+olaggie01 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 holy cow you bleached the rock!?! haha, thats one extreme treatment! I like the tank, can't wait to see what it looks like when it's set up Yeah, bleached it. I have always had PO4 problems with that rock so I figured i would start fresh. I'm going to bleach, then flush it with acid and then a couple of doses with lanthanum chloride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 His apstasia was massive. Would take a peppermint shrimp the size of a lobster to eat some of them! Or just a gallon of bleach. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 No doubt. How are your corals doing in that sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I've heard of people treating their rock in vinegar as well, although I'm sure that causes reef calcium-based rock to lose some overall mass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 No doubt. How are your corals doing in that sump? So far so good, although I need to keep moving on the project so that they don't have to sit in the sump for too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 I've heard of people treating their rock in vinegar as well, although I'm sure that causes reef calcium-based rock to lose some overall mass I was thinking about vinegar, since it is cheap and readily available. That or go with the potent stuff and try some muratic acid. I don't mind losing some of the overall mass as long as it releases alot of the PO4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 seaclear po4 reducer from a pool supply works great for removing leaching po4 from rocks. Put the rocks in a tub with ro water add some seaclear the po4 on the rocks will turn white over night shake the rocks off in the water add more seaclear till the rocks stop producing the white film. Rinse one rock and place in new RO water let it set over night and then check the po4 if you can live with the amount its good to go rinse and rock lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 and I hear it does not melt the rocks like muratic acid may Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 seaclear po4 reducer from a pool supply works great for removing leaching po4 from rocks. Put the rocks in a tub with ro water add some seaclear the po4 on the rocks will turn white over night shake the rocks off in the water add more seaclear till the rocks stop producing the white film. Rinse one rock and place in new RO water let it set over night and then check the po4 if you can live with the amount its good to go rinse and rock lol. Yup. That's the stuff that I've got. I'm going to drown that bleached rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Making progress. Got the plumbing glued and just waiting to figure out what to do about the light. My original plan was to run the light on a barn door rail so that I could move it forwards and backwards as needed. It wouldn't be much, but it would be nice to adjust it. The problem is that the cieling joists run parallel to the tank and the one that is located over the tank, is not centered in the room. In this picture, you can see the three windows above the old tank. The new tank will be in the same spot, but will be a pennisula style so I want the light (which is 4' long) to extend over the tank. The cieling joists are parallel instead of perpendicular. My thoughts would be to drill 2 holes in the cieling where I want the light to be, then get up in the cieling and lay some 2x4 across the parallel joists to cross the joists and connect to the 2 holes that I drilled in the cieling. This needs to be very strong and secure, since the fixture weights 55 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Really love the new tank. The dimensions are almost exactly what I am leaning towards if I decide to build a custom tank for the next set up. Looking forward to watching this progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Really love the new tank. The dimensions are almost exactly what I am leaning towards if I decide to build a custom tank for the next set up. Looking forward to watching this progress! Thanks Jason. It's a pretty cool tank. You'll have to stop over once it is up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Been a busy week. I started to repaint the stand with rustoleum because the red was coming off in spots and I don't want rust stains on my tile. I found a rug that I will put under the stand as well. I got a great suggestion from Rich (entropy) about how to hang the light. I went to HD and picked up a pair of ceiling fan hangers. These should hold the light perfectly as the ceiling joists run parallel to the tank instead of perpendicular like I originally wanted. I have an electrician coming out today to install another 15 amp circuit for the tank. With the new light fixture, I was a little afraid of putting everything on one circuit, so I'll run the lights off this single 15 amp circuit and the rest of the tank off the other circuit in the room. I have my rock bleached and now soaking in RO water. My plan is to flush it with LaCl a couple of times to get all the remaining PO4 out of the rock and then add it to the tank along with my biopellets and SW to get the bacteria population up and running. Look mom, no more aiptasia: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Got the lights unwrapped and the bulbs installed. The fixture is so sweet and comes apart pretty easy for bulb replacement. I will have to take it down though each time I want to change the bulbs though, since it is pretty heavy and I wouldn't want the fixture to sway or move. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to get a picture of the light over the tank. I ended up opening up my lumatek ballasts and adding some extra cable to the ballast and terminated it into an outlet that I will mount under the tank. This will allow me to put plugs on the fixture and disconnect the fixture from the ballasts later down the road. The lumatek ballasts are very nice on the inside. They are coated with a water proof resin and it is a mess to try and remove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Well that's one way to kill pests. I still haven't heard from laser people. Buying a new tank is great way to clean house. I really like the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 IT HAS ARRIVED: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Well that's one way to kill pests. I still haven't heard from laser people. Buying a new tank is great way to clean house. I really like the tank! Definitely a good way to clean house. The rock is super clean but I'll have to remove some aiptasia from the corals before I put them in the new tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Looking good! The ceiling hangers came out really nice. Should look great when it is done. You sure don't mess around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Looking good! The ceiling hangers came out really nice. Should look great when it is done. You sure don't mess around. Thanks Rich. I was off this week so I have been working on the tank 9-5. Next week i start a new job so I don't know how much time I will have to work on the tank. My thoughts are to get it up and running this weekend and start cycling the tank. Hopefully within 2 weeks I can move my fish/corals over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Got the light up and fired. It is nice and bright. The fixture is 7" off the top of the tank or about 9" off the water. I may raise it up a little, but it is such a hassle to do with only 1 person that I doubt I will until my wife gets home or I talk someone else into helping me. Bulb combo is nice, but I crossed a wire on my outlet so I couldn't get the 2nd MH to fire, but that will be fixed shortly. Not a groan from the ceiling while hanging it, unlike what came out of me. 55lbs is pretty heavy especially over 4' of length. I also moved the tank over slightly since my fixture was slightly askew to the right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Next up is to level the tank and fill it with tap water and vinegar to get the tank clean. Then I'll finish up the plumbing, minus the frag tank (waiting on the acrylic for the overflow). I have all the rocks in RO water but after I put them in the bucket, I realized that pill bugs (rolly polly's) really like dead LR. Guess I'll have to take the rock back out and spray it off before I rinse it in SW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 The tank is up on the stand along with the light. I have the materials to finish the build, but not the time. I started a job downtown and it has consumed my life the last few days. Hopefully I will get some time to finish up some small things this weekend and get it running. I have the rocks soaking in some SW along with my biopellets to hopefully add some diversity. I will probably need some cheato or something to get a little more life on these rocks. I may end up ordering a bottle of Dr. Tim's bacteria but I haven't decided if I want to go that route yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Looks great! What do you have going on downtown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 New job. Actually near the airport, so I can do the 130 tollway route, but that eats up a lot of new coral $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I live by the 130 toll and yes although it costs money it saves so much time and stress from being on 35. Gets you home much faster to your tank wife. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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