What should I do with this live rock.

[collinnelson9]

I probably have 80-100 lbs of old rock it’s not that dirty but definitely some green tint to some of them.
- do I bleach
- or what I was thinking since I’m in no rush to put coral in the tank is cycle it as is.

I don’t plan on adding corals till the end of August anyways so I have time to overcome phosphate binding if I have any bc most of this rock is over 3 years dry and that tank crashed bc I had 0 phos

 

[Pistondog]

I'd cycle as is.
Consider keeping lights off if they get greener.

 

[X-37B]

I would bleach them. After 3 years who knows what's on them.
I would go with better safe than sorry. The old do it right the first time applys here, imo.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

It's not live rock...

 

[edsbeaker]

I tend to agree with bleaching it. It’s an extra step, but will cause no harm if rinsed really well, and may prevent a lot of die off in the tank. I look at it as there are only positives to doing it so why not?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would bleach it, its not about what you see on the outside, its about what you don't see inside those millions of tiny holes and cracks. Remember the outside of the rock is less surface area than the inside.

 

[collinnelson9]

I would bleach them. After 3 years who knows what's on them.
I would go with better safe than sorry. The old do it right the first time applys here, imo.

Yea that’s what I was originally thinking but I’m just nervous mixing bleach and reef tank. I was gonna do a 48 hour bleach bath and how long would you recommend rinsing off and soaking in ro water till I’m safe to add it?

 

[collinnelson9]

It's not live rock...

Ik that but everywhere u go ppl label it as live rock so im rollin w the name

 

[collinnelson9]

I would bleach them. After 3 years who knows what's on them.
I would go with better safe than sorry. The old do it right the first time applys here, imo.

Or id do a 24 hour batch rinse the water and bleach then do another 24 hours in a new bleach mix unless u think thats overdoing it

 

[mpatterson42]

I bought a bunch of rock and bleached it. I set up a Brute trash can outside, added the rock, than it was 20 gallons of water and 2 gallons of bleach (10:1 ratio). I had a pump in there constantly moving the water and a heater keeping it at 78 degrees. I left it in there for 5 days. Then I removed the water, added 20 gallons of RODI for a quick rinse and removed that water as well. I removed the rock and gave the Brute trash can a good clean.

I put the rock back into the trash can, added 20 gallons of RODI, the pump, the heater and a capful of Seachem Prime. I added a capful of Prime the following day and the day after. After 5 days I once again removed the water. I rinsed off each rock in RODI and let it sit outside to dry for 24 hours.

Maybe overkill but that's the process I went through. Patience is key. The source of the rocks was iffy, there wasn't any good beneficial bacteria on them so I figured starting fresh would be my best bet.

 

[X-37B]

Or id do a 24 hour batch rinse the water and bleach then do another 24 hours in a new bleach mix unless u think thats overdoing it

Hard to tell without a pic. With that 24hrs then do a triple rinse and blow off the rocks with a power washer or strong hose pressure. Let dry in the sun and your good.

 

[collinnelson9]

Or id do a 24 hour batch rinse the water and bleach then do another 24 hours in a new bleach mix unless u think thats overdoing it

Hard to tell without a pic. With that 24hrs then do a triple rinse and blow off the rocks with a power washer or strong hose pressure. Let dry in the sun and your good.

Sweet thanks pic isn’t needed the rocks pretty dang clean bc when I tore the tank down I vinegar dipped everything for a couple days to kill off all the gha so all that’s left is a green and brown tint to the rock

 

[X-37B]

If it's not that bad then I would just use citric acid and then you don't need to worry about rinsing it. Vinegar would also work as a mild acid dip.