I have about 200 lbs of dead rock from previous tanks that I'd like to use as base rock in my new 180 display/425 gallons system. The rock has was pulled from previous tanks and has been shelved for a few years. A lot of the rock has dead algae and detritus on/in it as it was not cleaned before it was shelved. What would be the best process to get this rock tank ready again?
Reusing dead LR
- Thread starter skatezen
- Start date
Same with Keith, I would bleach it then use it making sure everything is dead never know if it was holding moisture.
How long will you be planning on getting the tank up and going?
If you have time
Wash the rock very well with water hose then Fill up the container with RODI water
Add 2 cup of bleach for 50g of water Soak your rock for 24hrs and remove from the bleach container. When remove the rock, make sure you shake it inside the water to rinse everything off. Place the rock outdoor under the sun for 1 week so the bleach can evaporate. After 7 days in the sun bring the rock back in and place it in RODI water and do water change every other day for couple week. Your rock should be nice and white....
How long will you be planning on getting the tank up and going?
If you have time
Wash the rock very well with water hose then Fill up the container with RODI water
Add 2 cup of bleach for 50g of water Soak your rock for 24hrs and remove from the bleach container. When remove the rock, make sure you shake it inside the water to rinse everything off. Place the rock outdoor under the sun for 1 week so the bleach can evaporate. After 7 days in the sun bring the rock back in and place it in RODI water and do water change every other day for couple week. Your rock should be nice and white....
- Location
- FREEPORT,LONG ISLAND
Does he have to use RODI water when using Bleach?
I had about 200 lbs of rock that i had in a pail of salt water for some time. I then decided to start cooking the rock, because the rock was in a dark pail, the cleaning process had begun and a lot of the gunk was already coming off.
what I did was to replace that water with some fresh salt water and add a cheap skimmer, I then added two cups of vodka and two teaspoons of brightwells Microbacter 7.what I got in the next two days was the most disgusting smell I had witnessed in a long time. Have you ever heard of how the human body decomposes after death, and how horrible the smell can be, well what I just described was a walk in the park after the grass has been cut. by the fourth day the smell was horrendous, the skimmer had taken a lot of crap out, but the vodka and bacterial dose had cleaned this rock amazingly. I did several water changes after that and I also pressure washed the rock the final stage was another bath in a pail of saltwater, half cup of vodka and two teaspoons of microbacter 7. The rock is in an excellent clean state, and without all the phosphates and algae that had accumilated over the years of being in other tanks.
This process was something I read on RC and did just to make sure that i could get the most clean rock I could. I thought it was clean after cooking it in the dark with saltwater and a skimmer. wow was I wrong. Give it a try you won't be disappointed. By the way don't leave the pail in the house, even with it covered the smell was escaping and permeating the house.
good luck.
what I did was to replace that water with some fresh salt water and add a cheap skimmer, I then added two cups of vodka and two teaspoons of brightwells Microbacter 7.what I got in the next two days was the most disgusting smell I had witnessed in a long time. Have you ever heard of how the human body decomposes after death, and how horrible the smell can be, well what I just described was a walk in the park after the grass has been cut. by the fourth day the smell was horrendous, the skimmer had taken a lot of crap out, but the vodka and bacterial dose had cleaned this rock amazingly. I did several water changes after that and I also pressure washed the rock the final stage was another bath in a pail of saltwater, half cup of vodka and two teaspoons of microbacter 7. The rock is in an excellent clean state, and without all the phosphates and algae that had accumilated over the years of being in other tanks.
This process was something I read on RC and did just to make sure that i could get the most clean rock I could. I thought it was clean after cooking it in the dark with saltwater and a skimmer. wow was I wrong. Give it a try you won't be disappointed. By the way don't leave the pail in the house, even with it covered the smell was escaping and permeating the house.
good luck.
The purpose of using RODI water is so that you are not adding more TDS back into the rock when you are trying to get rid of them.
If you are trying to clean rock that has not been properly cured (PH wise ) then regular water is fine, since you will be doing several water changes. But saltwater and RODI will be better in the final stages of cooking rock.
If you are trying to clean rock that has not been properly cured (PH wise ) then regular water is fine, since you will be doing several water changes. But saltwater and RODI will be better in the final stages of cooking rock.
Don't leave off the muriatic acid. This will etch the outter layer and remove a lot of phosphates. (Recommended by Randy Farley on RC)
I wish I had taken pictures from when I did it. TONS of brown foam comes out until the rock is clean.
Also, use a hard bristle brush to help remove organics. Before and after bleaching.
I wish I had taken pictures from when I did it. TONS of brown foam comes out until the rock is clean.
Also, use a hard bristle brush to help remove organics. Before and after bleaching.
Thanks for all the info guys. For the first weeks I had the rock soaking in hot tap water, then I added about 2 cups of bleach and let is sit for 3 days. Most of the dead bryopsis was white, but when I pulled off some of the white strands there was still green at the "root" where it anchors to the rock. I read on RC that someone added 2 gallons of bleach to a 40 gallon trash can to dissolve the organics, but this seems a little excessive to me. My goal with the bleach bath was to sanitize the rock and kill off any possible algae spores. I'm wondering if at this point the rock is sterile, I'm pretty sure it is, but I'm concerned by still seeing the green bryopsis. I've heard that even after the rock and algae is dry the bryopsis can still come back to life, but I don't really believe this. I've had this stuff in my life long enough and I want it GONE! Should I go for broke and really bleach the crap out of it or have I accomplished my goal? I still want to do what Alex said with the Vodka and Microbacter7 to really give it a good deep cleaning.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
