I recently bought a batch of live rocks...13lb to be precise. It has nice shape and stuffs but i found out that the rocks came with a lot unwanted pests!

aiptasia
Hydoids - colonial and some other type
Majano anemone

I took all those rocks out of my tanks and replace with some clean live rocks. So the question is, I wanted to salvage those rocks and maybe one day add 1 at a time back to the tank and to another tank i am planning to setup.

Can i soak in the freshwater for a couple days n wash it and let it dry it out to be base rock? How to be sure I completely kill all those pest? I am reluctant to use bleach yet..

This would probably work but the drying will do more than the FW, IMO.

+1 dry it

+2

Good idea. So I just take it out and put it in a bag let it sit dry? for how long?

I'd avoid letting rain get to it, but I'd put it out in the sun without a bag. Let it sit for at least couple weeks so you can be sure you dried out more than just the surface. Turn it over every couple days to make sure that the sun beats down on each side and no place escapes.

When you're ready to use the rock again, I'd re-cure it in a bucket that is separate from your main system. You may well have a strong and/or prolonged cycle because of all the dead stuff in/on the rock.

you can also boil it

if there arnt any zoas or corals in general you could do that too!
(zoas release toxins when boiled and they can kill you.)

I like to boil 'em. I'm not patient enough to do all that waiting crap. I have to be patient with every other thing in this ^%$& hobby when I can go faster and be impulsive darnit I take advantage of it.

My personal motto:

*Your teacher wants you to go slow, and she's wrong because it's the fastest who get paid and it's the fastest who get...*

fastest isnt always best...
see there is a problem with Us (humans)
we always look for more efficient ways of doing things but its bringing us more problems than resolutions... i mean i would love to see what the SF bay area looked like in 1820... but nay... we will never be able to see the natural beauty of earth again... and this really saddens me.

I didn't say it was BEST I said I preferred it

You are correct, things that you take time and patience with do turn out better. However, when I can go fast dang it I take advantage of it.

let me know if I am doing it right..dont have room to boil it...the boss won't be too happy about the smell LOL. or using bleach

Soak in freshwater for a couple days...rinse it, let it sit in the bucket with no water for a few days...


Is the method will get rid of the aiptasia, majano and hydroids? They are the one I have to worry..

bleach it and u wont have to worry about any of those pests.

i bleached 500# of lr to get rid of aptasia and algea. its now in my tank for 5 months with no problems.

Exactly how many of the pests are there? If there's only a few, it'd probably be easier just to eliminate them without killing off the rest of the fauna.

So freshwater soak is ok? I care less about the coraline ..

Hydrogen Peroxide?

It's cheaper than bottled water.
It will sterilize your rock.
And it's safe. Any residue will be Os and H2Os.

It's how ozonizers work but less concentrated.

+1

I would really hate to see good LR go to waste unless it is just covered in pests. What about peppermint shrimp or berghia nudis?

how much peroxide per water?