Live rock collected off the beach? Caribbean

[JonnyJ]

When I went to Turks and Caicos this year we collected tons of shells and small pieces of tonga style rock outside of the water on the beach.

I have around 10-12 pieces smaller then the size of a fist and they are all odd shapes.

This was our second trip this year and i asked previously what the regulations were. They explained it was fine as long is was dead and from the beach. They were only strict about conch shell removal. They checked over our bag our first trip and had no problem with us taking back the rock so the second time we took a few more. Anyways, We planned to use the shells for decoration and to pur some of the rocks in a tank after i cured them.

I placed them in a nano with some cycled sand, a filter with a cycled sponge, some macro an some live rock.

I'm wondering since they were washed up on the shore if there is anything to expect?

Possible phosphates ? Would you think that's the only thing that could be introduced? They were bone white when i found them and i soaked them in ro for a few weeks then let them dry out.


There isn't many visible holes but they are definitely a little porous.

What do you guys think? they were found on a local beach that has shallow waters home to many small reefs.

 

[KathyC]

Your concern would be with what might have been floating on the water when these rocks were deposited on the beach.
Things like..suntan lotion from people swimming, oil/gas from boats...there is no way to know what the rocks absorbed.
IMO I would use them as decor near my tanks..but not in them

 

[JonnyJ]

Hey kathy thanks for the input.

Many things ran through my head as well and didn't trust to add them to my DT.

I forgot to add that the beach i collected at was on a neighboring island on a private un visited cove.

I doubt more than 1-2 sets of people visit the beach weekly since its pretty unknown. Boats probably travel around there but not close since its roughly 2-3 feet for around a 1/2 mile out.

Im not discrediting what you said because I agree.

I guess I'm more interested in knowing what could be done to treat the rock? If anything at all.. Bleach?

Right now I planned to stock the nano with some Xenia and macros I have from my tank to see how it does but I guess to really know I would have to test this long term.

 

[BKLYN REEF]

I would start by boiling them in hot water. I've also read about people who give rock a muriatic acid bath. google- live rock muriatic acid

 

[ruha456]

I brought some over from Dominican Republic before small pieces like u did and had no problem cleaning and cycling them. I put em in my tank and I had no problem at all. I'd try specially since you put em in a qt. mine were also bone white. Cool to have a piece of we're u been in your tank. Go for it.

 

[FMF0331]

Everytime i go overseas or come back from a beach trip, i try to grab a "dead" piece of coral/rock already washed up on shore - i would throw that piece in bleach for 3 days and then soak it in fresh water for about 2 weeks or until the smell of bleach is gone.
I have about 14 little pieces all through out my tank.

 

[DREUTZ]

I collected lots of rock from Barbados to be used in the rock wall of my new tank. I soaked the rock in bleach and rinsed out for about a week with frequent water changes until the smell of bleach was gone and then let dry out in the sun for a few days. then I gave all the rock a muriatic acid bath and then soaked it in RO for a week or 2 changing the water every couple of days. I can't speak about it working as the tank has not been set up yet, but I can tell you that a lot of the rock surfaces were eaten away so something happened!

FYI if you do the acid bath: be very careful, do it outside and read up on it before doing it.

 

[boozeman]

I brought back rocks and shells from PR and just dumped them in tank .....its been about two years now