Brs pukani dry rock

Gpettit721 · Mar 18, 2016

Turf algae with one fish in the tank.... Not over stocked by any means 45 cube deltec skimmer vega lights but gets a ton of direct sun light

jhatfield · Mar 26, 2016

Interesting thread!

Ordered 30lbs of dry pukani from BRS for a new 40gal tank (my first ever) I'll be getting this summer. I haven't weighed any of this but it seems like they sent at least 30lbs of pukani plus about 20 of a much heavier dense rock. Way more than I need but AWESOME none the less.

There are a ton of dead critters on the rock including small clams, sponges and a brittle star. With that said I think I will toss this in some RO water a let it sit for a couple months. Time is not an issue since the soonest I can get the tank is mid-summer. I really don't want excessive stink in my living room if I can help it.

Question: Is a power head and heater necessary for this process? When the time comes to set up the new tank I'll rinse, let it dry thoroughly and then add it to the tank to begin cycling. Anyone see anything wrong with this or do differently?

Gpettit721 · Mar 26, 2016

Warmer water and movement will help break up the die off

jhatfield · Mar 28, 2016

Much thanks. Rock has been soaking in a bin with heater and pump for 2 days now and the amount of goodies coming off of it is incredible. At this rate I'll be doing a water change every couple days.

Fortunately I have this set up on our back patio in a tiny garden shed so the stink is not an issue.

Gpettit721 · Mar 28, 2016

Yea I found out the hard way off putting it in without cleaning it..... Holly nitrate levels batman!!! At one point they got up to 200 so I did several water changes and took the rock out of the tank did a scrub down and now they are down to 10ppm. Phosphate dropped to .07 from a high of .56. All and all I don't know if I would do it much differently again except try and get the big stuff off prior. I think in the long run it will help because my tank is handling nutrients well now and they are coming down on their own.... No algae bloom yet or diatoms but I'm sure they will be here soon enough... I'm running a very limited light cycle but the growth on the rocks have already started (sponges and a little coralline)