Brando457

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North, NJ
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Odd question on old dry rock I have....

So I have some old dry rock from one of my older tanks.

I let the rock sit in a barrel outside for a year or longer. Now the barrel let some rain water get into the rock.

I am wondering if there is a way to salvage the rock? Would the below work or how would I go about it?

1. Bleach the rock to make sure nothing nasty on it is alive
2. Vinegar bath the rock to neutralize the bleach
3. I think there is some kind of acid bath to remove phosphates?
4. Cure the rock in a separate bin with a heater + power head and some saltwater?

Will this work or is the rock better off tossed?

Thanks
 

Nandez13

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No need to toss it. Vinegar bath, a good scrubbing, then cure them in a bin with a heater/powerhead. Add some live rock from your tank if you can spare it, add a source of ammonia, then wait it out
 

Brando457

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I was under the impression I would need something to neutralize the phosphates in the rock since it will probably leech them after sitting in rain water for so long?
 

vio

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my first salt water tank was in 1989 ( fresh water, 1960, my father own Tropical fish store) for some reason , always i use live Rocks (Fiji,Tonga etc.) now i run 99 % RRR, i like 100 % better, i control PO4, Nitrate way much easy. I guess live Rocks have time life, when got saturated of PO4, detritus, dead organic stuff, just leak back.


http://realreefrock.com/product-line
 

BioMan

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Brewster, NY
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just rainwater or are you talking about leaves and bugs and stuff like that. If it was just a closed barrel that sprung a leak simply set up the rock like they do in any fish store and toss a polyfilter pad or 2 in there. put the first one in then wait and see what color it turns then go from there. I had 100+ lbs of some nice rock that had been exposed to COPPER for a month and a month of poly pads and water changes did it justice, results from the lab 0 copper.
 

BioMan

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Brewster, NY
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just water

if you've got rocks that you like then go ahead and try what I did, put fresh saltwater in a bucket or container with a heater and something to push the water around then toss in a Polyfilter in there and see what color it changes. You'll notice after a week or 2 that regardless of the color of the pad there might be sand or dust like material at the bottom. Thats when you do 100% water change ad empty and wipe down the bin (we're talking 15-20 gallons depending on how you stack the rocks,maybe less) and go at it again and toss in a second pad. See if that changes color. after a total of a month you should be in business.
COST-$12 for 2 pads and half a cup of salt for however much water you go thru.
 

ifarmer

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Mass
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bleach it for overnight.
wash it thoughoutly
let them sit in the fresh water for a day
let it dry for a few days
let it sit (summerse) in the water for another day
dry it again
should be ready to use
I have done it every time in each of my last 4 setup.
Whenever I buy live rocks or dead rocks. I always bleach them before I put them to use. works every time and no issues
 

Brando457

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North, NJ
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I am going to let them dry out in the sun, then stick them in a bin with a heater and saltwater to cycle.

I am glad I remembered the barrel as there is probably 100 pounds of rock in there.
 

Mattl22

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Garden city
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Ill tell u one thing I used old rock on my 220 had massive hair algae problem for months if I could do it again I'd cure them better and soak them in a barrel with water a power head and lanthanium chloride not saying do that but something to check into
 

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