no more LR in my 30

[davejnz]

In preperation for my 40 breeder,i decided to take all the LR out of my tank to begin the "cooking process" of the LR.Built this frag reack to hold my frags while they await their new tank.Traded in a couple colonies to the LFS for credit to clear out some room and so i'll have all frags to start with again in the new tank.

[dakar]

And they say alcoholics live in a vicious circle... We have it far worse than any meetings could ever solve (they only make it worse for us), tear apart a great looking reef just so you can start another :lol:

Good looking rack of frags though.

[Whoyah]

I bet that looks different. Probably kind strange.


"cooking process"

cooking process? What are you doing to it?

[davejnz]

Basically,you take all of your LR and place it in a dark rubbermaid type container with circulation where no light will get through.Ever so often,you vigourously shake the LR in a seperate bucket of saltwater removing detritus.You change the water in the container weekly all the time shaking the LR to remove all the detritus.Eventually,the algae/coralline dies off from no nutrients/light and the bacteria start taking effect.They work by continuing to push the detritus out the rock amd consuming the organics/PO4 that are stored in it.After the process is completed,you'll have bare rock with no stored nutrients/algae.

[Whoyah]

So you basically end up with inert rock. How long does that all take? Hmm.

[davejnz]

Its still got all the pods and inverts,just no algae at all and no stored organics,I've neard anywhere from 2-3 months.

[Whoyah]

So this is like one step beyond cured rock. Hmm. Is this common because I never heard of it. Is there a common name besides cooked?

[bjpembo]

its fairly common for people who are having algae problems. sometimes its a last resort before or sometimes after algae has overtaken and killed corals. as for another name, not srue, all ive heard is cooking. does sound kinda strange to someone that doesnt know what the heck your talking about. hmmm fried pods! lol.

[davejnz]

hey Bj,glad to have you aboard.Yeah,most people with byropsis have to resort to this to eradicate it.I'm doing it because my rock is old and there's some valonia and a bit of byropsis on one piece.I figure i might as well start this new tank with algae free rock with no stored organics

[dakar]

Hey Dave, got a question for you; is there a particular reason you stay with the smaller 30-40 gal tanks? Multiple small tanks seem to take more work to maintain and generally seems like they cost more (at least to us), vs. one larger tank. Arew they more easily managed are far as nutrient export and stuff for critical params, dealing with space limitations or what? Or are you sitting on some secret or another the rest of us are missing?

[davejnz]

Your correct,small reefs are alot more difficult to maintain,especially with SPS and trying to keep params stable.Thats one reason i'm going with a big sump to give me more water volumeThe only plus with smaller tanks is its easier/cheaper to achieve high flow and since the 40 breeder is only 16" deep,it will allow me to grow Acro's on the BB,it also has 18"width which should provide better gas exchange at the surface and easier to aquascape.I hope to one day own a large tank but as of now i still am renting,after i'm able to purchase a home,thats when i'm gonna get a big tank.Until then,gotta stay with these "portable reefs"

[dakar]

Coool, thanks for the in depth answers.... Thought maybe we were overlooking something less obvious. We are just fortunate at this point to be able to keep the 'big tank', even if Angel does want me to move it at some point this spring/summer. But wow are we really going through a lot of salt mix!

[Reef_Angel]

Gee Dakar, there you go tattling on me again!
When I agreed to the place Dakar put the tank when it was first set up, I was adjusting to some pain medications that only helped the pain a little but made me want to sleep a lot. I kinda just said that the tank looked great where it was. Still have the pain and the medicine, but now I know exactly where the tank should be and I won't want it moved again...I PROMISE!! No one appreciates Dakar like I do!! :)

[davejnz]

Well,thats another plus,dont use as much salt or additives.It is kind of a chore maintaing 2 tanks,but with each one set up as a different biotope,i really dont want to plumb them together.But overall,my LPS,DSB reef is by far the easiest for me to maintain,waterchanges every 4-6wks,never test for anything but alk and never have NO3 or PO4 detectable(rarely test)Drip kalk 24/7 and just stared dosing Mag
I also feed fish/corals/inverts everyday