Vinegar Dosing While Cooking Old Live Rock?

[kjardine519]

Hello all ! I've got some old live rock from a previous setup. this rock was established for over 2 years. Due to some equipment failures & pests I've had to tear down. I've got this rock right now sitting in some tap water to kill everything on it. in the next coming months Im going to setup a small fishless sps growout tank (will post in build thread) so in the meantime id like to make sure this rock is 100% phosphate free! so i was wondering if anyone has ever setup a skimmer in a Rubbermaid container with powerheads and a vinegar dosing setup? pulling as much nasty skimmate as possible ?. Also id like to make sure i 100% kill everything on the rock ( aiptasia, caulerpa ) any suggestions ?

 

[Pistol]

Carbon dosing requires a proportional amount of po4 and no3 to work and your skimmer will not remove the po4 so I doubt it would work, I would use lanthanum chloride to remove the po4.

 

[reeferkeeper420]

I wouldnt soak it in tap water.. that wont help with p04 and n03.

 

[TORX]

Carbon dosing requires a proportional amount of po4 and no3 to work and your skimmer will not remove the po4 so I doubt it would work, I would use lanthanum chloride to remove the po4.

Agreed. 1 to 4 is the ratio IIRC. Phosphate to nitrate. Also, a skimmer does not work efficiently in fresh water. You need a phosphate remover such as GFO or lanthanum chloride. I suggest lanthanum, but mostly because I want to hear results from more people using it. [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[AdInfinitum]

Agreed. 1 to 4 is the ratio IIRC. Phosphate to nitrate. Also, a skimmer does not work efficiently in fresh water. You need a phosphate remover such as GFO or lanthanum chloride. I suggest lanthanum, but mostly because I want to hear results from more people using it. [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

Vinegar dosing only works in SW systems by providing a food source for bacteria that in turn consume nutrients to grow...really the opposite of cooking rock where you're killing not culturing...

 

[kjardine519]

i know sitting it in tap water isnt going to help! but it was just to kill everything off. then i was going to drain it. rinse all rock with rodi water and mix saltwater into the container with the dead live rock and vinegar dose. where does one get lanthanum chloride?

 

[TORX]

FORGET ABOUT VINEGAR DOSE. Why do you want to dose vinegar...it will do a little more then nothing for removing phosphates. The lanthanum chloride is what some use to remove phosphates from the water. That or GFO. I have read recently that a lot of people are having trouble with vinegar dosing and their phosphates are not going down...I do not know where people got the idea that vinegar will lower phosphates. It does not. It will drop it slightly if you have high nitrates, which is what vinegar dosing is used to lower.

 

[SamB]

Agree to stop vinegar dosing - it is not necessary at this stage
Your reclaimed rock is going to go through a nitrogen cycle when you get it into your new system so best to let that run its course before dosing anything IMO
I also agree to get that rock outta tap water because it may "uptake" nutrients and cause you algae problems once that rock starts to become "live" in your new set up. If you are not ready to use your rock yet, I suggest to load it in a Rubbermaid container with saltwater (RO water base) a heater and powerhead. That way you will "cook" it and begin the nitrogen cycle. Change the water every week
Lots of info, sorry

 

[heath]

I wouldnt soak it in tap water.. that wont help with p04 and n03.

I would get it out of the tap water, I battled hair algae caused by po4 caused by tap water...if you don't have a ro system then I would strongly suggest going to a water store and buying the ro/di water, it will save you a lot of aggravation in the long run...

 

[kjardine519]

FORGET ABOUT VINEGAR DOSE. Why do you want to dose vinegar...it will do a little more then nothing for removing phosphates. The lanthanum chloride is what some use to remove phosphates from the water. That or GFO. I have read recently that a lot of people are having trouble with vinegar dosing and their phosphates are not going down...I do not know where people got the idea that vinegar will lower phosphates. It does not. It will drop it slightly if you have high nitrates, which is what vinegar dosing is used to lower.

I was just clarifying my previous post, I listened to what you said aswell...... i haven't done anything yet. I've pulled the rock out of the tap water. Thanks for the advice TORX and some information i didn't know about phosphates and carbon dosing. To my second orignal question,

where does one get lanthanum chloride?

Do i search online for it or does anyone have any information here aka TORX for where to find it, since you recommended it after all?

 

[TORX]

Do i search online for it or does anyone have any information here aka TORX for where to find it, since you recommended it after all?

I always recommend reading up online. Simple google searches, then read and read some more to make an educated decision for your set up. All we can do is advise, which may come across harsh sometimes as the typed word is different then verbal conversation. I personally have not done it yet. I have the lanthanum and plan on using it once I redo my fish room. I currently use HC GFO (high capacity granular ferric oxide). There is a nice thread with some information in this site HERE. It can blow up in your face if not done properly, so lanthanum is only for someone who is willing to do the work, but the results will be quick. High Cap GFO in a reactor is another way, however it will take longer and is typically used in a active tank to slowly lower phosphates as to not shock the livestock. Although if enough GFO is used with flow, it will suck it out so quick that it will kill off SPS overnight.

 

[kjardine519]

Thank you!