Snake's comeback - 55g mixed reef

silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
I was thinking hose the crap out of it to get the dirt out, boil it, then let it sit in the sun to bleach it.
 
eric b 125

eric b 125

Active Member
silverado61 said:
Don't they use that to clean concrete?
And wouldn't that dissolve the calcium in the rock?
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They do. It's also used in this hobby to clean rock. I use muriatic acid several times a year to regenerate my kati/ani unit. A little of the rock does dissolve when doing a muriatic acid bath, but it's a small price to pay when the rock has been sitting outside, absorbing ground water.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I have thought about all of the above methods, including the muriatic acid.. I think I'm going to power wash the rocks first to get as much stuff out of them as I can and then soak them in a chlorox bath for a week, and then rinse them a few times in clean water and then add a little dechlorinator to the last soak. I have used chlorox in the past to clean freshwater tanks (fake plants and rocks) without any damage.

This weekend, I plan on building my cabinets Saturday and sunday morning. I hope to have it painted and in the house next week. What can I say,,,.. I'm a quick carpenter. I just want to be able to get it up and on a stand as soon as possible to get it out of my way and make the system look more complete already.

I think I will hold off on building the canopy until I know for sure what lighting system I am going to get.

Does anyone want to see a diagram of what I am thinking?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I went to go turn in some chi child's at the local fish store for credit. They gave me $60 worth. I looked around the store and they had a sale on Carib sea Fiji pink live sand for $15 a bag. I bought four bags. There went all my store credit,... But hey, I essentially got it for free. :))
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
snakeblitz33 said:
I went to go turn in some chi child's at the local fish store for credit. They gave me $60 worth. I looked around the store and they had a sale on Carib sea Fiji pink live sand for $15 a bag. I bought four bags. There went all my store credit,... But hey, I essentially got it for free. :))
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That's what I put in my tank. You got a good deal.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I have no idea what chi childs are... dang auto correct. I meant cichlids.

I'll draw up that diagram this afternoon. I need it anyway so that I can build my stand this weekend.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member


I picked produce from the garden today. A bushel of pink eye purple hull peas, a couple dozen bell peppers. A couple dozen habanero peppers. A couple dozen jalapeño peppers and the same in cayenne peppers.

Cooking the green beans now. :))

Gardening can be done cheap if you know what your doing.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I couldn't find someone with a truck to help me go get plywood this weekend. :( I will have to wait until next weekend to get started.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I found my old calcium reactor and co2 bottle. If I used it, I would have to replace the regulator and the media. But hey, I got one. Lol.

I fortunately am getting some plywood this evening. I might be able to cut it all out and button it up and paint it tonight. And do the doors during the week. I would just like to see the tank on a stand tonight.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Bare minimum that I have to buy to get this tank started is stuff for my to unit, glass and silicone for the sump. A new return pump, an overflow and some plumbing.

The lights, filters and other equipment can wait.

Btw, do you think I should just rig up a float valve to the sump for top off or use a little redundancy with a separate reservoir and jbj ato?

Can't wait to get started!
 
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