What are some good ways to KILL live rock and then bring it back ALIVE?

shred5 · May 8, 2012

I just bleach the rock to remove any organics in the rock. I then rinse well and soak in dechlorinator for several days and rinse again and dry. I have been doing this for years. Some people use muriatic acid to do the same.

ruppertb · May 11, 2012

So I acid washed alot of rock last night. It doesnt look the best, did I do something wrong. I mixed a gallon container of muratic acid with 10gal water. and poured this all into my container with my rock. It foamed and foamed. I left it for 25min. then baking soda'd it, and rinsed. Some of the rocks are all slimy, whill this come off when soaked in water longer. Other rocks that had Green star polyps on them still have the polyps and you cant even rip it off, I also had a few rocks in there that I had blow tourched off the gsp like a months ago and then dried and it didnt even come off. Should I do a longer or strong bath for these rocks. I just dont want to eat away at all my rock!

JSemour · May 11, 2012

It sounds like you have ALOT of "life" on the rock. Do you know what strength the bottle of muriatic acid was? The sliminess is partially dissolved organic material. Until the acid eats through this, the rock underneath will remain practically untouched. If you have access to a powerwasher, you might try and spray off as much of the encrusting organisms as possible. Your rock will likely need much longer baths(overnight to days) to remove the copious amount of organics.

ruppertb · May 12, 2012

i re-did a bath with the few rocks that had green star polyps on them. did it at 1-3 ratio and all it did was eat at the rock from the sides untill the green star polyps seperated. lost a large amount weight wise thou. i will have to find a different approach.

saltwaternoob · May 12, 2012

I dont know if anyone posted it but you can always "cook" the rock. A few weeks in fresh saltwater(changed at least weekly) with no lighting does the trick. Preferably 5+ weeks.

oigimsar · May 12, 2012

OK. Just want to follow up on this one more time before I go after this tomorrow. My rock was taken out of my tank about 6 months ago and was pest free. It was sitting in a bucket for 5 months and has been out in the sun for the past month. It is bleach white at this point and dry.

I am a little bit leary of the muriatic acid. Should I just "cook it"? Bleach it? Or just use it and plan on a longer cycle?

saltwaternoob · May 12, 2012

If it was me i would just cook it. I am leery about soaking rock in bleach but that is just me, obviously it works fine. It kills all the bacteria, but since your rock is dry i would think the bleach would be the way to go. Your going to have a longer cycle since it is dead rock though.

Dudey · May 15, 2012

The best way is to put it in the pool for a couple days. Once its all white, take it out, rinse ot all off well, and let it dry in the sun a few days. Rinse with RO, ready to go. The chlorine will all evaporate in the sun, and your rock will be pristine. A bonus is that any corraline will turn white/fade, but usually will not die completely, so it will recover pretty quickly. This worked awesome for me, and the corraline came back like gangbusters.

BarbH · May 15, 2012

Have seen a lot of replies of what people do to "kill" the rock, but what methods do you use to bring the rock back to life?

Nomadic1 · May 16, 2012

It comes back to life after you cycle the tank again with it in there. You could help seed it with bacteria by using something like Dr Tim's one and only or similar product.

Daniel@R2R · Jul 17, 2016

Bumping this for the info.

WilRams · Jul 17, 2016

I use the acid wash method since I really like Pukani Rock and it always comes in full of organics. Same if I buy rock from someone else since I have no idea what they had going on.

West1 · Sep 10, 2016

Good read, bump

Frop · Sep 10, 2016

Can you microwave a rock?

jk

Gone2thefishes · Jan 25, 2023

cdness said:
Here's a few:

Muriatic acid
Vinegar
Bleach
Hot Sun
Oven
Boiling water

Just keep in mind that when killing the rock, be sure to use respiratory, skin and eye protections no matter what method you use. There have been reports of people getting very sick from boiling rock that has pests (palys) on it due to toxins. Work on the side of caution and protect yourself.

Not oven! Don’t suggest that. Any mousing the rock will steam and want to expand rapidly, usually when opening the oven door and explode. That was never what the term “cooking rock” is about.