testing base for PO/4?

[cracker]

I recently collected some very nice limerock from the Suwanne River here in Florida. This rock passes the vinegar test but a small test of pulverized rock shows small levels (0.25) of PO/4. I have a lot of this rock in my tank already with no apparent problems. Is it possible to soak this rock in RO/DI to remove this PO/4? I'm not sure how to go about doing this for the best results. Any OP's would be appreiceated.

[Witfull]

soak ricse,,soak, rinse untill it test 0. i would be very leary of rock leaching that much,,,are you having any algae issues?

[cracker]

Thanks for the response Witful, I have a good amount of Florida Lime rock I used as dry base, in the 200 already with no apparent problems. Setup last september with no algae issues other than in the early days.
My last show of HA was after I added the MH lights and was short lived. I just collected this rock and tested a very small amount. I have been very lucky with some rock I've used and don't want to push it. I don'tplan to the big tank right off, if at all. I want to season it in the 55 and see what happens.
My PO/4 test consisted of 1 tablespoon of pulverized rock in 3 tablespoons of rodi.waited 3 hours then tested. How this rock/rodi ratio affects the test results, I'm not sure. Thanks!

[SoliSteve]

Witfull's advice is good advice - you never know what's in that rock, given that you collected it from the wild. It's always best to let it rest on its own before introducing wild rock that hasn't been cured into an established tank such as yours.

[cracker]

Hey folks lost track of this thread. I'm soaking the rock in ro/di now. I drained around 2/3 this morn will test and drain fill again.This is some really nice looking rock and it came from one of the cleanest river in North America. After all pretty much all rock is from the wild. I do push it by collecting LS from inland sources and have used rock of unknown history. This rock will soak a while then season in the 55 for a long time before it gets near the main tank. It will make good LR in the future.

[cracker]

I don't know whats up with this rock now. 1st test for PO4 I may have added an extra drop of the 3rd regent.) It tested < .25 for PO4. Soaking in a can now 4 days. didn't bother testing the 1st 2 days , drained off 2/3rds then refilled with ro/di twice. then tested no PO4. yesterday drained and refilled again none today either. SO I tested again adding an extra drop of regent duplicating my 1st test to see if this threw off the results . This tested zero as well. The rock is saturated with water by now. I plan to collect what water drips out of the rock and test.

[SoliSteve]

You might want to put a powerhead in there instead of just soaking the rock since the force of the water will help some of those levels dissipate as well as flush out any "critters" that may be hiding and dead invert life that will hit your tank.

[cracker]

I'm still soaking then replacing with Ro/Di. I went to water changes every two days now. Still NO PO4 but the water turning yellow. I'm going to put the Vortex on it and see what happens. I have a P/H moving water . I used up my test kits , so for now it will keep soaking. Lets see is I can get a pict for those interested.

[cracker]

Lets see if this works


This 20 ft bank of exposed rock gives a good idea. The river is very low now due to years of low rainfall here in the South Georgia North Florida region.
Note the good 15 ft of topsoil and such on top of the exposed rock. I can only imagine the time it took to build this up. The guy in the pontoon boat is diving for old cypress logs. This is the Suwanne river near LiveOak Fl, in the north central region of the state. This entire region sits on ancient coral reef.

[Woodstock]

Wow.. that is amazing how change occurs in nature! Thanks for sharing the pic.

[lcstorc]

Nice pic.

Peace
Lynn