wayneb Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) Have set up my 50gal container to cure live rock with heater, pump, and saltwater. All parameters look good. Have nuked my holy rocks in vinegar/water solution and am ready to add to container tomorrow. Need to know what is the best lighting K factor to use. Using an old fresh water lighting fixture with the screw in bulbs that need to be replaced before adding the live rock. Hope to pick up live rock Sat or Sun. Thanks, wayneb Also trying to change my avator - first post did not have it. Edited January 26, 2010 by wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Keep the lighting to a minimum, otherwise you might get an algae outbreak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Agree with pbnj that generally you want to keep light low. This may be somewhat mitigated by what life you see on your rock. A couple of things I missed curing my first live rock: Water changes are good. Keeping up with water changes maximizes the amount and variety of life on your rocks. If possible run a protein skimmer Keep circulation around the rock, stacking the rock as loosely as possible will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 you can use holy rock?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 It's a lot heavier and not very porous, but it works. Most people mix the holey rocks in with some real live rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 you can use holy rock?!?!? Pure limestone is OK for base rock. It is not as good as live rock or even dry rock from a reef. It is not porous enough to substantially help with biological filtration. +1 on water changes and minimal lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 hmm.... I have a neighbor that use to deal holy rock and has TONS of it in her back yard.. I should find some of the holiest rocks I can find.. like little holes.. teeny tiny holes. I've also pulled some "live rock" looking rock out of lake Travis while diving. I'm sure it can be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Just be aware of the possibility of pesticides from rock out of someone's yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 As pbnj indicated most reefers use a mix of 'base rock' and live rock. I'll be starting to aquascape my 180 in the next week and will be using base rock extensively for the first layer of rock where it will be mostly covered by my deep sandbed. A mix is recommended at a minimum. The benefits of using live rock are well documented both as providing biological filtration as well as introducing a variety of life to your aquarium. I can say I often find the things I didn't diliberatly add to the system are much more interesting than the things I have added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 As pbnj indicated most reefers use a mix of 'base rock' and live rock. I'll be starting to aquascape my 180 in the next week and will be using base rock extensively for the first layer of rock where it will be mostly covered by my deep sandbed. A mix is recommended at a minimum. The benefits of using live rock are well documented both as providing biological filtration as well as introducing a variety of life to your aquarium. I can say I often find the things I didn't diliberatly add to the system are much more interesting than the things I have added. I'm not planning on using only live rock.. but now I know I don't have to go spending thousands of dollars for live rock to get my tank up and going. I do have a 3 inch sand bed already. As far as pesticides.. she digs the stuff up from ranch land she has access to, and I know she doesn't fertilize.. Besides I have had 5 pieces in my tank from her for the past 6 months, I'm not too worried about pesticides. Thanks for looking out though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 From my experience - nuke the holy rock first with a vinegar/water solution. Use a toothbrush to scrub it to make sure all algae spores, etc. are gone. The one I used in my first setup was removed from a freshwater set-up about 5/6 years ago and sat in a box in the garage. wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Not to take us on a different subject but for a sandbed 3" is generally considered to be a depth to be avoided. Typically for a shallow sandbed you want 2" or less and deep sandbeds start at 4" or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Not to take us on a different subject but for a sandbed 3" is generally considered to be a depth to be avoided. Typically for a shallow sandbed you want 2" or less and deep sandbeds start at 4" or more. hmm wonder why? I say 3" sand bed, but I would have to measure to be exact. I know I have roughly 120lbs of sand in a space of 18"x72". That is outside diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Sounds closer to 2" There are a lot of writeups on deep sandbeds (DSB) which cover the benefits and risks. Commonly mentioned is not having the depth for denitrification to occur but too deep for effective stirring to keep dead areas from forming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 hmm.... I have a neighbor that use to deal holy rock and has TONS of it in her back yard.. I should find some of the holiest rocks I can find.. like little holes.. teeny tiny holes. I've also pulled some "live rock" looking rock out of lake Travis while diving. I'm sure it can be used. Think you can talk her into selling a couple good size holy rock pieces at a decent price? I would like some more as base rock to build on. thanks, wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I'd be careful with limestone "holy" rocks as you'll never know the mineral make up for sure. There are some things that can be detrimental to a reef tank that can be in there. Could you get away with it? Maybe. I save my gambling for Vegas not my tank. Just my 2 cents. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 Good point, and one I thought about. It is one of the reasons for curing it first, so that I can check it out somewhat. Realize that there still might be problems down the road. Have also thought about making a sacrifice to the water quality gods by first introducing a coral or critter susceptible to water conditions. Might sound cold, but after going thru one crash and loss of critters coupled with disposing of the live sand and rubble that I could no longer rely on, economically worth it. wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Think you can talk her into selling a couple good size holy rock pieces at a decent price? I would like some more as base rock to build on. thanks, wayneb sure if you still want some.. LMK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 Yes, but will have to wait until middle of Feb. before I can drive up there (cataract surgeries) to get it. From your description of her yard, don't think it will disappear. Appreciate if you will give her a heads up for me and my thanks. wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Have the 50g tub up and running to cure the rocks and holy rocks. Never got a definite answer on the lighting requirements except "not too long" so went to Petco and picked up a couple of 6 inch bulbs - 1 being a 15 watt clear bulb and the other a Coralife 10 watt 50/50 fluorescent. Turn them on at 1400 and off about 1800. Seems to be working okay as so far no algae bloom on the holy rock. Due to the cold weather, did have to add another heater. Want to monitor it another two weeks or so before adding more live rock etc. Have been doing the water changing every 3/4 days. My newbie question of the day is: Can I add mangroves and chaeto plus CUCs to make it a fuge type configuration/holding area until I can actually transfer them to the sump/fuge once it is set-up?: If so should I increase the lighting period and/or do I need to add more lighting? thanks, wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 When I was storing my rock until the tank was ready I ran the lights 8 hrs a day. Some rock had mushroom on it. When moving the rock to the tank we discovered snails on the rock and at the bottom of the containers. So I would say yes only because this was what I experienced. Not sure about the mangroves. If you don't have a power head in the container(s) I would recommend using one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Yes to using plants to remove nutriants. No experience with mangroves. A DSB of crushed coral relys on bacteria to remove nitrates. Plants remove nitrate, phosphate and iron as well as heavy metals. Caulerpas have the highest ratio of removing phosphates, but not every Caulerpa is the same. The list that I looked at was an education web site of the University of Hawaii. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Wayne, if you want a definite answer, then go get a PAR meter and take some measurements. With the measurements, you can go to a technical site that discusses numbers. In the final analysys, the answer is the same. Make changes and observe results. When you push more light, be ready for the nusaince micro algae. Get you some snails and janitors before the big algae bloom. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Okay, thanks for the answers. I'm going to go ahead and try to add mangroves and chaeto and of course cucs, but will wait until our Reef Cleaners group order goes out around the 19th. This will give me two more weeks to increase the lighting time, see about fixing up another light fixture with more 6500K bulbs as recommended, and adding an eggcrate rack to support the mangroves. Don't know if I'll increase from a 200g powerhead as it seems to be doing a good job of agitating the water. One thing I did do when I originally set it up was put a top on the tub consisting of a 1/8" 2'x4' light difussing panel used for overhead fluorescent fixtures. The panel was flexible enough that I could bow it inward to allow any water splashed up or condensation to drip back into the tub and not down the sides. Also added a wood frame to hold the light fixture and keep the tub from bowing outward (it wasn't as tough as the ad made it out to be). Main thing is it works and was/is cheap. again thanks, wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I do not see any answer which mentions cycling specifically. I'm gonna say you should not add any living flora or fauna so long as you have ammonia and nitrites, particularly animals. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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