Well, here we go...100 gallons. Walk me through it?!

[BCollie]

Good idea. Can I just use a scrub brush dipped in a bleach solution?Do the river rocks need to be bleached? They were muddy but I rinsed them clean with the hose.

[LisaGarcia]

I bleached my rocks. You could also boil them if you didn't want to bleach them.

[BCollie]

I don't like to boil or bake rocks because there's a (small) possibility that it can cause them to explode. Not a chance I will take!
SO if I use bleach it should be 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, so 1 gallon of bleach in 10 gallons of water? That sounds like a lot

[BCollie]

OH! Also, in addition to my last question...how am I supposed to drain the drainage layer when it gets full?

[DigitalPunk]

I always boil my rocks. Video tape the boiling. If it explodes put it on youtube and make some money . The instances I have heard about rocks exploding is due to them being wet and then heated rapidly. The steam is what causes the explosive reaction. So boiling them removes any of those factors from the equation.


Draining the drainage layer. Go look at Bills Solitude build. He shows off the way he drains his tanks. That is also how I do it, but lately I have been drilling my tanks and putting in a drain so it empties itself as it gets full

[BCollie]

I already have the rocks soaking in 5 gallons of water with 1/2 gallon of bleach...so no boiling this time!

I looked at his Solitude build and didn't see how he drains the drainage layer? Maybe I just missed it?

It seems like sticking a piece of black painted PVC pipe down into the drainage layer so it's poking just above the substrate would work...that way you can just put a siphon down into the tube and siphon out water, then cap it off when it's not in use. Or is there a better way to do it?

[DigitalPunk]

Bill uses small airline tubing, He puts a standard sponge filter down in the drainage layer and has his air tubing inserted into it. He also puts a small valve on the end of the tube outside the tank. The valve allows him to start his siphon one time and then close the valve thus preserving the siphon for when you need it again . Remember you want to keep you drainage layer around 1/2 or more of water (just dont let the water touch the soil). The small diameter of the airline tube makes it super easy to conceal.