Best Way to Cure my live Rock

[islandreef]

Ok I am in the process of starting over since my Hair Algae is blowing in the wind :lol2:. I cant seem to get it under control and the only thing I can see is that my sand bed is probably not helping the situation, so we start again.

What is the best way to treat this rock I want to kill everything on it, get all traces of hair algae off it and nuke it so that when I put it back into the tank it doesnt come back.

Here is my plan.

1. Take rock out clean it in fresh saltwater with brush,
2. Spray with Hydrogen Peroxide lay out for about an hour
3. Put cleaned rock into another container with saltwater and heater.
4. Let it sit there for about 4 weeks changing water every week.

How does that sound. Should I use any vinegar ? Any advice would be helpful. My tank was awesome at one time I intend to get it back there.

 

[scruggs1]

I had this problem years ago. Here is how I fixed mine and the logic (or lack thereof) behind it.

1st - Your sand bed is probably a nutrient sink that is leaching those nutrients back into your system. There are at least three ways to remedy this. 1) Get rid of your sand in favor of a bare bottom. 2) Get rid of your sand in favor of new sand. 3) Regularly vacuum your sand and stir it up before doing water changes. As much as inverts and some fish stir the sand a little bit, they generally do not get all those nutrient back into the water column where they can be removed by your skimmer...and they need to be removed. Sand beds are not wormholes that export nutrients to another part of the universe (as I once believed), instead, they just stay in there, and slowly leach back into your system after further decomposition. My bare bottom tank never had an algae problem, but it wasn't nearly as asthetically pleasing so I went back to sand and just started vacuuming it at every water change.

2nd - Remove your live rock. In a tub of fresh salt water, dunk it, shake it, scrub it, and use a power head to blow it out. Once it has been cleaned, place it in another tub of fresh salt water, put a power head in there, and put it in a dark closet for a month. Do weekly water changes and scrub, clean, and blow out the rock again each time you do it.

Once your nutrient levels are low and your export thereof = your import, or if export > import, your algae problems will disappear.

 

[spike]

My method is to remove the rock and put in plastic tub with a solution of muratic acid and water. Let the acid basically eat off a layer of the rock. Then rinse repeatedly and place in a tank with salt water, power head and a skimmer. place a piece of clean live rock as a seed. Do water changes and test. process will take at least 4 weeks.

 

[ricky5415]

I will cook them first & rinse it out real good with water + vinegar, then another clean Rodi water, then into a spare tank/ brute with saltwater + put a skimmer in there and let it run a at least 3-4 days. U will be amazed how much stuff your skimmer pull out. I used to do these with same old dry rock. Work like a charm

 

[jennm]

scruggs1;1100119 wrote: I had this problem years ago. Here is how I fixed mine and the logic (or lack thereof) behind it.

1st - Your sand bed is probably a nutrient sink that is leaching those nutrients back into your system. There are at least three ways to remedy this. 1) Get rid of your sand in favor of a bare bottom. 2) Get rid of your sand in favor of new sand. 3) Regularly vacuum your sand and stir it up before doing water changes. As much as inverts and some fish stir the sand a little bit, they generally do not get all those nutrient back into the water column where they can be removed by your skimmer...and they need to be removed. Sand beds are not wormholes that export nutrients to another part of the universe (as I once believed), instead, they just stay in there, and slowly leach back into your system after further decomposition. My bare bottom tank never had an algae problem, but it wasn't nearly as asthetically pleasing so I went back to sand and just started vacuuming it at every water change.

2nd - Remove your live rock. In a tub of fresh salt water, dunk it, shake it, scrub it, and use a power head to blow it out. Once it has been cleaned, place it in another tub of fresh salt water, put a power head in there, and put it in a dark closet for a month. Do weekly water changes and scrub, clean, and blow out the rock again each time you do it.

Once your nutrient levels are low and your export thereof = your import, or if export > import, your algae problems will disappear.

This. It keeps the beneficial bacteria alive, and you effectively re-cure the rock.

I have no idea why people nuke their rock with acid and other toxic crap. Not very environmentally friendly, for starters...

Proper maintenance henceforth once the problem is resolved, is the key. I've rehabilitated plenty of tanks using the method described above, and advised plenty of others to do the same. It works when it's followed through with good husbandry.

You can nuke, cook, start all over or whatever... if the day to day husbandry issues aren't corrected, the end result will always be the same.

Jenn