Re-using Old Rock

[Rjohn]

I have a home depot bucket full of what used to be live rock from previous iterations of this tank and from earlier tanks. I would like to re-scape my current aquarium a bit. What do I need to do to this rock other than soak it in tank water for a few days? Some of it has been dry 4 or 5 years I guess. Any advice or ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

Ric

[FarmerTy]

I like to soak them in RO/DI water for a couple of days. Afterwards, I swap out the RO/DI water for saltwater from my tank and throw a pump in there. I top off water for evaporation but basically leave it as is, maybe throw a few pellets of food in there to help the cycle. After I get passed the "smelly" period, I slowly add the rock to my system one at a time over a period of a couple of weeks to not disrupt my tank stability.

[FarmerTy]

If you suspect it of having a lot of bound phosphates, test the water. If it does, employ lathanum chloride or GFO in a reactor to lower phosphates.

[Rjohn]

OK that's all doable with stuff on hand. Thanks Ty.

[Inland Reef]

Usually, the reason people soak dried 'live rock' is because it loosens organic material that may be on/in the rock. As such, a bit of brush scrubbing will go a long way toward removing any organic material that didn't just fall off by soaking it in water (RODI or Salt).

Make sure the scrub brush doesn't have any cleaning chemicals on it. I purchased a cheap scrub brush & tooth brush from the dollar store that only gets used for cleaning tank things.

[Rjohn]

In, I have a brush that I use. I will scrub them a bit as well.