Changing out rock- gathering ideas

[ripped tide]

In the next few months, I plan on swapping the rock in my 93 for a new rock structure that I have built.

In preparation, I will be setting up a 40b that will later function as a grow out tank. The 40b will be tied into a large 150gallon sump where my rock structure will sit and seed. I'll be using water from the 93 to fill the breeder and sump as well as adding microbacter 7 to seed bacterial colonies. I'll probably pee in the tank to simulate fish waste and feed the bacteria.... And I've always wanted to pee in a tank.


So here's where it gets tricky: once it has cycled and bacteria has covered the new rock, I'll want to swap it out. I'll be trading ~90lbs of rock for about 30lbs. I have a lot of matrix in the tank, so I am really putting a lot of faith in the matrix because I will be dropping potential bio filtration from the rock by about 2/3rd.

All of the corals are mounted or encrusted to the rock. The stuff that hasn't encrusted will be no issue, but the other stuff will be a pain. I'm thinking about just fragging everything and starting over with frags in the DT and leave the remaining colonies in the 40br grow out tank.



What would you do?

 

[rdnelson]

Give it all to Rich! Hey, you asked. LOL

 

[KrisDeitz]

Not put this is dry goods and livestock!!


Lol Jk I would try to break off all you can and grow out or sell the rock with fragments

 

[dakota9]

I would go ahead and UP the amount of Matrix you are using, what ever that current amount is (perhaps that's what you've already done), after the new matrix has time to seed, I'd then slowly remove pieces of the un-encrusted rock from the display a piece at a time until you get as close to the replacement amount as possible, then the switch would be pretty seamless.

Do you have a DSB? Removing rock presents it's own issues with a deep sand bed.

 

[darren24]

The "nicest" colonies I would try to pull the rock out (if possible) and dremel them off and put them in the bottom of the tank. Once the new rock is in I would glue / puddy them back on. The others I would try to get as much as possible by breaking them off and re-attaching...

 

[camellia]

I would buy Debbie 93 cube, use it for your new rock structure (its prettier anyway), let it cycle and frag your favorite corals to set it up exactly as you want!
Problem solved

 

[joseayes]

I would post on the right place ;]

 

[enderg60]

tie your 40g into your display system and just leave it for a month or two.

Then re do your rock work putting your old rocks in the 40g still tied into the system. Then slowly removed the old rocks from the 40g over another month to let the system stabilize, when your done remove the 40g.

 

[rdnelson]

Thread moved.

 

[ripped tide]

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far!

Dakota9;824231 wrote: I would go ahead and UP the amount of Matrix you are using, what ever that current amount is (perhaps that's what you've already done), after the new matrix has time to seed, I'd then slowly remove pieces of the un-encrusted rock from the display a piece at a time until you get as close to the replacement amount as possible, then the switch would be pretty seamless.

Do you have a DSB? Removing rock presents it's own issues with a deep sand bed.

I don't have a deep sand bed. I currety have about 4 liters of matrix for the 125 total water volume. I may still add more. Interesting thought on the removal process. Unfortunately most everything has corals on it and it will be tricky to slowly remove the rock and find the coral tenperary homes until the new structure is added.

Darren24;824252 wrote: The "nicest" colonies I would try to pull the rock out (if possible) and dremel them off and put them in the bottom of the tank. Once the new rock is in I would glue / puddy them back on. The others I would try to get as much as possible by breaking them off and re-attaching...

I'll probably have to do something like that, but I am hoping to have the 40b cycled completely by the time I do the swap. I can house some of the corals in there during the swap.

Camellia;824258 wrote: I would buy Debbie 93 cube, use it for your new rock structure (its prettier anyway), let it cycle and frag your favorite corals to set it up exactly as you want!
Problem solved

Lol. If I am gonna get another cube, I'm going bigger!

EnderG60;824271 wrote: tie your 40g into your display system and just leave it for a month or two.

Then re do your rock work putting your old rocks in the 40g still tied into the system. Then slowly removed the old rocks from the 40g over another month to let the system stabilize, when your done remove the 40g.

Due to space limitations, I can't really plumb them together. One of the reasons I am swapping the rock is because of the amount of bubble algae on the current aqua scape. I feel like I've let it get past a manageable amount, and now the only option is annihilation. This being the case, I want to keep the old rock as far away from the new rock as possible.

rdnelson99;824299 wrote: Thread moved.

Oops!!! You'd think I would know better by now.

 

[rdnelson]

What you didn't like my suggestion???? hehehehehehe

 

[ripped tide]

rdnelson99;824342 wrote: What you didn't like my suggestion???? hehehehehehe

Lol not my first choice. My first choice would be to build a new stand for the 210, new sump, 2 more lumen brite pendants, more ballasts, 3 new 400w radiums, and transfer EVERYTHING over to the 210 and break down the 93.... But that's not happening at the moment.

 

[rdnelson]

OK, I will let you off the hook. However, I have a table saw, router table and some clamps. By the lumber and the beer and spend a couple Saturday's in your old stomping grounds and we can get that stand a canopy built. May not by up to Dave or Justins standards but for a couple a drunk guys I bet it would be just fine.

 

[rjrgroup]

Ummm, dude. I have a 210 stand that apparently I'm not going to do anything with since I got that new 150. If you want it, it's yours!!! It was black, I stripped it down to paint it. Yes???

 

[rdnelson]

rjrgroup;824349 wrote: Ummm, dude. I have a 210 stand that apparently I'm not going to do anything with since I got that new 150. If you want it, it's yours!!! It was black, I stripped it down to paint it. Yes???

Now why did you have to go and do that??? I was angling for a couple of weekends of free beer and you had to go and ruin it.

 

[rjrgroup]

That's ok. He'll still buy the beer for the painting party.

rdnelson99;824351 wrote: Now why did you have to go and do that??? I was angling for a couple of weekends of free beer and you had to go and ruin it.

 

[ripped tide]

rdnelson99;824348 wrote: OK, I will let you off the hook. However, I have a table saw, router table and some clamps. By the lumber and the beer and spend a couple Saturday's in your old stomping grounds and we can get that stand a canopy built. May not by up to Dave or Justins standards but for a couple a drunk guys I bet it would be just fine.

You have the missing tools that I need! Lets do it. I build a lot of things by hand, but power tools make it so much easier. The only down side would be that I would probably have to either A) hurry up and set up the pool for the rays, or B) re home them. I think they might eat some of my small fish.

I want to make the stand pretty nice. I'll probably build the frame out of pine, but I'd like to finish it in a hard wood. Probably birch with a light espresso or a cherry stain. What do you think? Doable?

Edit:

rjrgroup;824349 wrote: Ummm, dude. I have a 210 stand that apparently I'm not going to do anything with since I got that new 150. If you want it, it's yours!!! It was black, I stripped it down to paint it. Yes???

O, just saw this.... Quite possibly! Text me a pic!

 

[rdnelson]

If you are serious I am game. I am self taught so we may need a bit of input from grouper but we could do it right.