Rusty_L_Shackleford
Well-Known Member
Welcome. All of my rock was actually given to me by someone who had it sitting out in their yard for awhile. I blasted it off with a pressure washer (even just a hose would have worked but I had the pressure washer so why not use it). Then I soaked it in a bleach solution for a week. Then a week in RO/Dechlorinator. Then a week in strait RO. Then it was good to go. 2 years in and no issues.
WvAquatics
Valuable Member
Honestly I would think about just soaking it in saltwater and let it cycle. Maybe a quick rinse off. If you are worried soak in bleach or vinegar. I just soaked soak in vinegar for a few weeks. Then I let it dry for about 2 weeks and put it straight into the display. No rinsing. So far corals are doing good and nothing bad has happened
Lucas Savioli
Community Member
Hello, and welcome!
Many aquarists do bleach (dry) rocks/corals skeletons (let it sit in bleach diluted in water for couple hours), rinse [very] well and allow some days to chlorine evaporate in the sun.
Is usually done in reused rocks or substrate from another aquarium, as a safety mesure to remove potential organic matter that might have on it, pests or maybe some chemicals that it might have been exposed.
Many aquarists do bleach (dry) rocks/corals skeletons (let it sit in bleach diluted in water for couple hours), rinse [very] well and allow some days to chlorine evaporate in the sun.
Is usually done in reused rocks or substrate from another aquarium, as a safety mesure to remove potential organic matter that might have on it, pests or maybe some chemicals that it might have been exposed.
Lucas Savioli
Community Member
It should look bleached (whiten), your pieces look white already - it doesn't mean that is completely clean, the process if you do it would remove mainly dust and debris.
PharmrJohn
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I may have missed it, but one of the issues with used dead rock is its propensity to hold on to phosphates. Take my 145# of dead rock. I took it out of my tank when I broke it down and just stored it. If I want to use it again, I'll need to pressure wash it, bleach it, let it dry, pressure wash it again, rinse it, let it dry, then put it in a Brute Garbage Can for a few months with a powerhead, a raw shrimp, bacteria in a bottle and a heater. Then let it cook, doing water changes and waiting for the PO4 to get down to a manageable level. But once that's done, I'd have Live Rock.
Lucas Savioli
Community Member
That is ideal, preparing it from dead to live rock, if I had space I would probably do it.
PharmrJohn
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Yeah, ya do need room. If you have an apartment, it would be difficult. I know that my wife would have ISSUE with a garbage can of rock that smells like a rotten shrimp in her living room, lol!
Lucas Savioli
Community Member
Yes!
Smells and apartments doesn't go well, even mature living rock smells off out of water, depending on the algae it has... Actually many algae doesn't smell too good
Rusty_L_Shackleford
Well-Known Member
One benefit of the bleach is that it will also break down any organics trapped in the rock as well that we're left behind after pressure washing.
Rusty_L_Shackleford
Well-Known Member
When I use it to set up a tank, I seed with some established live rock and leave the lights off for a month or 2 and feed the tank, and do some water changes. Then start the lights off very low, like 20% for 4 hours a day and slowly ramp up. Add a couple of fish and some CUC and just let it marinate and ride out any ugly stages. This is where my clown fish tank is right now. Riding out some hair algae, which is fine, not like the fish care.
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