Prepping dead coral for use in a tank

msbreton · 05/09/2013, 03:54 PM

I've been working to prepare a piece of dead coral for use in my tank. It's been outside for years so I started with a good scrub and rinse. Then I soaked in a rodi/ammonia solution for a few days. Then I rinsed again and soaked in an rodi/dechlorinating solution for a few days. I rinsed again in rodi and then set it in the sun for a few more days. Then another rinse in rodi and let soak in an rodi solution. Every 2-3 days I test the water for phosphates, dump and rinse, and repeat. It's been a couple of weeks and I keep getting 0.17 phosphates. Should I just keep going to start over? I wasn't going to put it in my tank until leaching phosphates where < 0.05.

Thanks!

-Mike

dkeller_nc · 05/09/2013, 05:00 PM

Speaking strictly as a chemical engineer from the aspects of mass transfer, you may have considerably better luck removing the phosphates from the coral by adding a phosphate scavenger to the mixing rodi. There are a couple of ways to do this - adding a "sponge" like GFO, or add a precipitating agent such as Lanthanum chloride.

The idea here is based on Le Chatelier's principle: removing a substance from one side of a chemical equation shifts the equilibrium. If that substance is continuously removed, it speeds the reaction. In your case, the chemical equation is the dissolution of solid phosphate (probably in the form of calcium phosphate or calcium orthophosphates, but could also be magnesium phosphate). By removing the phosphate from the solution, you drive the further dissolution of the solid phosphate.

OregonReefer2 · 05/09/2013, 06:03 PM

Go the LC route... It's much more economical than GFO. Unless you're talking about a small piece of coral and already have a reactor ready to use

dkeller_nc · 05/10/2013, 06:28 AM

One other thing to keep in mind is that you may simply have a piece of coral that grew in coastal waters that had a lot of phosphate in it. If that's true, you've already removed all of the surface phosphate, now it's just the coral's skeleton.

Also worth keeping in mind is that RODI water is a very aggressive solubilization agent, so you may be getting a lot more phosphate being solubilized than you will once the coral is placed in saltwater.

NeilFox · 05/10/2013, 08:52 AM

I personally wouldn't risk it. Just my opinion. I've seen it tried.

05/09/2013, 03:54 PM	#1
msbreton Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 138	Prepping dead coral for use in a tank I've been working to prepare a piece of dead coral for use in my tank. It's been outside for years so I started with a good scrub and rinse. Then I soaked in a rodi/ammonia solution for a few days. Then I rinsed again and soaked in an rodi/dechlorinating solution for a few days. I rinsed again in rodi and then set it in the sun for a few more days. Then another rinse in rodi and let soak in an rodi solution. Every 2-3 days I test the water for phosphates, dump and rinse, and repeat. It's been a couple of weeks and I keep getting 0.17 phosphates. Should I just keep going to start over? I wasn't going to put it in my tank until leaching phosphates where < 0.05. Thanks! -Mike __________________ Tank Info:75gal mixed reef-134lbs LR & 40lbs sand, Eshopps PF-1000 overflow, RS-1000 sump (20gal), Fuge (10g), Reef Octopus eSsence S-130 Skimmer, Reef Tec 400 pump, Aqua 25w UV, VorTech MP40wES, 2 Ra

05/09/2013, 05:00 PM	#2
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	Speaking strictly as a chemical engineer from the aspects of mass transfer, you may have considerably better luck removing the phosphates from the coral by adding a phosphate scavenger to the mixing rodi. There are a couple of ways to do this - adding a "sponge" like GFO, or add a precipitating agent such as Lanthanum chloride. The idea here is based on Le Chatelier's principle: removing a substance from one side of a chemical equation shifts the equilibrium. If that substance is continuously removed, it speeds the reaction. In your case, the chemical equation is the dissolution of solid phosphate (probably in the form of calcium phosphate or calcium orthophosphates, but could also be magnesium phosphate). By removing the phosphate from the solution, you drive the further dissolution of the solid phosphate.

05/09/2013, 06:03 PM	#3
OregonReefer2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 324	Go the LC route... It's much more economical than GFO. Unless you're talking about a small piece of coral and already have a reactor ready to use

05/10/2013, 06:28 AM	#4
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	One other thing to keep in mind is that you may simply have a piece of coral that grew in coastal waters that had a lot of phosphate in it. If that's true, you've already removed all of the surface phosphate, now it's just the coral's skeleton. Also worth keeping in mind is that RODI water is a very aggressive solubilization agent, so you may be getting a lot more phosphate being solubilized than you will once the coral is placed in saltwater.

05/10/2013, 08:52 AM	#5
NeilFox Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: DuPont, WA Posts: 947	I personally wouldn't risk it. Just my opinion. I've seen it tried.