This is Part Three of JO-BERT, Step By Step Guide To Setting Up Your Own Reef Aquarium. Jola, With the rock already in the tank and the one that is coming you should have about 110 pounds of rock total. We are going to increase that even further but at a later date, maybe in a week or two. Please clean the rock the way you did the last time. Since adding rock to the tank displaces water and since you will have too much water in the tank, use water from the aquarium to clean the rock with. The exact same method applies. Let me know how the rock looks as I will obviously not have seen it. Where do you put it? Just use your decorator skills, it's that simple. Make sure though all rock is firmly in place and will not fall down or over. This is obviously part of stage 2 : building up the reef further. Albert Albert, Great! I will follow the same wash, inspect, rinse method. Any idea at all on how much water this will displace in gallons? Will I need to mix any extra saltwater for this? Or will there be enough to come out of the tank from displacement to clean and rinse the rocks? In building with the rocks tomorrow, I'm sure that I will be getting close to some of the equipment that is in the tank, such as the intake of one of the power heads. The power head has a round black sponge on the intake that is about 6" long and about 3" in diameter. What do I do when I get close to this? We are constructing this in a way that the rocks touch the glass at the end, the power heads are on the right hand side of the glass. Its obvious that I cannot lean rocks on these sponges, so how do I go about building around them to where I can take the power heads out for maintenance? Jola Jola, Good point, When you get close to the sponges build the rock up around them so you can remove the sponges to clean them at least once a week. Wedge the rocks in such a way that you can still easily remove the PH's. As you place the rock you will see that it is not that difficult to do. If you do run into a problem call me please. I cannot predict how your skimmer will react to the addition of more rock so keep a close eye on it please. Glad the skimmer is now running or starting to run the way it should. As it "breaks in" it will run better and better and eventually in a day or two run totally normally. Of course since you are going to add rock tomorrow it is going to go back to running at a slower rate again for a few days. Thanks for letting me know. Albert Albert, I will keep an eye on it and let you know if there is a problem. Received the additives and more salt today. I have a schedule on my refrigerator with all the days of the week on it. Under each day , I have written which additive to use , and how much of each. I need a new schedule to go by, now. Would you please post one for me to go by. For the record, would you please state what additives you sent to me, and what the purpose of each one is? Quantity of additives to use, and what additives that one needs , is a very confusing subject, indeed! Jola Albert, Will check the phosphate, pH, and KH in the am around 6. Is there any other parameters that you would like me to check as well? Did I fail to post you the phosphate reading yesterday, when I ran a series of tests? If I did not post them to you, the Phosphate was 0. Jola Jola, Yes you did post them but I wanted to determine whether there had been any change ...... Albert Albert, Have been using the Seltzer every 1 1/2 hours since about 3 p.m.. It is now 10:00pm. So far the pH has not went down a whole lot. It is on 8.41. This is sure a different story than before , when I kept on having to bump it up! What about adding some Vitamin C to the system for the acidity it has? Jola Jola, No, do not use the vitamin C yet. We want to bring it down slowly. If this morning when you measure it it is still too high we may put half a tablet in but for now if you still have Seltzer, just use that. Albert Albert, I won't worry about it for a few more days. I have a feeling that it does not really care for even as much current as it is getting. With only as much rock that is in the tank right now, its very difficult to find a place without quite a bit of current. Tomorrow , after the new rock is in place, I am hoping that it will be happier. I figure the amount of rock that is going in tomorrow, with the rock done there will help to "break up" the currents better. Jola Jola, Yes with an extra 60 lbs. of rock you should be able to really shield it from direct currents and all it will get will be the indirect ones. The Elegance unless totally closed will not really suffer from what is going on. As time goes on and as the tank stabilizes there is less and less to do. Eventually you should get to a point where most of it just happens. Takes a little while though. As days go on the results of the tests will or may change and we kind of need to know what happens in the tank. Hope though they all remain as posted yesterday Albert Albert, The pH at 5:30 am , is on 8.35. The KH is 9.5. Phosphate is 0. Jola Jola, Good, that brings it down to more acceptable levels. Do not add extra seltzer as the addition of the rock will more than likely start lowering the pH and KH somewhat anyway. If you have other questions about this just post them here. Now use those decorator skills of yours this afternoon >G< Re the salt. Using TAT salt 6 cups (8 0z by volume) will give you the 4 1/4 pounds you need. Albert Albert, May I ask why you are quite so concerned over the pH. IMO the pH is just fine ... as you know I would actually be very happy with these levels. HOWEVER, I do not know what other parameters you want Jola to shoot for but I have found good (e.g. better) success with such levels. JOLA: Sorry I am not trying to confuse you ... I just happen to differ from Albert in this area. I have found that Albert's suggested level works fine BTW. Andy Andy, The Levels I am shooting for right now are lower because JOLA as only just started adding KW. If they are at 8.45 in the AM and we start adding KW the whole day my reasoning is that they will be too high at the end of the day. I am trying to gradually build the pH up but starting from a level that will not put us in the 8.6 or higher range at the end of the day. Hope this clarifies it. Albert Albert, I certainly would be concerned with >= 8.7 ... I happen to try for 8.6 late in the day ... goes back to my 'ease of precipitation' ideas. I have found that with high circulation and a good skimmer that my pH is actually pretty stable ... ? 0.2. I *did* have a higher range before I really got into high circulation rates. I also believe that the type of animals in the tank have quite an effect, probably due to the varying amount of oxygen produced by different algae / animals. Thanks for your clarification. Andy Andy, Thank you for yours, what we are aiming for is eventually a morning pH of around 8.2/3 and an evening one of 8.4/5 That, when the KW is automated with a dosing pump which it is not at this time although KW is now being added. Albert Jola, The rock you were expecting should arrive today and you should find it on your doorstep by the time you get home. There should be a total of 60 lbs. of Fiji Rock. Usually this rock is real nice and porous and has lots of cavities. You will find it bagged in two boxes (more than likely) in a big plastic bag, no newspaper or anything on the rock. Besides the larger pieces there should be some rubble at the bottom where a little water will have collected. Check carefully through that and do not just dump it in the tank as their could be bristle worms in there. You can of course add the rubble to the tank but only after you have made sure there are no undesirable animals in there. BTW if you do find Bristle worms, please save them and send them to Andy in the UK Because this rock is probably real clean you should not have to remove anything from it. In all likelihood it will not have sponges on it. It may have some algae and you can leave those. Albert Albert, The rock was definitely "weird" looking to what I've seen around here! It took me a little better than 3 hours to get it all in place. You were right about not really being concerned about the rock that I already being placed "just so-so". I had to completely disassemble what I had done on Sunday to compensate for the 60 lbs. of new rock that I Received. After applying all the previous instructions, I -finally - got it in the tank to suit me! Jola Jola, Yes indeed I kind of knew you would have some rearranging to do so I was not too concerned how the first batch went back in as long as it had been cleaned (which you did). Arranging and rearranging rocks can make time fly when you get really into it. Imagine if you were putting 150 lbs. in the 220 (gee would have taken all night). Glad you finally got it the way that pleased you. Will need some test results today if you find the time to do them. Does the tank now look pretty full with rock? Except for the front where the live sand will go, the back and length of the tank should be pretty well full of rock I imagine. Can't see from here so you will have to let me know. Albert Albert, After adding the additional rock, the tank looks like a very compact, organized , yet un- organized piece of ocean reef that you went out and cut off the ocean floor with a knife and just sit it down inside of a glass box with water! I'm just thrilled! Right now, there is 3-4" of space in the front of the tank, so I might need to do some rearranging when it is time for the sand. At the top of the rocks, there is about 6" of space at the top of the rocks to the water line. Rocks are touching the back of the tank, as well as the ends. Jola Jola, That is fine. When the sand goes in we (you) can always decide to make more space in the front if needed. All this would entail is building the reef up higher in the back. As long as it looks natural you have achieved what you set out to do and it appears from your description that you really recreated a piece of the reef in the 55. That is the appearance it should have. Not too neatly organized, but just like a real reef. Seems like that is what you ended up with. Great. It is very possible that after all the moving around of rock, and adding some more, you did yesterday that detritus has settled on the bottom of the tank. It is a good idea to get that out. Siphoning is probably the easiest way to get rid of it. Since you have gotten over the major hurdles by now, you can really start to relax. All you may now encounter is a cycle in the tank and we can deal with that for sure. BTW how are you doing on TAT salt? Albert Albert, Got Ya on this one! I already done that this am with the Magnum! Just seemed like the thing to do! Got to come clean! I had to get one of them giant "bugs" out of there, and the bottom got cleaned while I was trying to get the bug out! But, is that the way it is -supposed- to look, at this point? I have seen reefs that had real big overhangs, and big caves in them. Jo-Bert has many large crevices, small and medium caves , and a few small overhangs. Jo-Bert Tests May 6, 1995 --------------------------- Albert, Ran a series of tests, here are the results at 8pm: SG- 1.024 1/2 Ca- 533 pH- 8.32 Phosphate- 0 Nitrate- .08 Ammo- 2.0 Nitrite-0.5 KH- 10 And yes, I'm very angry about the Ammo! Jola Jola, The reason for the ammonia and the nitrite is the die off occuring on the rock. Mind you, the fact that nitrite is already present is a real good sign, since it means there presently "is: a biological filter in the rocks (if no bacteria were present no ammonia would be converted to nitrite). Having it active so soon after introducing the rock is a real plus. Looking over the test results I notice that you KH is still a little on the high side but I would not do anything about it. Continued drip wise addition of KW will eventually bring it to the right level. (about 6 to 7 dKH). A pH of 8.32 in the AM is fine. Please let me know what it tonight. Thanks. Please do not use any buffers at all. Calcium is slightly on the high side but nothing to worry about. At this stage there are, say, 110 to 120 pounds of rock in the tank. Rocks being so uneven there are likely to be caves and holes and small overhangs. That is what we want right now. As corals are added to the tank, new places need to be found for them and some rocks may need to be moved. Remember that some corals come on big pieces of rock themselves and thus fill the tank even more. When corals are added the tank will start to look yet completely different again. Right now all we are doing is getting it ready for what is still to come, so what you describe is perfectly OK. We are nowhere near a finished tank yet Hope this answers your question. When we put the sand in it would be nice to have a front clearance of about 6 inches but if you only have 5 that is OK too. It is not that critical. Do you have about 5 inches clearance now? Albert Albert, There is 5" in a place or two, but about 3" in others. Obviously, I will have to push the rocks back and up some in the tank. Jola Jola, Yes that is exactly what needs to be done so we have about 5 inches in the front everywhere. Albert Albert, In essence, your going to be looking at a pretty wide bar of sand in the front of the tank, isn't this going to look empty? Jola Jola, No because some corals can be placed on it and some will grow on it, fish will be around too. All in all it will be a pretty active spot in the tank. As time goes on it becomes more and more populated. You are, IMO, trying to visualize the next stages. We are not there yet. Believe me by the time this is completed the tank will look so different that if you were to look at pictures taken now you would not recognize what you see. Patience dear Jola .... Albert Albert, The new rocks that I put in yesterday, don't look like I even cleaned them at all! They have little pieces of stuff blowing around on them that are still attached. As well as a sort of "fuzz" on them that looks just like I did not wash them at all! Do I need to remove all the rocks and wash them again? You stressed to get them clean in Step 1. They do not look clean! Jola Jola, The fluff etc. you see on the rocks is die-off. With the strong currents in the tank it will eventually come loose. If it bothers you too much suck it out with your Magnum if you want. Just leave the floating fringes on the rock. They will eventually come off and be skimmed out. Skimmer running OK and pulling out a bunch of stuff? What is the color of it ? Albert Albert, Yeah, the skimmer is pulling out a lot of gunk. The color of the gunk is brown, and stinks like really bad!. Jola Jola, Good, a lot of the die-off is coming out. Exactly what needs to happen. Brown and black? or just brown? Albert Albert, Just brown. I think I might have the skimmer adjusted to much one way. The foam will rise completely out of the top, and make a big "fluff" on the top of the skimmer. Advise. Jola Jola, No the skimmer is adjusted properly. Foam is thick in your case and does not break down and fall to bottom of cup. Brown is OK. Lots of organic material being removed for sure. Are all corals in there OK as if they are really stressed out we should do something about them. Albert Albert, They are okay, not happy but, okay. Jola Jola, Yes with the ammonia and the nitrite that would be normal. That will change though. If ammonia and nitrite are still high tonight and the corals look bad you may wish to isolate them in a smaller tank for a few days until the water in the 55 settles down quality wise. Will look for testing parameters. Albert Albert, Ammo tonight is still 1.5 and Nitrite is 0.7 and pH is 8.32. I have really done it this time for sure!!! I went and got the plexi glass, and figured that I would go ahead and sit it down in there. I didn't have nearly the 5 " needed at all! 2-3" would have been more like it! Well, of course, I had to move some of the rocks back! I would move one, then another, and pretty soon , I had this super mess on my hands! The tank looks just awful!!! Rocks just all over everywhere! I guess they will be okay until tomorrow. Bobby said he would help me rearrange them again with the 5" needed in the front. Jola Jola, Somehow I feel that you are now going through what lots of hobbyists are going through when they set up tanks. It's the fact that after you think you got it right and you then need to make a change that suddenly things do not "seem" right anymore and that you have to start rearranging things. This is not unusual and is the reason I was not really that concerned with how you placed the rocks the first time around because I kind of knew they would have to be rearranged a few times anyway. Just remember that it is normal and that you are not alone going through this. The rock is in the tank so nothing to worry about. Nice of Bobby to say he will help you tonight. After you finish the restacking of the rocks, if you have all the space needed for the sand, you will not have to rearrange it. All you may have to do is reposition some rocks to make space for corals when you place them. This is the last big rock exercise you got. Hope you didn't struggle too long with it. Albert Albert, Well, its back together , AGAIN! We got rid of that d--m crab! He sure was a ruthless , vial, beast! It looks great now! Looks real! I've got 5-6" , in the front for the sand. Figure it is better to have to big of a space as to not enough. I can always add to the back of the sand, but it is a major overhaul to not have enough space! The whole formation looks like a big cliff, like what you describe, very natural in appearance. Lots of caves and caverns inside of the formation, some overhangs, etc. This renovation did not make a whole lot of difference to the height, though. There is about 7" of space from the top of the rocks to the water level. It took Bobby about 1 hour to do this! Like I said, he just has a way with arranging things! As he was putting it together, I was thinking that it was not going to look good, when he was through, though, it looked like a natural formation. What I cant figure out, is how corals are utilized on a formation such as this? It does look like a cliff, not like a sloping hill. Jola Jola, Glad you got it all back together. Yes the cliff like appearance is what I would have expected. Guess you did a super job. Maybe the experience you got from the first time helped you figure it out a little easier this time. Yes 5 to 6 inches up front for the sand will be plenty. Sand will be placed sometime next week. Need to be sure rock is cycled. Don't want to add more burden to the corals by adding sand now. Should only take a few more days is my best guess. Well you are now an official reef builder with an A+ from the TAT reef building academy . Glad you like what you see though. That is what is important. It is in your home so it has to please you. Albert