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Curing Marco Rock??

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drandrew31

I've been reading everything I can get my hands on to figure out the best way to cook & cure Marco Rock.
It seems there are so many different variations...
-bleach & water for a day
-vinegar & water for a day
-taking it to the car wash (power wash)
-Burn off dead stuff with a propane torch (sounds like fun ;D); then scrub
-cycle in tubs with frequent saltwater changes

What's the best way to go?
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
We went the cycle in a tub route. Vinegar isn't going to remove all of the organics so it will probably need a cycle anyway. Same is likely to be true for bleach. Power washing might remove the bulk of the decay on the outside, but there will be organics inside that you might not get that way; same with burning it off. In the long run you will need to cycle in a tub when you're done with whatever other method you choose.
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
Just put all the Marco rock in a large Tub / Barrel OUTSIDE your house, fill with salt water from your tank (you can use the water while doing a water change). Place several powerheads in the Tub / Barrel. Change the water after a week. Fill with water again from your tank water change and cycle for a couple more weeks. Change the water one more time and cycle for another week. Check your water parameters and see your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. If all seems OK, place the rock in your aquarium otherwise, change the water in your Tub / Barrel and continue cycling until parameters are in check.

Beware: The rock will STINK until the 1st water change, hence keep it OUTSIDE your house. You don't need heaters because its warm enough outside to begin with. Also, keep the tub in a covered area or place a lid on the barrel so that things don't keep falling/blowing into it.
 
qwik

qwik

Doing it outside is a great idea. I could not do that because it was winter and did it in the garage. The "stink" was horrible ,it still stunk up the house and my wife wanted to kill me .
 
S

stcreef

I had received about 200 lbs of rock from a tear down. This guy had such an algae problem I decided to completely clean the rock. First I laid the rock out in a sunny area for 3 weeks, rotated the rock every couple of days. Then, I bought a couple of trash cans, put the rock in and did a 10:1 solution of water to bleach and added power heads. I let that go for two weeks. Then I laid the rocks out in the sun for another 3 weeks do let the chlorine gas off. Then back into the cans for a few months in salt water with water changes every week or so. After a few months in the tank, it started to color up again with the help of some GARF Grunge.
 
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DaveK

In my opinion, I would go with the method danthemanj recommended. This is a natural method, and the rock should be maintained in a bucket or tub until ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all reach 0. Durring the process, you want to keep the rock out of light, since you do not want to start growing algae on it. The whole process can take several months. When done you will have rock that is hosting bacteria, all ready to go to work in your reef. I consider the method stcreef used to be a major overkill, and has the disadvantage of killing off everything in and on the rock, effectively making it dead coral rock. I would only consider such an extreme method if I had to sterilize the rock because it came from an infected tank that had a major disease problem.
 
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revhtree

I put 100lbs in a trash can with fresh saltwater a heater and 3 power heads. I let it do it's on thing for about 3 weeks then I did a water change of about 100%. A couple weeks later it was ready. It does take time, but it will come. Also make sure you have good water movement!

PS. It is going to STINK!!!!!!!!! :eek:
 
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stcreef

DaveK,

Thats exactly why I went with the "overkill" method. His tank wasn't healthy, it was obvious when I helped him break it down. He had been having problems for months. Deadfish, dead corals. And way more bacteria, algae and who knows what than I wanted in my tank. So I took the course of least resistance and killed it all off and sterilized it. So was it overkill? Depends on what you start with and where you want to end up.
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Good point on the "overkill" and whether or not it is necessary. I've definitely seen some rock that was better off bleached than not.
 
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nyfireman3097

I currently bee curing a large amount of marco rock. What I did was

Soaked them in RO/DI water overnight
Sprayed them with Bleach
DUnked them in RO water again
Added them to a bin of saltwater and amquel w/PH,heater skimmer
After a day I added them to a new bin of SW w/ equptment
I had very lil smell from them after a week and great results.

I then did a WC after a week and added Fritz zyme to it and waited a week for another WC. I started to test at this poin and tested were great. At this stage I did weekly waterchanges.
HTH :)
 
J

Johan

What I did with my macro was throw boiling water on it... then after that ran it for two weeks in a trash can with ro water and water changes..
 
H

harryk

Curing rock isn't exactly complicated. I know everyone has their own way of doing things but the generally accepted method is as follows -- First, pull off as much organic matter as you can along with any soft spots, but in the case of marco rock it's dry so no need to pull off any deacying matter. you then put it in a container large enough to hold all the rock and then some. a heater, a power head or 2. and let it cure, change the water once a week or more depending on the ammonia content and smell and in about 3-4 weeks you rock is cycled.

I am very perplexed though. I read that people use bleach on rock. Why would anyone use bleach on a porous material that will be put into a tank with fragile living organisms. Why not cook the rock in the oven instead. It will kill everything dead and you won't have to use any toxic chemicals like bleach. I would never recommend using any toxic chemical on any porous material going into a tank

Just my two cents
Harry
 
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nyfireman3097

Hey Harry hows things going ? Marco rock is completely dead rock. So that being using bleach is gonna kill all decay. BUT and a BIG BUT if you do use it you must bath it with Amquel. Amquel will disolve all the bleach residue that is on the rock. You can talk to Boomer(a very very well respected guy in the hobby) where he uses this method for years now and does it frequently and never has a ingle problem using it. I personally would not do it like he does since I personally never have any ammonia nitrite nitrate or phosphate probelms in the many of tanks I have had in the 10+ years in the hobby due to good husbandry. But to start of with this type of rock where theres a TON of decay due to it being dry rock I fond it to be a very good way to start off before curing it :)
 
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stcreef

If you are not in a rush, you don't need the Amquel. You can let it air dry for a week or so, the chlorine will gas off pretty rapidly.
 
H

harryk

Wow, ok i learned something new today about using bleach and live rock. I still wouldn't do it IMO but hey if it been proven to work with no ill effects then who am i to buck progress.

Harry
 
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