Dario5678 June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 Hey guys I think I messed up. I recently purchased some live rock from a member. The rock was mostly dry with a few damp pieces and still some coralline in some places. Im talkin close to about 100 pounds. However, most of the rock was dead and he said the rock (pukani) had been in his tank for about year before recently letting it dry out. It is currently in a new garbage can full of salt water with no flow at the moment but working on it. However, I used tap water and my tap water reads bout 126 tds. I think he suggested freshwater first...not necessarily tap water. Should I dump it or n I keep it and rinse in RODI before adding It into the tank. I've been reading lot about pukani and phosphates The rock looks like there will be a lot of dead stuff on it so do I need to add a shrimp or ammonia? When I curing the rock I am not trying to kill everything ..right? What about any pest he may have had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 (edited) I wouldn't use the rock just like that. Consider a power wash followed by a bleach bath (outside). You can then rinse it off well and let it air dry in the sun. Some use muriatic acid but I don't think I'm brave enough to go that route. I prefer to start with knowing that any pests are gone. Once the rock is clean, then put it in a tub of saltwater with some circulation and monitor the phosphates. Start to cycle it for use in your tank by adding an ammonia source once the phosphate is no longer detectable. Can take some time but worth the trouble in the end. Be careful if the rock has palys/zoas as they can release very toxic fumes. Edited June 14, 2015 by WheresTheReef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 If it has phosphate issues. why even use it? bleach, sun, muriatic acid, etc all are drastic steps to end up with rock that still might have phosphate issues. And to boot, there'll be zero life on it. how is your tank going to become full of life? Find and buy freshly collected live rock of the highest quality to give your tank the diversity it needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 (edited) Another way is to keep it in a dark bin of saltwater with good flow and a heater for a while. You can use a brush to scrub off dead life on the rock. However there might be crap in the holes you can't get to without a power wash. Many ways to do it. There are nice tanks that have been started with dry rock. You can add life into the tank selectively and others will hitchhike anyways with corals etc. Clean up the rock and monitor any phosphate leaching. Might not have issues after all. Test and find out. Edited June 14, 2015 by WheresTheReef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom39 June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 +1 WheresTheReef is spot on, the rock you have is dead and you must start over in order to use. I have used old reef rock many times before and as he said, clean the rock with a hose or a pressure washer and scrub the stubborn stuff with a stiff brush. Then soak it in an acid bath (I use vinegar) and then a bleach bath, then let it dry in the sun for a week or so. IMO don't worry too much about the phosphates in a rock, not that you shouldn't consider the possibilities of phosphate leaching from the rock. But that worrying about the potentials of phosphate is like worrying that you are going to get stung by a bee if you go outside. If it happens you deal with it and move on. The bottom line is that all rock has the potential of leaching phosphates, regardless of the perceived quality, where it was harvested or where it was collected. You bought 100# of old rock, don't turn back now. As for diversity, if you want some added life to your tank, find someone who has a well established reef tank and ask to buy a piece of rock from them. The life on that rock will soon populate your entire tank and chances are you will do it without the possibility of ending up with something nasty in your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario5678 June 14, 2015 Author Share June 14, 2015 Thanks for the replies!, I am going to let it sit in the water for a while in darkness covered up and periodically brush it off. and power wash it after a few. Sounds good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford June 14, 2015 Share June 14, 2015 If I were planning on power washing the rock I would do that first and start curing it after that. No sense in letting it soak for a few then power washing it. I just scrubbed all of my rock and now I'm soaking it in rodi water for a week in a brute trash can. I'm going to do a few 100% water changes and let a pump circulate the water allowing anything to leach out. I'm going to mix in salt and start a cycle and let it cure for a couple months soon. I'll eventually start to ghost feed shrimp and add pods and micro brittles so it's full of critters before I start my tank back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom39 June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 If I were planning on power washing the rock I would do that first and start curing it after that. No sense in letting it soak for a few then power washing it. I just scrubbed all of my rock and now I'm soaking it in rodi water for a week in a brute trash can. I'm going to do a few 100% water changes and let a pump circulate the water allowing anything to leach out. I'm going to mix in salt and start a cycle and let it cure for a couple months soon. I'll eventually start to ghost feed shrimp and add pods and micro brittles so it's full of critters before I start my tank back up. I do a 5 day vinegar bath followed by a 3 day bleach bath to kill and sanitize anything on the rock. Then a final rinse and air dry for a week before I start curing it. Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario5678 June 15, 2015 Author Share June 15, 2015 I have come across some folks who say not to vinegar/belach/acid and just scrub and keep in the dark with circulating saltwater and others who who feel its better to acid/vinegar/bleach wash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 Theres certainly several ways to go about curing your rock. To make sure theres no unwanted hitchikers and phosphate issues youll need to go the extra mile, in my opinion I have come across some folks who say not to vinegar/belach/acid and just scrub and keep in the dark with circulating saltwater and others who who feel its better to acid/vinegar/bleach wash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 No need to worry at all on this one. Using tap water for the saltwater mix you cure your rock in is just fine. Let the rock cure and change the water in a few weeks (during which you should take a brush to the rock and knock off any "gunk" that you can). No need to rinse the rock in RO/DI after the curing is complete (unless it will give you peace of mind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 Hey guys I think I messed up. I recently purchased some live rock from a member. The rock was mostly dry with a few damp pieces and still some coralline in some places. Sounds like you purchased mostly dead rock. Im talkin close to about 100 pounds. However, most of the rock was dead and he said the rock (pukani) had been in his tank for about year before recently letting it dry out. Oh, yep, you bought dead rock for sure then. It is currently in a new garbage can full of salt water with no flow at the moment but working on it. However, I used tap water and my tap water reads bout 126 tds. I think he suggested freshwater first...not necessarily tap water. Should I dump it or n I keep it and rinse in RODI before adding It into the tank. I've been reading lot about pukani and phosphates You will have mixed feelings on this one. Flow and temperature will be important. If your tapwater is reading at 126 tds, expect issues down the road when you start your tank, IMO. Jason uses tapwater, but YMMV. I would approach the situation as your rock is dead, and you are going to cycle it. There are a ton of ways to do this, but I would start by cleaning off any die off, powerwash it, spray it with a hose, cook it with acid, whatever you want. I see you have another thread, they gave you some good advice there. Put it all in a tub of saltwater. 1.025 specific gravity, with flow, and keep it at a nice 77-79 degrees. Make sure you keep your salinity in check, throw in a piece of live rock from a friends tank or an LFS. Now here is the hard part. Just wait. This is the cycling part. You can do this in a tank, or you can do it in a tub. You don't have to use a piece of live rock. You can use a dead shrimp, or anything that will form waste in your tank. You can pee in it if you want to jump start, and kick right into the ammonia phase. This will almost automatically ensure a TOTM. If you put a dead shrimp in your tank, this will create ammonia. If you pee in it, you will just be putting ammonia in there. That will turn into nitrifying bacteria, nitrites. That nitrifying bacteria will turn into nitrates. Once this happens, it means your rock can handle a light bioload, and you can do a water change to bring your nitrates down. Congratulations, your tank has cycled at this stage. That doesn't mean you can fill it up with 25 fish and a 100 hermit crab/snail cleaner pack. Remember, everything you add produces waste, and your tank will have to slowly adjust to deal with the load that you add to it, so remember the saying we have in this hobby: "Nothing good happens fast." Feel free to add a small clean up crew. If you can, let the tank, or body of water with the rock, just "run" after the cycle is complete, and let your life expand all over it will save you lots of headaches and time down the road, all because you just waited to properly make your rock live. Unfortunately, most of us do not use that type of self control, and the next posts are usually about diatoms, or hair algae, and "do you think this is because I added to many fish?" threads. The choice is yours, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 Merged the threads. There is no easy way to do it. If you want it done right, I would suggest a muriatic acid bath. There is tons of information on how to do this if you just use the Google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef June 15, 2015 Share June 15, 2015 If you don't spray/power wash the rock you will have crap in the holes that will then be in the tank. Extra work now but worth it in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario5678 June 17, 2015 Author Share June 17, 2015 THank you for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario5678 June 23, 2015 Author Share June 23, 2015 not sure if the pee in it suggestion was serious or not...if so... You are suggesting the following: put my rocks that I currently have in fresh water in saltwater w/rodi Pee in it (how much) add a live rock wait and check levels until I have 0 ammonia and nitrites I will have nitrates so do a water change Question do I do water changes while the ammonia nitrite thing is happening..or just wait until it balances out What else should I be testing for to prevent the "diatom and hair algae thread"...phosphates and.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 I prefer adding pure ammonia to about 3ppm and let it do its thing. No water changes until cycle complete. Cycle should be good once you can get about 2ppm to 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite in about 24 hrs. "Top off" ammonia every couple days once it drops, but not too high. Too much ammonia e.g. >5ppm can show the cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 My wife might think I'm crazy if she caught me peeing in my tank LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 I've never peed on rocks I was curing but it's no joke and yes people have peed on their rocks and won tank of the month. It is a sure way to kick off a cycle. I almost peed on mine I'm curing the other day and couldn't bring myself to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ford June 23, 2015 Share June 23, 2015 What I have been doing is putting a small bit of mysis shrimp in with my rocks to help feed bacteria and I have a heater in there with a pump to circulate water. I think in another couple weeks I'm going to throw a few micro brittle stars in there and see if they live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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