GoToSleep's 700g Build Thread (& complete remodel)

I just thought of something - has that rock been rinsed? I've added new base rock over time and fortunately, my LFS guy told me to rinse it well before adding it to the tank. I'm sure glad I did - otherwise, I would have had the muddiest mess in my tank!

 

how much lbs of LR do you plan on putting in?

 

The rock hasn't been rinsed by me but it looks really clean. This is actual coral as opposed to something out of the ground. My wife suggested to me that I could open the drain at the bottom of the tank and spray the rock off with a garden hose after I got it in the tank. I'm going to check my well water for phosphates before I make a final decision on this technique.

Enough but not too much. I have somewhere between 400 and 500 lbs ready to go but my guiding principle is going to be what looks good in the tank. I need to ensure that I leave enough room for corals to be added and that my tangs have rooom to swim.

 

All dry and no live rock?? If so, why not at least go 50/50??

 

Seriously, you might want to take one piece of it and just rinse it in the kitchen sink with the drain plugged to see if there is a lot of sediment/dust on it. I was really surprised at how much "crud" was on my base rock. Mine was former LR - it probably sat in some warehouse for who knows how long. Your wife's technique might work just fine!

 

+1 My dry base rock was very very "dusty"

 

FWIW, I've known Tangster to say more than once not to rinse aragonite sand, as the dust contains the very same ingredients as AragaMilk (a Purple-Up competitor), and would help in early formation of coralline algae. If the base rock in question is true coral skeleton, which I'm guessing it is, maybe leaving the dust in place would have more benefits than detriment?? You'll have to clean your glass a bit more in the beginning, but once the filtration and water movement goes into action, the dust would get out of the water column within a few days anyway.

I haven't seen Tangster post in awhile, but if you had the interest, and performed an advanced search with the words "rinsing" and "aragamilk" along with the username Tangster, you'll probably be able to find a post or two.

 

You beat me to it A lot of people aren't willing to wait for the dust cloud to settle but as far as I'm concerned, you'd be rinsing away what other people pay extra for (in products such as Aragamight and Aragamilk as you mentioned).

 

I wonder why it said to rinse the sand until the water ran clear when I bought my bags of aragonite?

 

That was written on the bag?