re-using rock

[dputt88]

there seems to be a lot of confunsion about curing dead rock and curing live rock. or maybe im just the one who is confused. either way it make is difficult to search for suggestions on what to do.
so i have a lot of rock that was from my 90 gal but i have since let it dry out, it even froze for a lengthy time and now i need to clean it up so i can use some of it in the 240 gal. so far i have had it in 5 gal buckets or cooler full of RO water and i have been trying to swap the water every week.

now im at the point where the construction of the 240 is to the point where i can add some water. would it be worth it to mave all of the rock to the 24o full of fresh water and a couple power heads to allow them to clean up better?

also if i do move them to the tankdo you think that it is worth it to use RO water? or should i just speed up the process by using tap water (softened well water)?

 

[EmdeReef]

there seems to be a lot of confunsion about curing dead rock and curing live rock. or maybe im just the one who is confused. either way it make is difficult to search for suggestions on what to do.
so i have a lot of rock that was from my 90 gal but i have since let it dry out, it even froze for a lengthy time and now i need to clean it up so i can use some of it in the 240 gal. so far i have had it in 5 gal buckets or cooler full of RO water and i have been trying to swap the water every week.

now im at the point where the construction of the 240 is to the point where i can add some water. would it be worth it to mave all of the rock to the 24o full of fresh water and a couple power heads to allow them to clean up better?

also if i do move them to the tankdo you think that it is worth it to use RO water? or should i just speed up the process by using tap water (softened well water)?

I wouldn't use tap water as that may allow all sorts of impurities to bind to your rocks but at the minimum could add even more phosphates.
Getting rid of phosphates through water changes would take a lot of regular / daily changes and is pretty inefficient IMO. I've successfully used lanthanum chloride, all you need to do is soak the rocks in a trash can or a tub, fill with RO and dose a bit of lanthanum and then wait 2-3 weeks until phosphates drop ideally test every couple of days. Very rarely you may need to dose more. After that you can rinse the rocks in another batch of RO.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

there seems to be a lot of confunsion about curing dead rock and curing live rock. or maybe im just the one who is confused. either way it make is difficult to search for suggestions on what to do.
so i have a lot of rock that was from my 90 gal but i have since let it dry out, it even froze for a lengthy time and now i need to clean it up so i can use some of it in the 240 gal. so far i have had it in 5 gal buckets or cooler full of RO water and i have been trying to swap the water every week.

now im at the point where the construction of the 240 is to the point where i can add some water. would it be worth it to mave all of the rock to the 24o full of fresh water and a couple power heads to allow them to clean up better?

also if i do move them to the tankdo you think that it is worth it to use RO water? or should i just speed up the process by using tap water (softened well water)?

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@dputt88 / @EmdeReef - I know this is an old post but I have a question for u 2 Lads?

I have a quick question and would like some other peoples opinion on this subject? Do you think I need to re-curing my 50lbs of old school Ultra Premium Fiji live rock that I have left over from a previous build?? I had it running in saltwater in the back rubber maid container for about two months in just standard saltwater w/ a powerhead. Now, I drained all of the water and it's just been sitting in the container in the back now for over 2months. The rock does not smell at all since it's been sitting in that back Rubbermaid container for over 3 months now. What would be your next step, give this rock a Bleach bath or would you put all back in the Rubbermaid with some NWS, HEATER and a powerhead? Let it run for a while a few weeks and then start running my Amino and Nitrates tests.

 

[dputt88]

if it were me, i would just let it soak in some RO water with a power head for a week or so. at this point I honestly wonder if worrying about the dead stuff on old rock is worth the trouble. I don't feel like there is a substantial amount of waste on old rock to cause any real harm to a tank. bottom line is its going to be months for a tank to cycle and stabilize and by then most of the crud has broken down and been pulled by a skimmer or some other form of filtration. not to mention that cleaning rock is actually somewhat laborious.

 

[EmdeReef]

My concern would be phosphates, depending on the situation in the prior tank. If you didn’t have high phosphates then it should be fine. Otherwise, the rocks could be leaching phosphates in your tank for a very long time.

The easiest way to test is to put the rocks in a tub with RODI, can be heated, and then measure phosphates after a day or two. If off the charts you may want to cure the rocks with LaCl to avoid algal blooms and other potential issues in your tank.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

My concern would be phosphates, depending on the situation in the prior tank. If you didn’t have high phosphates then it should be fine. Otherwise, the rocks could be leaching phosphates in your tank for a very long time.

The easiest way to test is to put the rocks in a tub with RODI, can be heated, and then measure phosphates after a day or two. If off the charts you may want to cure the rocks with LaCl to avoid algal blooms and other potential issues in your tank.

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@Endoreef , many thanks for the advise! This rock came out of my 120 mixed reef tank and as you can see my SPS reef was thriving big time! So my PO4 was probably around 02.
I think I am going to put all of that Ultra Fiji back into my Rubbermaid along with a MJ-1200 powerhead, and a heater! Any recommendations on the temp @Endereef, I need to keep the water?

 

[Jay Norris]

Hi, your former tank looks nice, I would keep the temp around 78 degrees, and keep the specific gravity around 1.026 or as close to natural seawater as possible, add a piece or two of live rock to seed it and give it a few months to cure.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Hi, your former tank looks nice, I would keep the temp around 78 degrees, and keep the specific gravity around 1.026 or as close to natural seawater as possible, add a piece or two of live rock to seed it and give it a few months to cure.

Over 14 years up and running and I had to take her down since I have bought a bigger tank, broke my heart to break down a thriving reef

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I always recommend cooking and curing live rock that has been dried out. Doing so for as long as possible will insure clean healthy rock ready to start a reef tank. Right now I am cooking some dry live rock that I cured and cycled first, po4 started at off the chart levels and has slowly come down to .5 ppm after a few months of cookinh amd water changes. Lathium is a good was to speed up po4 removal.

 

[cracker]

Consider soaking this rock in new salt instead of fresh water. let it soak for a week or 2 then test for No3 & Po4 . this is to keep nutrient laden rock out of your new tank. It could lead to algae issues in the future.

Desert Reef is right on the money !