Best way to kill LR?

[menglish]

Hi all,

I have a big piece of lr in my QT that is filled with pest clove polyps and aiptasia that i would like to get rid of. At first i was thinking of using some drug to kill them but the the lr alive. Now i am thinking to just nuke the whole tank and rock.

What is the best way to do this?

I was thinking of soaking the whole QT in Clorox then hosing the rock off and perhaps using a wire brush of the rock.

Would this work?

it  there an easier/better way?

I would like to reuse the rock when this is all done.

 

many thanks

[AlanM]

Could you just pull out the rock and let it dry in the sun for a while then cure it afterwards?  Bleach will take a while to neutralize, but letting the polyps all dry out will definitely make them dead.

[DaJMasta]

I think you have a lot of options, just make sure if you're going the bleach route that it's regular old bleach and not scented or otherwise different.  Some people seem to like acids and things, but that will likely give you less rock at the end, and to make sure you don't accidentally scrub some palys or something, I would do any scrubbing post treatment.

Personally I'd probably go with the sun method, especially with the heat available, and just let it cook and fully dry.  Once everything's dead, anything left on it is just organics, so if you can wait a few months, you can just throw it in some saltwater with a pump and let it simmer for a couple months.  You'd be back to regular cycled live rock after that and it should be ready to go.

[ReefdUp]

My favorite is a muriatic acid bath, but that's a pain. I usually just use regular bleach with a powerhead in the bucket. Then I use a chlorine neutralizer soak followed by a vinegar bath. Last, I soak the rocks in RO/DI. 

 

That process kills just about everything and removes most of the organics. 

[WheresTheReef]

Before doing any treatment, I would manually remove as much coral as possible. I also like to place the rock in the sun to kill the remaining stuff off. The dried up dead stuff can be removed and then any of the chemical treatments above will work. I would do this outside in a well ventilated space. Also wear protective gear.

[menglish]

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

I have taken the rock out, soak it in some fresh water for a few hrs then i will let it sit outside in the sun to dry off for a few days.