texmexbigspring Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I have some dead rock that was givin to me and it was sitting out for about 6 months or longer. I need suggestions on how to get this all cleaned up and ready for my tank. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manhorsedog Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 i like to soak the rock a a bleach water combo for a few days, then dump water and do that one more time. After the second bleach stage I run the rock in r/o once or twice to rid of an bleach. If you would like to add it to a tank that is already running then you will need to cycle the rock, could take a month or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texmexbigspring Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 No this is going into a new set up thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 why not just boil it? And then let it soak in water for a few weeks changing the water ever so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckin Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Why do anything to it, except maybe brush off any loose debris? Dead is dead. What are you folks trying to kill? Any way you go, it will have to cycle. Adding some live rock will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 i like to soak the rock a a bleach water combo for a few days, then dump water and do that one more time. After the second bleach stage I run the rock in r/o once or twice to rid of an bleach. If you would like to add it to a tank that is already running then you will need to cycle the rock, could take a month or two. I agree, i would bleach soak it brush it and let it air dry first, then i would get a trash can or container of some sort and cycle it outside the tank with a couple of powerheads and a couple lbs of live rock just to make sure it dosent leech anything into the tank. maybe be overboard but you can never be to carefull. live stock is expencive and so is starting over if something happends. i have heard about it many times before... Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) If you soak it in bleach, there isnt gonna be any life so no cycle. It'll need to be rinsed in clean water to remove the bleach, you sure dont want any of that in your tank.. Dont use bleach, use water change water, that will help to seed the rock and give it a head start on becoming live. If anything, you want to 'cook' the rocks to get it to release all its built up detritus. Lots of info on the net. Edited June 27, 2009 by JimD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Boy this sounds like much adieu over nothing What is it you're afraid of on dead rock. Funny many buy live rock and pay a premium for it and that you KNOW has some unknown 'stuff' on it. You don't torture it to death. I'd wash it off good and put it where ever it's going for cycling. I could be wrong but the bleach sounds like a really bad idea. By definition since this rock is really porous, for myself, I would be very concerned about how long it would take all of the chlorine to leach back out of the rock. JMO Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I can tell you from my own experience when i got my base rock "live dead rock" i bleached soaked it for 2 days "miled bleach water" bushed it off soaked it in ro/di for a couple more days to leech any bleach out of the rock, then let it air dry i added it to a new setup. i have had no problems with it i saw feathers start to accumulate in just a couple weeks of the new cycle.and the rock started to color up in a matter of 3 or 4 weeks.. this has been my experance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texmexbigspring Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) Wow getting lots of great info. I think the bleach Idea sounds good but then I also agree with Bill B. So I guess I am at a cross road I was thinking about doing the cooking process as well. Hmmm guess I will have to do some more brain stormming. Also Mheart when you did yours how much bleach to water did you use? Also how much rock did you do at a time I have about 60 to 80 lbs that I need to process. Thanks Edited June 27, 2009 by texmexbigspring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Well I agree with Bill B., could be wrong, but I do. This rock is supposedly already dead, but either way you are placing it into a new setup so in theory it should just help your tank cycle. Maybe I sinned, but I added about 50% dead rock into my current setup well after the tank was cycled, and I never saw any kind of cycle nor did I have any "bad" hitchhikers. Maybe I just got lucky, but thought I would share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I did 20lbs.. so i had 20lbs dry and 20lbs live.. thats whats in my tank now. when i soaked it, i used a 20g kitchen trash can, and i used like maybe 2 cups of bleach i would guess.. if i had to guess. i let it sit with powerheads moving the water around the rocks for 2 days. then i brushed it off, then another 2 days in ro/di with the powerheads to leech any bad stuff and bleach. then air dryed it. then added it to my tank with my live rock and cycled the tank.Everyone has their own way and no one person is correct im sure their are 20 differnt ways you could do it. this just worked well for me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckin Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I don't want to criticize, and I would like to increase my understanding - so what is the explanation for sterilizing dead rock? I can't think of a good reason, and it does add one more hassle. Just because it does not cause obvious harm, let's not elevate it to a "best practice" unless there is a good reason for it. And, by the way, there are plenty of microorganisms floating in the air, so things don't stay sterile for long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I believe the point is to remove any non rock material that is on the rock. Such as dried up detritus. But seems like a pressure wash with the old hose would be good enough for that. I am personally starting to become a fan of starting with dead rock and having total control of what goes into the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manhorsedog Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 there are so many thing that could have been on that rock when it "died" that you do not want anywhere near your tank. Using bleach will help to rid any left overs that could be harsh on your tank, also taking a brush and scrubbing it is a must along with blasting the crap out of it with a hose. Ok here is what I did. i lay all rock in my driveway and blast with hose for a long time put rock in in container with bleach water, mine was a 20 tub with one full big bottle of bleach and the rest water. made sure I had power heads in tub to circulate water. did this for about 5 days to a week. took rocks out and lay in driveway again and blast with water. FOR A LONG TIME. Put rocks back in tub but this time with only ro water and power heads. Let sit for a week. take rock put in driveway and blast with water. for a long time. Put rocks back in tub with ro and power heads, let sit for another week. by this time I was ready to put into my new tank, I took rocks out of water and put them into the new tank with a few pieces of live rock to seed. Waited a few months and then adding the first coral. I would always stay on the safe side when it comes to setting up your tank. Doing it right from the start can save you lots o monies : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manhorsedog Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) oh forgot to add make sure your rocks dont smell like bleach, mine didnt smell anymore after the first rinse but i didnt another just to make sure. dang it i forgot this also and this is really important. if you DO NOT KNOW THE SOURCE of where or what tank this rock came from you might need to start by soaking for a week and testing for copper. If you do find copper you can not use this rock in saltwater tanks, copper will leech out of those rocks forever and kill many things. Edited June 27, 2009 by manhorsedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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