Curing dry rock - process review

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

Hey folks. I am getting ready to acid bath/cure my dry rocks for my new 40 breeder setup and wanted to run the process by you guys to make sure I have all bases covered. I also have some questions on the process that some of you who have already been through this might be able to answer:

The dry rock I am working with is 50 lbs of BRS Reef Saver rock.

Step 1: Muriatic acid bath
Put the dry rocks in the brute trash can, fill with water, THEN add the acid. I am using a 10:1 water:acid ratio. Let them soak in the mixture for 1 hour (or should I do less?). Once complete, take the rocks out and hose them down.
Questions on this step:
1. Can I use regular tap water for the bath or do I need to use RODI?
2. Once the process is complete, is the solution still caustic? How do you go about fishing the rock out of the can without tipping it over (and shattering them into pieces)?

Step 2: Let the rock dry in the sun for 3-4 days (do I need to do this since I will be doing step 3 below)?

Step 3: Lanthanum chloride treatment:
Clean out the Brute can, put the rock back in, fill with RODI water, and add 1/2 fl oz. of LC daily, running a PH in the can. Continue adding LC until phosphate in near undetectable.
Questions on this step:
1. I assume I need to use RODI and not tap water correct?
2. Do I just test the water from the trash can daily? Silly questions I know but I just wanted to make sure. Hanna ULR meter ok I imagine?
3. I've read that you should rinse the rock after this step to get rid of any sediment built up on the rock. Is this correct? If so, I imagine it needs to be in RODI water?

Step 4: Let the rock dry in the sun for 3-4 days

Step 5: Establish a biofilter
Put the rock back in the clean Brute with SW. Add Dr. Tims, run PHs in there and keep the can in a dark place for ~3 weeks.
Questions on this step:
1. Should I be testing for anything in this step?
2. Will it need the full three weeks or can I cut that short, and instead, cycle to rocks in the actual tank?

Sorry about all these questions. I have read up on tons of information on these topics but with this being my first time working with dry rock, I wanted to make sure I did things right, especially since chemicals are involved. Also, I'd rather be patient and do the hard/dirty work now than to cut corners and have to deal with nuisance algae in the tank down the road.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Cheers,
Yash

cee · Mar 26, 2016

Hey folks. I am getting ready to acid bath/cure my dry rocks for my new 40 breeder setup and wanted to run the process by you guys to make sure I have all bases covered. I also have some questions on the process that some of you who have already been through this might be able to answer:

The dry rock I am working with is 50 lbs of BRS Reef Saver rock.

Step 1: Muriatic acid bath
Put the dry rocks in the brute trash can, fill with water, THEN add the acid. I am using a 10:1 water:acid ratio. Let them soak in the mixture for 1 hour (or should I do less?). Once complete, take the rocks out and hose them down.
Questions on this step:
1. Can I use regular tap water for the bath or do I need to use RODI? TAP IS FINE FOR THIS STEP.
2. Once the process is complete, is the solution still caustic? How do you go about fishing the rock out of the can without tipping it over (and shattering them into pieces)? SHOULD BE PRETTY NEUTRAL AFTER DISSOLVING OFF A LAYER OF CALCIUM CARBONATE

Step 2: Let the rock dry in the sun for 3-4 days (do I need to do this since I will be doing step 3 below)? DON"T BOTHER WITH THIS STEP

Step 3: Lanthanum chloride treatment:
Clean out the Brute can, put the rock back in, fill with RODI water, and add 1/2 fl oz. of LC daily, running a PH in the can. Continue adding LC until phosphate in near undetectable.
Questions on this step:
1. I assume I need to use RODI and not tap water correct? RO IS FINE BUT TAP IS PROBABLY ACCEPTABLE
2. Do I just test the water from the trash can daily? Silly questions I know but I just wanted to make sure. Hanna ULR meter ok I imagine? I DIDN'T TEST, JUST DRAINED WATER AND PRECIPITATE, ADDING MORE LaCl UNTIL NO MORE PRECIP. DONE...
3. I've read that you should rinse the rock after this step to get rid of any sediment built up on the rock. Is this correct? If so, I imagine it needs to be in RODI water? I RINSED TO REMOVE ANY PRECIPITATE

Step 4: Let the rock dry in the sun for 3-4 days

Step 5: Establish a biofilter
Put the rock back in the clean Brute with SW. Add Dr. Tims, run PHs in there and keep the can in a dark place for ~3 weeks. MINE WENT INTO THE TANK AFTER A 1 WEEK SOAK IN RODI, NOTHING ELSE. DON'T OVER THINK THIS, KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Questions on this step:
1. Should I be testing for anything in this step?
2. Will it need the full three weeks or can I cut that short, and instead, cycle to rocks in the actual tank?

Sorry about all these questions. I have read up on tons of information on these topics but with this being my first time working with dry rock, I wanted to make sure I did things right, especially since chemicals are involved. Also, I'd rather be patient and do the hard/dirty work now than to cut corners and have to deal with nuisance algae in the tank down the road.

Thank you in advance for your help!

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

@cee - thanks, Dave! You pretty much answered all my questions. Just a couple more things:

1. For Step 3 - would using tap water instead of RODI affect the process negatively in terms of adding phosphates back into the water column? Thereby constantly producing a precipitate? The reason I ask this is that I'll be looking at lots and lots of RODI if I have to change out ~20 gallons daily. On that note, how much water do you think I'll need for these treatments for each step? Is maybe a few gallons more than what it would take to cover all the rock sufficient or is there a certain quantity I need to be using?

2. Any idea where I can get Lanthanum Chloride? I tried all the big box hardware stores and nobody seems to carry it. I have seen it on some aquarium supply websites but surely this is available locally? I guess I'll try specialty pool places next.

Many thanks again! You've been a great help!

cee · Mar 26, 2016

I think the phosphates in the water are rather low compared to the phosphates dissolved in the rock. I got mine at HD, forgot the product name but I'm sure they still carry it as it is used in pool maintenance.

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

cee said:
I think the phosphates in the water are rather low compared to the phosphates dissolved in the rock. I got mine at HD, forgot the product name but I'm sure they still carry it as it is used in pool maintenance.

Thank you! I might use RODI for the last bath once I've seen the phosphates pretty much cleared. Will save me having to get gallons upon gallons of RODI.

Regarding the LC, I checked the entire rack of pool cleaning chemicals and could not find it anywhere. Even checked the HD app and website and got no hits. An associate hasn't heard of it either. Strange! Most online sources has the product name listed as SeaKlear. I might make another trip there and ask another associate. If not might go to a pool place. Maybe Campbell's might have the product? Last resort I'll just order it online.

cee · Mar 26, 2016

I'm going there tomorrow. If I see it I'll get the details. I was able to get it Jan a year ago so suspect it is still there.

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

cee said:
I'm going there tomorrow. If I see it I'll get the details. I was able to get it Jan a year ago so suspect it is still there.

That would be awesome, Dave! If you can post the brand name and which section you saw it in (if you find it) I would appreciate it! Thank you for doing this!

jonneyb · Mar 26, 2016

BlueDevil said:
That would be awesome, Dave! If you can post the brand name and which section you saw it in (if you find it) I would appreciate it! Thank you for doing this!

I got some just a couple months ago at HD called phosphate remover made by pool time. It was in the pool section outside.

cale0721 · Mar 26, 2016

Great post Yash and Dave - I have some rock I need to do this with too.

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

jonneyb said:
I got some just a couple months ago at HD called phosphate remover made by pool time. It was in the pool section outside.

Thank you! I'm just a mile away from HD so I'll head there in the morning and see if I can spot that product.

BlueDevil · Mar 26, 2016

Well looky here! It's in the garden section. Who would've thought that?! I'll head there tomorrow and pick it up. Thank you, @jonneyb!

BlueDevil · Mar 27, 2016

@cee - I found the LC at HD. It was covered up by some other boxes which is why I couldn't find it yesterday.

moreef · Mar 27, 2016

Dumb question..... I have some rock in a brute 20g can with rodi,heater, and powerhead. I added some liquid ammonia to start the cycle but do I need to add salt? I plan a tank transfer down the road and want this to add along with current tanks rock.

BlueDevil · Mar 27, 2016

1eberk said:
Dumb question..... I have some rock in a brute 20g can with rodi,heater, and powerhead. I added some liquid ammonia to start the cycle but do I need to add salt? I plan a tank transfer down the road and want this to add along with current tanks rock.

I'm 99% sure the rock needs to be cycled in SW. You can even throw in a cube of mysis shrimp in there and let it decompose to create the ammonia source.
If you do use ammonia make sure it's pure and doesn't have any additives. I prefer to use mysis or even a raw shrimp from the grocery store to generate the bacteria.

Edit: see Dave's post above. I guess RODI works for this step as well.

Mark75 · Mar 27, 2016

Yes,..you must cycle in saltwater. You are looking to cultivate a strain of bacteria that thrives in saltwater not fresh water.

moreef · Mar 27, 2016

Thanks guys I have some salt left and will put some in just to be safe. Happy Easter

cee · Mar 27, 2016

That's the stuff, glad you found it. It is usually outside and covered in dust LOL. SW bacteria is different from FW bacteria as Mark75 points out so be sure to use SW. It doesn't need to be "full strength"; a lower S.G. will do as I learned from my trip to the Everglades. Fascinating place and worth the visit to see the different biomes IMO. I did not appreciate what all was involved in the transition from FW to SW in southern FL and was really fascinated with the whole place.