Protocol for adding dry rock to established system?

[Aquaph8]

Im wanting to add some dry rock to my existing reef but Im kinda apprehensive due to issues Ive heard around the forums from people adding dry rock. Ive seen number of threads with people using muriatic acid on theirs and just wondered what everyone recommended. At the very least Ill cure it in one of my Rubbermaid trashcans first but is it necessary to go any further? By the way I already have the rock, its the reef saver rock from BRS.

 

[totion]

I've always been told you just need yo rinse it and put it in. Shouldn't have any die off to cause a new cycle.

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[florida reef]

+1. That's what I have done in the past. A thorough rinse with rodi water then place in the tank.

 

[PatW]

People use acid to remove phosphates that have bound to dry rock, not all dry rock has this problem. If the dry rock has substantial organic matter in it, the load from this could be a pollution problem in your tank. For example dry rock that was reef rock that just dried in the sun could result in a real mess in the tank. Some dry rock venders do not seem to have either of these problems. If you are in doubt, you could dump the rock into a brute container with sea water and a power head and test for ammonia, nitrates and phosphates. How hard is that?

 

[kateater]

It's reef saver harvested from land no dead organics to worry about. Rinse and put it in the tank. If it was the pukani that's a different story it needs to cycle first.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Rinse it and throw it in. All depending on how much your throwing in at one time, will determine if your going to mini cycle the tank. I've tossed in 50lbs of Macro Rocks without any issues in an established 240g tank.

 

[Chris Aldrich]

As Reefing Madness mentioned, it's all about how much you add. Generally, if I have any sizable amount of dry rock to add to an established aquarium, I'll introduce it in portions to lessen the impact.

There's not hard rule on this, but if I was forced to offer something, I'd say don't add more than 20% of your current live rock amount at once.

 

[Aquaph8]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. Im only adding like 20 pounds to a 225 tank. I have no issue with just adding a piece here and a piece there, Im a very patient guy.

 

[Reefing Madness]

You won't have any issues throwing it all in at once either.

 

[feh]

No die off, but aside from whats been said I'd keep an eye on PO4.

 

[zibba]

Personally, I'd give it an acid bath first, soak in rodi, then bake it in the sun for a few days. You'll be surprised what comes off of it with the acid bath even though it's the reef savers rock. I'd also add it in slowly for good measure. Overly cautious, I know. But that's what I'd do.


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[Aquaph8]

Personally, I'd give it an acid bath first, soak in rodi, then bake it in the sun for a few days. You'll be surprised what comes off of it with the acid bath even though it's the reef savers rock. I'd also add it in slowly for good measure. Overly cautious, I know. But that's what I'd do.


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I also tend to be overly cautious. Any instructions for the acid bath?

 

[FishBrawler]

I also tend to be overly cautious. Any instructions for the acid bath?

I'd give it 10 minutes in some hydrocloric acid (muriatic acid at the hardware store). Rinse and soak in ro. It will eat away at the rock ao be careful!

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[zibba]

I also tend to be overly cautious. Any instructions for the acid bath?

5:1 water to acid ratio. Pick up the acid from ace hardware. The pool grade stuff isn't as strong. Here's a little more info from a post on my build thread that might help.

I gave it an acid bath in muriatic acid, rinsed/scrubbed it under a garden hose, then let it dry under the sun.

Remember "do as you oughta, add acid to watta," use gloves and do this outdoors or in a well ventilated area.

I mixed this in a 5:1 ratio (water:acid), which turned an every day garbage can into what will appear to be the best skimmer ever:

The rock came out pretty clean, but I did end up scrubbing the rock off with a toothbrush under a garden hose to get the last of the nasties off. Even still, there's plenty of crap that sheds off during the cooking process.

 

[Aquaph8]

One more question, what's the best way to dispose of the mixture when your done?

 

[zibba]

Personally, I diluted it with tap water and watered the hearty bushes that line my fence. The organics aren't going to hurt anything and there's nothing bad that will leach into the ground water. pH might be a little on the low side even after diluting but I wasn't too concerned with it harming the plants since my soil pH is so out of whack anyway.


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[Aquaph8]

Thanks for all the info man, really appreciate it.

 

[zibba]

You bet. I'll be doing this again with some Marco rock that I'm getting for another "project," lol...there's always another "project."

Oh, and FYI -- you can pick up the same muratic acid that I used in the pictures above at a pool store. Look for 20° Baumé, which equates to HCl 31.45%. I think you can find it more concentrated than that but it's pretty wicked stuff.

*** one more edit: Just by way of example about how concentrated this is -- one gallon can reduce a 18000g pool's pH by 1.0 point or more (I only know this because I was doing the calculations last night).

 

[Chemaholic]

You bet. I'll be doing this again with some Marco rock that I'm getting for another "project," lol...there's always another "project."

Oh, and FYI -- you can pick up the same muratic acid that I used in the pictures above at a pool store. Look for 20° Baumé, which equates to HCl 31.45%. I think you can find it more concentrated than that but it's pretty wicked stuff.

*** one more edit: Just by way of example about how concentrated this is -- one gallon can reduce a 18000g pool's pH by 1.0 point or more (I only know this because I was doing the calculations last night).

Did you account for any buffering in the system? Depending on the level of carbonates it could lower it less than one might think. Though obviously this concentration of HCl is bad stuff and will lower the pH substantially compared to a weak acid.

 

[Chemaholic]

Just used this method to clean my dry rocks. The 5:1 solution is still extremely powerful. Mine was a bit less than 5:1 even and if I had left the rock in for a few minutes it would have dissolved completely. If your rocks are dry live rock this will likely not be the case since the organic matter on the rock will dissolve before the rock does.

Make sure you only dunk them for a few seconds and then put them in a rinse bath or a neutralizing bath. I added a couple of boxes of baking soda to my neutralizing bath to make sure all the acid in the rock was neutralized. I will let them soak overnight in this bath before moving them to a RODI water soak and then a saltwater soak.

Also pick up a ton of baking soda to neutralize when you are done. I grabbed about 25 lbs. and had just enough to take care of the 2 gallons of acid I used. Do not dump the neutralized water anywhere that you want plants to grow.