David@wegetkraken
Area Local Reef Club
It's a good day to cure rock. I prefer the one week bleach cure and it has always worked well for me. What's your preferred method?
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Curing Rock
- Thread starter David@wegetkraken
- Start date
There's always a risk of pests.. aiptasia... Unless you can trust the source of the rocks 100%, I would always cure.
There are times where I'll do a quick freshwater dip. Most of the inverts in the rocks will evacuate, I'll grab the beneficial ones.. toss any pests before going into the bleach.
There are times where I'll do a quick freshwater dip. Most of the inverts in the rocks will evacuate, I'll grab the beneficial ones.. toss any pests before going into the bleach.
Nice tip Wilson. I’ll definitely remember that
Acid to remove phophates and copper...1:10 diluted muriatic acid in water or straight vinegar
Bleach to kill the nasties for a week....then rinse rinse rinse, followed by a soak in dechlorinator
BTW do not mix acid with bleach. It will create a gas that can kill you
Bleach to kill the nasties for a week....then rinse rinse rinse, followed by a soak in dechlorinator
BTW do not mix acid with bleach. It will create a gas that can kill you
I have been cooking rocks for the last 2 months.
I have them in brute cans. I have them in regular salt water at 77 with a. Pump circulating water. I am moving soon so I will Need to break down my tank. I decided to upgrade to a bigger tank and I would need more rocks so I started getting rocks.
I don’t care about pest I don’t really think you can have a reef tank with out any aiptasia / or hair algae. No matter what you do at some point you will introduce it. So I don’t even bother killing the rocks.
I have them in brute cans. I have them in regular salt water at 77 with a. Pump circulating water. I am moving soon so I will Need to break down my tank. I decided to upgrade to a bigger tank and I would need more rocks so I started getting rocks.
I don’t care about pest I don’t really think you can have a reef tank with out any aiptasia / or hair algae. No matter what you do at some point you will introduce it. So I don’t even bother killing the rocks.
I think there is confusion with cleaning old live rock with getting live rock filled with beneficial bacteria for use as live rock in an fish tank. I feel this is because originally, many people used dying rock someone took from the ocean and had to keep it in water before use while the dead stuff decayed, so it wouldn't kill the inhabitants of the fish tank. On the plus side was that beneficial bacteria would build up in the rock as the old matter decayed. The bacteria then was the desired result that would break down ammonia and nitrite in the tank. Other benefits would be keeping other live items in or on the rock. This is often called curing the rock.
With new rock, manufactured rock, or porous media in filters, you are trying to build up the bacteria layer on and in it. It may already be seeded. Ammonia or items that give off ammonia are used to start the process. Note that you are really building up a bio layer on and in the material, and inside the aquarium if accomplished there. This too would be called curing the rock or cycling the tank if accomplished there.
With old rock, food and other material builds up in and on the surface of the rock. This can often lead to algae blooms as it decays if not cleaned off. People feel that it is the phosphates in the rock. When I transferred a few of my old rocks into my new tank, they were the first ones to have algae growth. I pulled off the new algae growth, and with the help of some algae eating fish, the algae is no longer there. This was a choice I made to keep corals that I wanted to keep.
Bleach however is used more for cleaning. But it kills most bacteria, which you may not want to do. It also makes proteins glob up, which is not the same as removing them. In addition, It breaks down the color producing carbon chains or rings that produce color. Hence, items look white after. But white does not mean that the decaying material has been removed, just that you can no longer see it.
I have used a lot of rock from old tanks. I brush it off and let it dry to kill off things like aiptasia and algae. I then keep it with other rocks in moving salt water so embedded material can finish breaking down and bacteria can build back up. Sometimes it needs a 2nd brushing.I may keep it for months. It may not be bright white when finished, but it hasn't grown algae. Plus it looks more natural in the tank. I wouldn't use bleach as I see no benefit. I also wouldn't use an acid either, as it dissolves calcium, and does not break down proteins. It might be useful in some extent.
To me the keep to using old rock is to allow the decay process to complete and build up the beneficial bacteria.
With new rock, manufactured rock, or porous media in filters, you are trying to build up the bacteria layer on and in it. It may already be seeded. Ammonia or items that give off ammonia are used to start the process. Note that you are really building up a bio layer on and in the material, and inside the aquarium if accomplished there. This too would be called curing the rock or cycling the tank if accomplished there.
With old rock, food and other material builds up in and on the surface of the rock. This can often lead to algae blooms as it decays if not cleaned off. People feel that it is the phosphates in the rock. When I transferred a few of my old rocks into my new tank, they were the first ones to have algae growth. I pulled off the new algae growth, and with the help of some algae eating fish, the algae is no longer there. This was a choice I made to keep corals that I wanted to keep.
Bleach however is used more for cleaning. But it kills most bacteria, which you may not want to do. It also makes proteins glob up, which is not the same as removing them. In addition, It breaks down the color producing carbon chains or rings that produce color. Hence, items look white after. But white does not mean that the decaying material has been removed, just that you can no longer see it.
I have used a lot of rock from old tanks. I brush it off and let it dry to kill off things like aiptasia and algae. I then keep it with other rocks in moving salt water so embedded material can finish breaking down and bacteria can build back up. Sometimes it needs a 2nd brushing.I may keep it for months. It may not be bright white when finished, but it hasn't grown algae. Plus it looks more natural in the tank. I wouldn't use bleach as I see no benefit. I also wouldn't use an acid either, as it dissolves calcium, and does not break down proteins. It might be useful in some extent.
To me the keep to using old rock is to allow the decay process to complete and build up the beneficial bacteria.
I'm in the camp with Mark and Amado and avoid acids and bleach.
I like the natural stuff and think it helps establish a bit of biodiversity.
If I buy dry rock I drop it into 1.024-26 water with Special Blend, an occasional ground up pinch of food, a powerhead and a heater set at 78.
I actually keep a few small block sponges in my sumps at all times.
If I'm curing rock I'll pull a few of the sponges out and drop into the container as well so the rock will catch up with the tank biology.
I'll leave it there for a couple of months before direct introduction,
If I'm storing rock from an active tank I'll scrub problem areas, sit it in 1.024-26 with 2x amount of special blend, heater at 78, and powerhead.
It will be in full dark, usually for weeks if not months.
I like the natural stuff and think it helps establish a bit of biodiversity.
If I buy dry rock I drop it into 1.024-26 water with Special Blend, an occasional ground up pinch of food, a powerhead and a heater set at 78.
I actually keep a few small block sponges in my sumps at all times.
If I'm curing rock I'll pull a few of the sponges out and drop into the container as well so the rock will catch up with the tank biology.
I'll leave it there for a couple of months before direct introduction,
If I'm storing rock from an active tank I'll scrub problem areas, sit it in 1.024-26 with 2x amount of special blend, heater at 78, and powerhead.
It will be in full dark, usually for weeks if not months.