the back skimmer for the 40 gallon. Also, when quarantining corals, should your quarantine tank have identical lighting as your DT will have? Or lets say i run T5s on the quarantine aquarium, but my DT has LEDS, will this kinda throw things off? I will have several months with the display tank pretty much empty just doing its thing, so during that time before i get any livestock i will be setting up the 40 gallon.

Thanks again guys!

Newman

 

[Nurse Payne]

Most people don't run a sump on their QT tanks. It's more of a simple setup for qt. Now, If you just want to, go for it the more dilution, less pollution.

A skimmer for your coral qt is a great idea. I would go for a HOB unless you do attach a sump. You could always convert it to a frag tank later on.

If you can, it would be great to have the same lighting, but it's not a requirement. If it's not the same, you'll have to acclimate your corals to your DT when you move them over. Most people have to do this anyways.

I think we all love build threads. I get tons of ideas for my own tank. Can't wait to see yours.

 

[Squishie89]

For fish quarantine you do not need a sump or skimmer, but never hurt! For coral quarantine I completely agree with what Nurse Payne said.

 

[WhoKnew]

I was worried to hear that someone would boil their rock! I beg you not to do that in your house, especially if it is closed up. There is a lot of unwanted bacteria and can be harmful to breathe in. For example is neurotoxins. Can make everyone sick, including animals. YICKS

 

[Nurse Payne]

You don't actually boil it on the stove. The reaction makes the water look like it's boiling. You always do this outside. Never inside and stay upwind from the fumes.