Using 18 year old dry Fiji rock?

Rewd

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I have about 35 pounds of old Fiji rock that I've had since about 2004 (purchase from Premium Aquatics). I'm thinking about using it as a "base" to help aquascape with some Florida Keys live rock that I have coming for a brand new 120g. The shapes and sizes are awesome.

This rock has probably been sitting in various totes for about the last 11 years (for the last 5 years or so its been loose in a pile on the floor of my basement lol). So I'm a little concerned with using it.

Anything special I should do to prep it after it's sat for so long? I've seen people talk about bleaching old rock but I'm not overly worried about dead organics since this is a new tank, it'll just feed the cycle.
 

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Personally I would not be the slightest bit worried assuming while it's been in the garage you not been pouring motor oil on it or anything....

If it were me would just rinse it off with some tapwater to get rid of anything that has settled in it and may have some sort of chemical or something.
 

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I'd at least soak it in RO water for a couple of days, or better yet, 1.018sg brackish water in 82 degrees with some bottle bacteria to jump start your cycle.
 
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Personally I would not be the slightest bit worried assuming while it's been in the garage you not been pouring motor oil on it or anything....

If it were me would just rinse it off with some tapwater to get rid of anything that has settled in it and may have some sort of chemical or something.
I'll say one thing, it's got lots of spider webs on it. More than just ocean bacteria like the crevices and porosity of old Fiji rock.... :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing::rolling-on-the-floor-laughing::rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:
 
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I wonder if it would be worth it to let it sit in some water for a while and then have an icp test done to make sure it's not leaching anything? Or am I being too paranoid? :thinking-face:
 

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I wonder if it would be worth it to let it sit in some water for a while and then have an icp test done to make sure it's not leaching anything? Or am I being too paranoid? :thinking-face:

A lot of incidental things can happen in the course of 18 years, I would go with the overabundance of caution, and yes, test. With everything you spend on a new tank these days, what's an extra 40 bucks and a week of waiting? Cheaper and quicker than buying new rock.
 

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+1 and soak in tap water then let it dry. i would put the florida rock on the bottom and nicer figi on top. why bury nice real coral rock. its much nicer then man made cement rock.
Kp aquatics doesn't use the man made stuff. Their rock is pretty nice, but a tad Bouldery. But my concern with having dry rock on top is nuisance algaes will have access to tons of light. I'd rather have the pre colonized stuff get the light
 

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I have 200lbs of Figi and Marshall islands bought at Premium Aquatics back around then 2002 I think. I pulled it from the rock tanks myself. It sat in my basement for 8 years dry. I rinsed it off with the water hose and put it in my new tank it took for ever to get the water right. The rock was fine but it was not live. I got one piece of live rock from another system I am 2 years in now and its rocking.
 

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Muratic acid bath .. use with caution

This is true. Also know it will remove X percent of surface area as a side effect. Something to be aware of.

As someone already said, maybe a couple anyway, if it was stored properly and no chemicals spilled or leached into the box that contains it should be safe to use. All that is needed is a good rinse and air dry. You could also do a light bleach bath / soaking and then rinse air dry.

Do a search on that but I think BRS did a video a while back regarding muratic vs bleach of cleaning rocks. Maybe they used citric acid as well which smells nice and less harsh than either bleach and muratic acid. I think the general consensus is stored well / protected you should be good with a minor wash/rinse. If in doubt try a safe solution like citric acid or bleach/water combo then air dry. Could also just pressure wash.

I know when I used dry pukani I pressure washed, then soaked 24 hours in lanthanum chloride, then another soak in water, then pressure washed, then air dried. I went this route as I wanted to keep the rocks and not lose the surface area due to using acid.
 

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I would use bleach or muratic acid to make it nice and white and then sell it or put it in the rock garden. You may defeat the purpose of starting a tank with live rock if you also add substrate that is not already covered with biofilm. If I were spending the bucks to start a tank with a lot of live rock, I would not add dry rock. If you must use it, bath it in muratic acid and make sure it is under the live rock and receives as little light as possible. OR... Use it in a dark refugium.
 

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I would use bleach or muratic acid to make it nice and white and then sell it or put it in the rock garden. You may defeat the purpose of starting a tank with live rock if you also add substrate that is not already covered with biofilm. If I were spending the bucks to start a tank with a lot of live rock, I would not add dry rock. If you must use it, bath it in muratic acid and make sure it is under the live rock and receives as little light as possible. OR... Use it in a dark refugium.

We call it seeding. You can start with a dry base and add live. Just like using dry and seeding with a cup or two of mature sand or rubble from a fellow hobbyist. It doesn't hurt, it helps.

As it relates to various phases and stages of reef maturity is a different discussion. Personally I wouldn't worry nor care about those as they are what they are and can be delt with without panic or fear. But there is no defeat mixing the two. Not sure why you would suggest that.
 

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We call it seeding. You can start with a dry base and add live. Just like using dry and seeding with a cup or two of mature sand or rubble from a fellow hobbyist. It doesn't hurt, it helps.

As it relates to various phases and stages of reef maturity is a different discussion. Personally I wouldn't worry nor care about those as they are what they are and can be delt with without panic or fear. But there is no defeat mixing the two. Not sure why you would suggest that.
I understand the theory behind "seeding". I just don't think it works in practice. Neither do I think that the ugly stage in a reef tank's life cycle is inevitable or, as you put it, "are what they are". Here's why I think so...

I don't think the microbes present in the live rock used for seeding can propagate fast enough to outcompete the other bacteria, at least in the short term. In addition, the surfaces that are not live rock may not provide a suitable habitat for the microbial life present in the live rock. That will create a void. Nature will supply microbes that can survive on the bare surfaces to fill that void long before the more desirable bacteria in the live rock can get a foothold.

The live rock, along with the organisms it contains, and the biofilm/biomass that cover its surfaces, are a deterrent to pest algae and even to certain microbes like Cyano and Dinos. These organisms: 1) Reduce or bind nutrients needed for the pests to grow; 2) Compete for substrate on which the pests might otherwise grow; and 3) Consume the pests as they attempt to get a foothold. Dry rock does not have that advantage and will provide a place for those "ugly stage" pests to propigate.

I think that if you are going to attempt to seed a large amount of dry rock with a little live rock it does little harm. However, I think if you are spending a bunch of money on a lot of live rock, I would leave the dry rock out. Adding it in won't ruin the system, but it could cause an ugly stage that doesn't have to occur.
 

areefer01

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I understand the theory behind "seeding". I just don't think it works in practice. Neither do I think that the ugly stage in a reef tank's life cycle is inevitable or, as you put it, "are what they are". Here's why I think so...

I don't think the microbes present in the live rock used for seeding can propagate fast enough to outcompete the other bacteria, at least in the short term. In addition, the surfaces that are not live rock may not provide a suitable habitat for the microbial life present in the live rock. That will create a void. Nature will supply microbes that can survive on the bare surfaces to fill that void long before the more desirable bacteria in the live rock can get a foothold.

The live rock, along with the organisms it contains, and the biofilm/biomass that cover its surfaces, are a deterrent to pest algae and even to certain microbes like Cyano and Dinos. These organisms: 1) Reduce or bind nutrients needed for the pests to grow; 2) Compete for substrate on which the pests might otherwise grow; and 3) Consume the pests as they attempt to get a foothold. Dry rock does not have that advantage and will provide a place for those "ugly stage" pests to propigate.

I think that if you are going to attempt to seed a large amount of dry rock with a little live rock it does little harm. However, I think if you are spending a bunch of money on a lot of live rock, I would leave the dry rock out. Adding it in won't ruin the system, but it could cause an ugly stage that doesn't have to occur.

I think the area we disagree on is that of the so called ugly stage. I believe it will occur regardless and believe it to be natural. However I will also say this is just my opinion having used both methods be it live from Fiji back in 1999 or the present with dry and KP live over night.

I do agree that 100% live is ideal and may create the optimum chance of bypassing or limiting the stage but with market pricing (not complaining about them) they take up most of the aquarium budget. Nano to 40 gallons may be possible but once you start talking about 100 gallons or more if done properly the cost goes up faster than a F15 Eagle going vertical to 50,000 feet.

I think the long and short of it is this. Don't be afraid of the different phases as it is a natural thing. We are creating an environment that by its own laws of nature compete for the same things to grow and we are trying to prevent it so only corals grow. Complicated.

BTW - ty for the well thought out reply.
 
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