And yeah, I'm ready for the phosphate leaching. Never used the Pukani before but was aware of the issue before the purchase. I just seriously wanted to start from a totally inert state with regards to the rock. Never done a startup this way, always used fresh live rock which I usually hand picked from the Los Angeles distribution center on the day it arrived in the states. Unfortunately, while adding to the overall bio-diversity of the tank, it came with pests that eventually made the systems very troublesome. Getting older and seriously don't want to go through pest removal every weekend, so I thought I'd try it out.
Probably just as likely is a sterile tank with no phosphates or nitrates and a big fat dino bloom. It happened to me and many others. I love my pukani but if I had this tank to do over again, I wouldn't assume high phosphates from the pukani leaching; I would start testing for nitrates and phosphates a few weeks after the tank cycled.