Second hand rock

[PotatoPig]

I got a good quantity (maybe 100lbs) of second hand rock for free from a long dead tank.

The previous owner had basically let the last foot of water evaporate so the whole lot were encased in salt crystals and so on.

They’re now in my garage in a brute can after several rounds of rinsing and will be cured.

I’m setting up a new tank - what should I expect to do to this rock to “rehabilitate” it so it’s suitable for use?

Dip in bleach, vinegar, mutation acid?

Or just leave and rinse and cure?

 

[Fish Fan]

In this situation, I favor a bleach cure. This article has more info:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...KOoMAdKN1HKOKp72AUl0MyLaoTRXMalHpTU8kEMqBX5b8

Good luck!

 

[dank.reefer]

I got a good quantity (maybe 100lbs) of second hand rock for free from a long dead tank.

The previous owner had basically let the last foot of water evaporate so the whole lot were encased in salt crystals and so on.

They’re now in my garage in a brute can after several rounds of rinsing and will be cured.

I’m setting up a new tank - what should I expect to do to this rock to “rehabilitate” it so it’s suitable for use?

Dip in bleach, vinegar, mutation acid?

Or just leave and rinse and cure?

I just cycle it and go. You will have an initial phosphate spike due to the dead organics in the rock but this should clear. I have bleached rock in the past and IMO it isn't worth it. It just makes it take longer for the rock to mature. This picture is a tank started and cycled with dirty old dried rock then boosted with TBS live sand. The tank is 6 months old.

This tank was also started on old dirty dry rock in the cryptic zone. This tank is 2.5 years old.

All you are doing IMO by bleaching the rock is making it take longer for your tank to mature.

 

[PotatoPig]

This is the best thing about reefing - for every topic there’s a clear and unambiguous consensus on the right way to do things

 

[slingfox]

Put the rocks in some saltwater and let it soak for a day or two then test the phosphate levels. I got second hand rock which had been cleaned but they still leached massive amounts of phosphates. A few rounds of lanthanum chloride and GFO fixed the issue.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I would bleach the nasty rocks.

 

[PotatoPig]

Personally I would bleach the nasty rocks.

I’m leaning that way - particularly as this was from an estate sale so way to ask the owner how they ran their system… Though there are the remains of tube worms on the rocks so chances are at least they didn’t run a FOWLR with copper.

Looks like that had coraline though so maybe they did a decent job.