getting new base rock

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

stevefromga2000

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
253
Location
Misawa Japan
when i get some new base rock, what exactly do i need to do before i put it into my tank? is there any kind of cycle that it needs to go through before hand? would be okay to just let it soak for a couple days in saltwater and a powerhead and temp, basically just to double check for any problems? is that right?
 
What kind of base rock is it? (dried lr, lava, tuffa, ect..) Was it harvested from the ocean or from land? A photo would help also if possible.

Since you have stock in the tank already then I would put it in SW with a PH for a couple of days and test for any trace of nh3/no2/no3 just to be safe before adding to the main. Most base rock has no life what so ever but personally I don't like to take the chance of anything leaching or dieing off that might contaminate the tank.
 
okay, that's what me and roka had already talked about, and i just wanted to double check with everybody else. thanks everybody, i will get pics out when i recieve the rock.
 
Where did you get the rock? It's great that you get a lot of input, my advice my not always be correct, or may differ from other's. Can't wait for the pics! I'm ordering my base tomorrow, I have to wait until the direct deposit hits! LOL!!
 
actually marc, at marcorocks.com, had some rock set aside that he had planned for a tank of his own. as i continued to talk to him about when he was getting his new shipment, i brought up that i was military stationed in japan right now. he got with a few of his friends, and they decided to send me his own personal rock as a gift of appreciation for me serving for our country. i am incredibly grateful that he and his friends are so appreciative of what we in the military do. it always feels good to know that there are people that thank us every day. they just decided to go the extra mile and send me (as marc put it) a christmas "reef" as a token of appreciation.
 
That's AWESOME! I can't wait to get my rock....lol, my tank looks funny with just sand and rotting shrimp.
 
i bet it does look pretty funny. what else that's awesome is that marc is sending me some extra goodies like some different foods for the fish, and also 2 powerheads. so when i do get everything, i will be able to set up a tub next to an outlet, put the powerheads in there, and start pre-mixing my saltwater. i can just cover up the tub, and periodically check on the salinity. that would work, right? anyways, i can get the tub, then i can put the rock and the powerheads into the water for a few days and be set.
 
That`s a good story. I think you deserve it. Thanks for your service in the military. Cant wait to see the pics of your tank.
 
i can't wait to get it all set up. and then when i get tax money back, i am going to get some new lights. i will really be taking some photos then.


here is the link with the whole story just in case you guys were interested in reading about what happened.

http://bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36559

that is the link to the second part, but within that link, there is another one for the original part of the conversation.
 
That's pretty cool!
stevefromga2000 said:
so when i do get everything, i will be able to set up a tub next to an outlet, put the powerheads in there, and start pre-mixing my saltwater. i can just cover up the tub, and periodically check on the salinity. that would work, right? anyways, i can get the tub, then i can put the rock and the powerheads into the water for a few days and be set.
Are you talking about curing the base rock, in the tub? If so, you have a great idea. If you are talking premixing water for your tank, I would leave the top open, to promote proper gas exchange.
 
kind of both. i wanted to leave the base rock in there for a little while extra. but i'm not 100% sure yet. and i will leave the tub open for sure. i didn't think about the gas exchange. i was more worried about evaporation. will i need lights over the rock while it's sitting?
 
I don't believe you need lights for that, just a ph, heater. Evaporation can be taken care of with FW, as long as you top off with the same amount, I wouldn't worry about a huge salinity swing or either a small amount (especially in the case of curing the base rock). While I premix my water, I just have a line that is formed from the trace elements of my well water. Once I get my salinity right, I just fill up to the line.
 
Remember, the water will evaporate from both your tank and bucket, the salt will remain. You will want to top off both with FW.
 
ooohhhh, now i get it. that makes sense. and when you do a water change, you are actually removing some of the salt and that's why you need to replace it. i got it now, thanks.
 
Well, when you do a PWC, you are going to want to replace the same amount of SW and the same salinity as you take out. Between PWCs, your water will evaporate, not the salt, so the salinity will rise, that is why you use FW for top offs. I hope that explains it better.
 
Back
Top Bottom