"Cooking/curing" dry rock

[puddleglum]

Hello all,

I bought 50 lbs of Pukani dry rock from BRS about 7 years ago for a tank I was going to set up. Then I moved. Then I moved again... and again... and again. I think I am done moving, but am not set up for a 75g tank that the rock was intended for. I am thinking about a 10 gallon softie tank. I started a thread on that in the nano-reef forum.

Seven years ago, I soaked the rock in a bin of water with bleach to remove much of the organics in the rock. Now I am thinking I should pull out a few pieces I would like to use in the ten gallon, and "cook/cure" them. By "cook/cure" I don't mean cycle, I mean put them in a tank of water and let the remaining nitrogen phosphorous in the rock leech out. There are lots of guides online on how to do this but:

My question is, do I have to use salt water to do this? Does the salt aid in leeching these compounds out in a way that fresh water will not? Could I not get the same effect if I had the rock in a container full of freshwater with a powerhead? Is this not just a physical removal of the compounds into the water, is there a bacteriological/biological aspect as well, that necessitates the salt?

Thanks,
-pg

 

[Dan_P]

Hello all,

I bought 50 lbs of Pukani dry rock from BRS about 7 years ago for a tank I was going to set up. Then I moved. Then I moved again... and again... and again. I think I am done moving, but am not set up for a 75g tank that the rock was intended for. I am thinking about a 10 gallon softie tank. I started a thread on that in the nano-reef forum.

Seven years ago, I soaked the rock in a bin of water with bleach to remove much of the organics in the rock. Now I am thinking I should pull out a few pieces I would like to use in the ten gallon, and "cook/cure" them. By "cook/cure" I don't mean cycle, I mean put them in a tank of water and let the remaining nitrogen phosphorous in the rock leech out. There are lots of guides online on how to do this but:

My question is, do I have to use salt water to do this? Does the salt aid in leeching these compounds out in a way that fresh water will not? Could I not get the same effect if I had the rock in a container full of freshwater with a powerhead? Is this not just a physical removal of the compounds into the water, is there a bacteriological/biological aspect as well, that necessitates the salt?

Thanks,
-pg

Just wondering. Could you just give the rocks a vinegar bath which would dissolve the surface of the rock. Anything attachec would be removed.

 

[puddleglum]

It was 7 years ago, so I am a little fuzzy on it, but I think I may have done vinegar and then rinsed and then soaked in bleach. There may be very little leaching, but I see no reason not to let it soak for a while just to be safe and avoid more algae that necessary.

 

[xabo]

May be worth a read: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...ock-for-a-saltwater-reef-tank-brstv-reef-faqs

 

[puddleglum]

May be worth a read: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...ock-for-a-saltwater-reef-tank-brstv-reef-faqs

The BRS videos are what I followed when I originally treated the rocks.

One thing I am a little unclear on is should I be doing weekly 100% water changes and measuring, or can I do smaller water changes and measure until the phosphates stop rising, and then do a 100% water change?

 

[Pntbll687]

Hello all,

I bought 50 lbs of Pukani dry rock from BRS about 7 years ago for a tank I was going to set up. Then I moved. Then I moved again... and again... and again. I think I am done moving, but am not set up for a 75g tank that the rock was intended for. I am thinking about a 10 gallon softie tank. I started a thread on that in the nano-reef forum.

Seven years ago, I soaked the rock in a bin of water with bleach to remove much of the organics in the rock. Now I am thinking I should pull out a few pieces I would like to use in the ten gallon, and "cook/cure" them. By "cook/cure" I don't mean cycle, I mean put them in a tank of water and let the remaining nitrogen phosphorous in the rock leech out. There are lots of guides online on how to do this but:

My question is, do I have to use salt water to do this? Does the salt aid in leeching these compounds out in a way that fresh water will not? Could I not get the same effect if I had the rock in a container full of freshwater with a powerhead? Is this not just a physical removal of the compounds into the water, is there a bacteriological/biological aspect as well, that necessitates the salt?

Thanks,
-pg

I would do a bleach/water bath to start, then put the rock in a saltwater bath after rinsing. I'm sure there are compounds that will be attracted to the saltwater and not fresh water. The only way to know for sure is if you test the water for phosphates and see if it's going up/down.

You wouldn't have to use full strength saltwater, something in the 1.018 range is more than fine, could probably go all the way down to 1.009 or so and be ok

 

[puddleglum]

After a week of cooking/curing about 40 lbs dry pukani rock in about 20 gallons of saltwater with a heater and powerhead, I tested and found 0.3ppm phosphates. I did a 100% water change and will test again after another week. I did lots of searches, but couldn't find any suggestions as to when the leaching can be considered done.

Do I want to wait until it stops leaching, with zero detectable increase?
Is there a small amount of leaching that won't be problematic while cycling and establishing the tank?

Thanks,
-pg