CJ's 75 gallon tank

[LJC6780]

So I had originally bought a BC29 as my first salt tank but ultimately decided to get a 75 gallon setup. It's a used system that came with a custom wood cabinet, drilled glass tank, 20-30 gallon trigger sump, reef octopus skimmer, pump, a ton of rock and some gross used sand. It also came with 4 fish and several corals and live rocks. Unfortunately the smallest fish, a honey damsel, didn't survive the trip home. [emoji53] But the other 3 damsels and corals seem to be doing fine. I set the BC29 up to house them temporarily while I refinish the cabinet and cute/cycle the rock.

I'll use this thread to post pics and document my progress.

 

[LJC6780]

 

[LJC6780]

So far I've cleaned the sump, skimmer and random other pieces and parts.

I've added a bag of live sand and Matrix to the BC29 to hopefully help with cycling, even though there are a few pieces of live rock.

I'm also in the process of setting up the 75 in the garage to cure and cycle the rock and eventually clean before setting up in the house. I'm about to attempt to weigh all the rock to see just how much I have. There's a lot!!

I'm also attempting to wash the sand. It was pretty gross so I may just end up tossing it but I figured I could try first. I washed some beach sand for my freshwater tank and it has been just fine so we will see.

 

[LJC6780]

So I tried washing the sand all together in a 5 gal bucket in my bathtub but it was just too much. I finally went and grabbed a small strainer and sifted everything through over a clean bucket of water. Pulled large shells and pieces of coral skeletons and several frag plugs and set aside. Medium debris, crushed coral and shells and such, went in another bowl and sand went back in the bucket. Not a whole lot came out but it was easier for me to dig my hand around in there knowing it was now just sand! So I washed and dumped. Rinse, repeat. Over and over ... til the water was just slightly creamy and just some silty stuff was left in the tub when dumped. I'll probably rinse a few more times just for good measure but it actually looks pretty clean. I also rinsed the medium sift and it was pretty gross too. Lots of bits of algae and sponge and random other used to be live stuff ... ick! I actually found an intact hermit crab. I would have thought he'd been shriveled up long ago by no ... so I'm hoping he didn't somehow survive being in this broken down tank then I kill him when I washed the sand. That would just be horrible!

Anyway. Sand nearly clean. I MAY rinse it in some vinegar water too just for fun.

I plan to get the rock weighed and wet tomorrow sometime. I've heard of some people using muriatic acid to clean rock. Is this a good idea since there are lots of rock with attached dead corals and gross bits? Maybe run the power head for a day with the acid water then drain and refill?

Best way to cure really gross rocks?

 

[LJC6780]

@Brew12

 

[Joey waid]

So I tried washing the sand all together in a 5 gal bucket in my bathtub but it was just too much. I finally went and grabbed a small strainer and sifted everything through over a clean bucket of water. Pulled large shells and pieces of coral skeletons and several frag plugs and set aside. Medium debris, crushed coral and shells and such, went in another bowl and sand went back in the bucket. Not a whole lot came out but it was easier for me to dig my hand around in there knowing it was now just sand! So I washed and dumped. Rinse, repeat. Over and over ... til the water was just slightly creamy and just some silty stuff was left in the tub when dumped. I'll probably rinse a few more times just for good measure but it actually looks pretty clean. I also rinsed the medium sift and it was pretty gross too. Lots of bits of algae and sponge and random other used to be live stuff ... ick! I actually found an intact hermit crab. I would have thought he'd been shriveled up long ago by no ... so I'm hoping he didn't somehow survive being in this broken down tank then I kill him when I washed the sand. That would just be horrible!

Anyway. Sand nearly clean. I MAY rinse it in some vinegar water too just for fun.

I plan to get the rock weighed and wet tomorrow sometime. I've heard of some people using muriatic acid to clean rock. Is this a good idea since there are lots of rock with attached dead corals and gross bits? Maybe run the power head for a day with the acid water then drain and refill?

Best way to cure really gross rocks?

To cure rock, soak in muratic acid then rinse then soak in it again, then rinse, then let it sit in the sun for days, then you should be good. I know you wanted brew, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[Brew12]

Best way to cure really gross rocks?

You don't want to cure your rock, what you want to do is cook it.

Curing is typically done with live rock. You can expect to get some die off so we cure it by removing the dead sponges and other stuff so it doesn't decay in our tanks. This isn't the situation you are in. And yes.. I know.. people use the wrong terms for this all of the time.

What you are starting with is dead dry rock. I would say this video might help https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/video-cooking-live-rock-not-curing.276079/ but it doesn't exactly apply to your situation either.

Muriatic acid is a common choice for people to use. The only real downside is that it not only dissolves the organics, but it also dissolves the rock itself. I guess another downside is that it is fairly dangerous to work with, especially if you use vinegar to clean, also. Bad things happen when they mix.

Bleach is another popular option to kill any organics, but drying it out like this should make that a non issue.

I think I would go the vinegar route. It's relatively cheap, safer to work with, doesn't dissolve as much of the rock (although it will dissolve some) and doesn't hurt anything even if you don't rinse it well enough. It's going to take a lot of vinegar but I would try to use it straight so it works faster. Let the rock soak in the vinegar until it stops fizzing. You should get a thick foam on the top of the tub you soak them in. Just skim that off. Once it stops foaming (3-8 hours) I would rinse it off and fill the tub with heated salt water and a powerhead. Let that run for a day or two. If the water looks nasty you can run a skimmer to help if you have one. You can test the water for phosphates at this point if you want. Believe it or not, if you don't dry the rock at this point it will actually help reduce your cycle time.

 

[Nolan Shinn]

Are you redoing your seals? Looks like a lot of water damage on the stand. Could be due to a leaky tank?

 

[LJC6780]

Are you redoing your seals? Looks like a lot of water damage on the stand. Could be due to a leaky tank?

I wasn't planning on it unless it's leaky! They seem soft and not dried out and hasn't been dry for too long. He tried to tell me condensation and water damage was normal with salt water ... i get that a little, but come on. The stand was not in "nothing wrong" condition! I definitely plan to test everything before setting it all up in the house! The little bit of water I put in it last night hasn't seemed to leak at all, but it was only a couple inches before my toddler woke up and I had to stop. I'm wondering if he just spilled some water and didn't clean it up in time. Who knows. Hopefully I'm able to clean and refinish it ok. Seems sturdy.

 

[LJC6780]

You don't want to cure your rock, what you want to do is cook it.

Curing is typically done with live rock. You can expect to get some die off so we cure it by removing the dead sponges and other stuff so it doesn't decay in our tanks. This isn't the situation you are in. And yes.. I know.. people use the wrong terms for this all of the time.

What you are starting with is dead dry rock. I would say this video might help https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/video-cooking-live-rock-not-curing.276079/ but it doesn't exactly apply to your situation either.

Muriatic acid is a common choice for people to use. The only real downside is that it not only dissolves the organics, but it also dissolves the rock itself. I guess another downside is that it is fairly dangerous to work with, especially if you use vinegar to clean, also. Bad things happen when they mix.

Bleach is another popular option to kill any organics, but drying it out like this should make that a non issue.

I think I would go the vinegar route. It's relatively cheap, safer to work with, doesn't dissolve as much of the rock (although it will dissolve some) and doesn't hurt anything even if you don't rinse it well enough. It's going to take a lot of vinegar but I would try to use it straight so it works faster. Let the rock soak in the vinegar until it stops fizzing. You should get a thick foam on the top of the tub you soak them in. Just skim that off. Once it stops foaming (3-8 hours) I would rinse it off and fill the tub with heated salt water and a powerhead. Let that run for a day or two. If the water looks nasty you can run a skimmer to help if you have one. You can test the water for phosphates at this point if you want. Believe it or not, if you don't dry the rock at this point it will actually help reduce your cycle time.

Oh ok, the research I'd done said curing was what I wanted to do ... let all of the old stuff fall off over time and possibly even start cycling at the same time. I'm really not in a hurry to get it cleaned since I will have to refinish the stand too and that's going to take me a while!

 

[LJC6780]

To cure rock, soak in muratic acid then rinse then soak in it again, then rinse, then let it sit in the sun for days, then you should be good. I know you wanted brew, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Oh no worries, was just tagging for the post ...

Good news though ... Just tested the water and it seems as if I am cycled in the BC29 already!!
pH 8.1
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 30ish
SG 1.024

I did about a 10% water change and moved the corals around, shaking the stirred up sand off and adding a rock that had been cycling in a bucket. It may kick up the numbers a bit but it was a clean rock so no debris really to spike ammonia, hopefully!

Water change raised SG up to about 1.025. Everything currently looks great! Sort of surprised it cycled so quickly!

How often should I test the water now? I don't plan on adding anything else for a while.

 

[Brew12]

Oh ok, the research I'd done said curing was what I wanted to do ... let all of the old stuff fall off over time and possibly even start cycling at the same time. I'm really not in a hurry to get it cleaned since I will have to refinish the stand too and that's going to take me a while!

Curing is the way to let the old dead stuff fall off over time without killing the live stuff on the rock. I'm hoping you don't have any live stuff on your rock at this point! Nothing wrong with the process of just putting the rock in a tub with heated salt water and a powerhead and letting it decay slowly just as if it were live rock. Well, other than the smell

Looks good on the BC29! For the next month or two, I would sample ammonia daily for 3-4 days after adding a new fish. I wouldn't bother sampling for nitrite ever again, unless you have an odd problem you are investigating. I test nitrates weekly but some people don't test for them at all once their cycle is complete.

 

[LJC6780]

Curing is the way to let the old dead stuff fall off over time without killing the live stuff on the rock. I'm hoping you don't have any live stuff on your rock at this point! Nothing wrong with the process of just putting the rock in a tub with heated salt water and a powerhead and letting it decay slowly just as if it were live rock. Well, other than the smell

Looks good on the BC29! For the next month or two, I would sample ammonia daily for 3-4 days after adding a new fish. I wouldn't bother sampling for nitrite ever again, unless you have an odd problem you are investigating. I test nitrates weekly but some people don't test for them at all once their cycle is complete.

Ok well I thought about using some vinegar water for a while to get started then scrub with a brush, drain and refill and just let it sit in clean water. And no! There is nothing alive on the rock! There are some soggy dead corals and such on some though ... yuck! It's like about half look pretty clean and the other half are pretty funky!

Also, should I be doing more than a 10% change or just do them every few days until everything clears up? In FW I would probably do a 50% change to lower nitrates quickly ... but like you said, go slow with salt.
Oh and what all should I be testing for on a regular basis? What are the main numbers to keep in check and what is the acceptable range?

 

[LJC6780]

Also, I don't remember who I've asked and who responded so I'll just post here so it's all in the same thread. Once I get the 75 up and running I plan to get cycled before adding fish, but may add a clean up crew if that is acceptable. I also don't plan on adding anyone except maybe some sort of algae cleaner to the BC29. At least not right now!

So, in the mean time I'm going to try to get a stocking list for the 75g!

The only fish I have to have is an ocellaris clown, probably a pair. I also really like the banggai cardinal and would like to try my hand at adding to the captive bred selection. I already sell guppies, platies and albino Corydoras to the LFS for credit ... and as soon as my cherry shrimp population explodes I'll be selling some of them too! I've come to realize they like a quite matured tank. It has taken them a while to really start breeding!

Anyway, besides a clown pair and a banggai pair, what all would you recommend as fun, colorful, peaceful and reef safe for this tank? I'd really love a blue hippo tang, and I've heard different arguments from different people and places on their tank size requirements ...

Other fish I like are blue green chromis (I've read these CAN be in groups but ultimately do best alone.)
Dottybacks
Royal gramma
Coral beauty angel (I've also heard mixed reviews on them as far as tank size goes ... )
Green clown goby
Diamond goby (sand sifter)
Some sort of parasite eating fish I read about. A wrasse maybe?

Some sort of cleaner shrimp (cleaner of fish)/snails
More corals that are peaceful and on the easier end to care for.
Possibly some sort of clam when I have more experience.
I'm not too fond of nems but I'm pretty sure I have a hammer coral and I've heard clowns do well with those too. I MAY want a rose something urchin. They look cool but I haven't researched them yet.


If I come across the right coral at the right time would it be ok to add to the BC29 until I get the 75 up and cycled or is it pretty much stocked?

 

[LJC6780]

Thinking of getting a snail or shrimp to help with the green algae that covers the glass and sand every few days. It wipes off super easily but ...

What kinds of snails and shrimp are best recommended?

 

[LJC6780]

So today I ran by the LFS in town (not my usual one 30 minutes away) and picked up a star snail, blue leg hermit crab and a big bunch of chaeto.

I also added a bag of bio chem zorb to the sump area. Let's hope I can get the nitrates down and get these corals happier. Hopefully I can get the algae under control too.

 

[LJC6780]

Went to my usual LFS today and took some platies, guppies, cories and plants for credit. Also got a small turbo snail that was just munching away on the glass like my mysteries do. Since acclimated, he's been munching away on the algae!

Also have the rock soaking in bleach water in the garage. Lots of funky stuff has already started floating up. I've stirred it up a few times it plan to get my gloves on and move the rocks around and maybe get the scrub brush out and see what I can knock off before letting it sit in bleach for a few more days. Then I think I'll drain and rinse and see what I can clean off the tank then refill and let it sit with a power head.

 

[LJC6780]

Well, the rock has been soaking in bleach water for a while now. I think I might try to get out there today and scrub it down some and change some of the water. There is a lot of funk floating at the surface. [emoji40]

 

[Brew12]

Well, the rock has been soaking in bleach water for a while now. I think I might try to get out there today and scrub it down some and change some of the water. There is a lot of funk floating at the surface. [emoji40]

Looks like you are making great progress!

Scrubbing the rock down should make the process speed up. Nothing wrong with doing a water change or two to help get some of the crud out of the water, either.

 

[LJC6780]

Looks like you are making great progress!

Scrubbing the rock down should make the process speed up. Nothing wrong with doing a water change or two to help get some of the crud out of the water, either.

I definitely need to do that. I'm sure it's soaked plenty long enough to kill anything that might be hiding ... now I'm going to have to rid the rock of the bleach! I pulled out a few small rocks today to add to the BC29 setup and I scrubbed and rinsed and soaked in Prime and rinsed and soaked ... etc ... they still smell of bleach! I'm letting them dry in the sink for now and will probably rinse on them some more tomorrow. Think they'll be ok to put in the BC29? I definitely don't want to kill off my tank!