150gal FW to SW conversion

[NeedBiggerTank]

I'm going to ask a dumb question. What does curing inert manufactured rock do? It just sits in salt water, right? I understand curing live rock from the ocean so that you don't have a huge die-off inside your display... but if the rock is manufactued (new), what exactly are you curing if there are no critters on/in the rock (sponges, macro algea, worms, etc.)?

 

[Zef004]

That's gmoney rock. Nice can't wait.

 

[Dowtish]

Its similar to letting any concrete mix cure. Concrete is porous in nature and emits lots of moisture and a high ph level is normal. The process on letting it cure and harden allows time for the ph/moisture levels to drop. and if it cures too fast(too much moisture) you can have high alkalinity levels as well. this is what would obviously be harmful to your tank if introduced too fast.

 

[gmoney243]

Yea basically u soak in water untill the ph stops rising. Right now the ph goes off the chart at 8.8 with 1 drop ur suppose to use 5 drops lol so the ph goes way way high untill cured

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

Interesting - so what is the concrete giving off into the water to raise the PH? And do you soak in salt water or just regular water?

 

[Dowtish]

I don't even want to try to explain the chemistry behind all of this. I'm sure he is soaking in saltwater, so he will know what the test results are, given the difference in acidity and balances of FW compared to SW. Check out this pdf and all the crazy complexity that is concrete.
http://www.petersenasphaltconferenc...rom the world of portland cement concrete.pdf

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

I see what you mean. When I think on concrete, I think of something solid. But the cement portion of concrete is made primarily from limestone. So it makes sence that it would be alkaline. Still curious how this translates into the water column (is a portion disolving, are gases released, is it a chemical reaction with the salt water - or a mix of all three). So, once it has stabilized, its safe to add to the display? Do you add bacteria cultures while it cures too?

Sorry to have sidetracked the thread. I'm home with pnemonia - nothing to do. LOL

 

[gmoney243]

The goby has made himself a home and completely covered some rock about 6"-8" high ..this could present a ptoblem later when I add soft corals .. maybe the goby was a bad idea lol.

 

[islander84]

hey Mike i would just soak it in plain old ro water until ph statrs balancing out....no need to waste salt water for now...then once it starts dropping then cure for additional week or so in salt..or if you have access to a creek or something dump it in there for month or so....Let me know if you want i can grab a bag of quikwall and bring it sunday for you. its like 15 bucks for a bag should do quite a bit of rock...make sure you guys are using the pure crushed oyster shell(no additives) check the bag make sure no oils or anything added.

 

[islander84]

also you can add some biospira or like product that will help seed it towards the end of ph cure

 

[gmoney243]

Yea I'm using plain water for curing not salt..thx gary I'm good for now on mix but I'm sure sometime ill grab some off ya for plugs

 

[gmoney243]

my DIY PVC Overflow

 

[Dowtish]

what happend to all the pics in this thread?

 

[gmoney243]

Here's my algae scrubber after first cleaning 7 days after install. Its gravity fed running 4 26w cfl. First cleaning was just brown algae and smelled just like siting near the beach. Much better than skimate lol

 

[Dowtish]

The scrubber is awesome. and I am officially hiring you to be a consultant on my overflow.

 

[ToXIc]

+1 on the scrubber that kewl....