petkingdom619 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Its been out in the dirt for a few years. Can I boil it and add it to a new tank with some live rock? Or should I keep it in a bucket for awhile? Link to comment
Jackal_Knight Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Don't boil rock, you can do an acid bath or cook it for a few months. Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 How do I do it either way Link to comment
Jackal_Knight Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Just google muratic acid bath for live rock there are some good threads about it. To cook it just toss it in a rubber tub with a heater and powerhead for a few months and do a water change once in a while. test for phosphate and nitrate until you know your rocks aren't leaching any into the water. Id use the acid because its much faster. Just be safe Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 A good bleach bath should do the trick. If you are going to use muratic acid please, please, please know what you're getting into to. Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 So if I do a bleach bath can I put the rock in right after? And with cooking the rock in a tub what temp do I use? What would boiling it do Link to comment
Han Solo Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 why not just buy more rock? it's pretty cheap for dry rock..no offense, but I mean it seems risky to me, no telling what is on there now. Just the fact that it's been outside in the air may introduce harmful chemicals/bacteria. bleach would probably be the way to go though, like has been said. Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 If it didn't look so nice I wouldnt use it. I'll bleach then put in atub for a few months with salt water. Link to comment
Speaker73 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 If it didn't look so nice I wouldnt use it. I'll bleach then put in atub for a few months with salt water. I would definitely use a dechlorinator after you beach the rocks. I am of the muriatic acid group. Did that for some FW rocks and some of my base rock that I used in a new tank reboot. I used a 1:10 ratio of acid to water. Used a tyvek suit, face mask, goggles, rubber gloves and old shoes that were soaked in water. put the rocks in the bucket with some tongs. make sure that it was outside with a LOT of ventilation and don't breathe the vapor! watched the whole thing bubble for 10 minutes or so then added a bunch of baking soda to neutralize the acid. then rinsed the rocks with a power washer; soaked them in RO water for a few weeks with a powerhead (changed the water every few days) then added them to my tank. Easy peasy. lol Good luck. Link to comment
Reef guy Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 If you bleach the rock let it dry for a couple of days. The bleach is gone after it dries out. Link to comment
IzzyTheFool Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Just google muratic acid bath for live rock there are some good threads about it. To cook it just toss it in a rubber tub with a heater and powerhead for a few months and do a water change once in a while. test for phosphate and nitrate until you know your rocks aren't leaching any into the water. Id use the acid because its much faster. Just be safe A member on our forums did this, and photographed for your viewing pleasure. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/350293-cheeseburgers-rimless-krusty-krab/ Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm just going to bleach it then cook it in a tub. I already have bleach a tub a heater and salt water is free and I'm not in a hurry so let's see what happens with it Link to comment
farkwar Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I would definitely use a dechlorinator after you beach the rocks. I am of the muriatic acid group. Did that for some FW rocks and some of my base rock that I used in a new tank reboot. I used a 1:10 ratio of acid to water. Used a tyvek suit, face mask, goggles, rubber gloves and old shoes that were soaked in water. put the rocks in the bucket with some tongs. make sure that it was outside with a LOT of ventilation and don't breathe the vapor! watched the whole thing bubble for 10 minutes or so then added a bunch of baking soda to neutralize the acid. then rinsed the rocks with a power washer; soaked them in RO water for a few weeks with a powerhead (changed the water every few days) then added them to my tank. Easy peasy. lol Good luck. And You were ready for Ebola. I dont understand bleach, its not going to pull any phosphates out of the rock. Muriatic acid or vinegar/acetic acid will turn your rocks white if they are white under all the junk. Use vinegar if your afraid of the hazmat stuff, does the same thing just slower. Link to comment
Speaker73 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 And You were ready for Ebola. I dont understand bleach, its not going to pull any phosphates out of the rock. Muriatic acid or vinegar/acetic acid will turn your rocks white if they are white under all the junk. Use vinegar if your afraid of the hazmat stuff, does the same thing just slower. And the funny thing is that I work in healthcare and am definitely NOT ready for ebola. I'm sorry but any ebola patient's coming my way is going be taken care of by someone else. But at least I know that when I get home I can take a quick dip in my bleach/muriatic acid/vinegar concoction if needed.... Link to comment
my_sons_reef Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I had a very nice piece of dead rock out in our patio for about 3 years. It had dirt and some stuff growing on it. I just put it in a bucket of water and scrubbed and power washed it. I currently use it as the base rock in my tank. I havent seen anything bad happen from just doing that. Link to comment
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