Best way to break down tank?

[richardhmc]

I'm trying to break down my tank so I moved out all my corals and fish.
However, due to lack of husbandry, my rocks and sand are dirty with algae and crap all over it. I want to get it as clean as possible. So how can I "kill" the stuff on it?

Should I just leave the light off while doing water changes?

Thanks

 

[lfsmarineguy]

cook it. That's the best way to recover. The sand might not be worth it. If you have the cash I would just replace the sand but cook the rocks.

 

[marrone]

I'm guessing you want to just clean up your tank, and not break it down and get rid of it, or upgrade to another tank. I'm not sure what type of algae you have on the rocks, red cyano maybe? What I would do is is siphon some of the water from the tank into a large pail or Rubbermaid container. Then take out the rock and scrub the dirt/algae off of it. At that point you can siphon the dirt/algae off the sand.

 

[richardhmc]

I am setting up a new tank. I bought new rocks and sand for it. I just want to clean up this rock and sand to be able to sell it thats all.

alrighty thanks for your replies

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

put it in a tub w/ no light and try using an algae killer..they have a few different ones at the stores. Or just put a bunch of snails and hermits in there

 

[lfsmarineguy]

algae killer is just going to be a waste of money because it isn't going to fix the issue, just kill the algae. Just cook it in a dark tub and do waterchanges on it. It will go white but it will still be "live". Plus, this way you get rid of any nutrients the rock is harboring so when you sell it the next guy doesn't have the same problem and blame you.

 

[richardhmc]

nah im trying to go natural way of cleaning this. no chemicals lol alright how long would this cooking take?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

depends on how bad the rock is.

 

[richardhmc]

Eh its not that bad at all actually I could prob scrub it all off. just lookin out for the person that buys this off me. cause I dont want it to have pests which I know it does

 

[DHaut]

depending on the circumstances, i like to take a sledgehammer right to the front glass pane. die bryopsis. die.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I'm not talking about the algae. Algae is always a symptom of a bigger problem. If you fill a bucket with 100% fresh made saltwater and let the rock sit in it with a powerhead, you will register nitrates and phosphates (at elevated levels beyond whatever is in your mix) if you test the water. Live rock is a chemical sponge, it has the same levels as the water that surrounds it. Cooking the rock helps leach the compounds out stripping the rock of what was causing the algae in the first place.

 

[Bikeboss11]

Cooking is your best bet.... Gud luck

 

[ravi197699]

i just re did my tank due to gha and i took all the rock out and put it in the tub full of freshwater and bleach and let it soak for three days and let me tell you rock came out brand new and after that i did samething but with vinegar and let it sit in that for 3-4 days and afer that i washed it with freshwater light high pressure should take all the bad dead stuff out of pores and then i let it sit in freshwater again without anything in the water and i chaned water in the bucket everyday for 5 days untill i stop smelling vinegar and then i let it dry in the sun for few days and then added in the tank and tank went through small cycle since i had live rock my fuge to seed it and added new sand and now tank is beautiful. hope this helps you.

 

[Imbarrie]

And all the phosphates from the fresh water leeched back in to your rocks. Fueling the cycle all over again.

I'm not sure about cooking. But the best way is to place it in a tub with pure RODI and keep up water changes of pure RODI. That will kill all the algae and leech all the chemicals from the rock.