What should I do??

[Andrew9909]

Okay, so here it goes.. I'm starting a new build and had purchased some live rock off of another member when they were breaking down there tank. The rock was in an established tank for over a year when it was broken down and at first glance seemed fine. Since I've had the live rock it has been in a Rubbermaid container with 2 powerheads and a heater, just waiting for my tank to arrive. I ordered my tank 2 weeks ago and the first one came cracked so I'm awaiting the delivery of the new, new one. Well anyway here's my issue.. while I was taking a look at the rock the other day I noticed a few aptasia!!! But unfortunately the more I look the more I see. It seems that there are at least a few on each piece of rock and I'm sure plenty that I dont see. So the question is, should I set up the tank with the rock and try to eradicate it afterwards or just nuke the rock and start from scratch??? Just looking for some of your opinions and advice. Thanks in advance for your assistance!!

 

[duromega]

You starting a new tank, patience is key in this hobby
If I were in your case I would kill the rock and start the right way

 

[theMeat]

Yup ^
Hose it off and then leave it in the sun for a few days and start over. Once you get the tank running get a few pieces of rock and sand from a nice clean tank to seed yours.

 

[nharbarte]

you starting a new tank, patience is key in this hobby
if i were in your case i would kill the rock and start the right way

+1

 

[Clink51]

nuke and rebuild dude.

 

[duke62]

There is no eradicating them once in the tank. You can get fish and nudis that eat them but the aiotasia gets in the pipes,hoses, skimmer everywhere. They need no light just free floating particles.

 

[Jazeel55]

OMG. Those things are the worst even my file fish refuses to eat them now. It's like an itch you can get to stop no matter how much you scratch

 

[oh207]

Given that your rocks are in rubbbermaid and not in tank and still cycling....You are at a very good point right now to take action in treating the Live rock.
Nuke em, nuke em all!

 

[Andrew9909]

Well I guess it's pretty obvious what needs to be done!! Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated!!

 

[Master Shake]

lower the salinity in the rubbermaid, will kill aptasia off while keeping the rock live

 

[Camer25]

Kill the rock. I would go the muriatic acid route. That's what I did with my live rock when I set up my new tank. I soaked in 2:1 bleach water. Then rinsed well. Then muriatic acid bath. When you setup buy a piece of cured rock to seed and you will be good to go.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I used to like the "grab bag" type of variety you get from wild live rock. But it has ALWAYS come back to bite me.

Aptasia, parasitic worms, hydroids, crabs... Now I am a big fan of starting off with DEAD rock and seeding it with what I WANT it to have... It will save you a lot of grief and headaches.