Gill-Crazy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 There are several very beautiful sections of very porous reef rock that's been in a relative's flower garden as decorative pieces for many, many years. I don't live near the coast but I'm told that this rock was brought here from Florida around 40 years ago. I've been told that the place where it was brought in Florida has a lot of that rock in that part of the state. So I have no clue exactly how long the reef rock has been out of the ocean....could be as "new" as 40 years....could be as old as 100,000 years or more. Not much way of knowing. It is very heavy compared to my live Fiji rock in my coral tank, that's why I'm thinking it has long been calcified/petrified/whatever. While it is incredibly beautiful and would give an amazing look to my tank, I'm extremely cautious because flower gardens are common places where pesticides are used. I don't need any organophosphates in my tank no matter how awesome the rock looks! However, I'm waiting to get in touch with an old chemistry professor to ask him if soaking the rock for a few weeks/months in a combination of zeolites and charcoal carbon might possibly draw out any organophosphate pesticides. Then of course, I'd go through the long process of soaking it in fresh water and then salt water to recure it. Assuming I can clear out any toxic residues, can reef rock that has been out of the water for a LOOONG time be recured? Is there such thing as old reef rock being too petrified/calcified to cure? Thanks in advance!!! Link to comment
hayseed777 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Just buy rock. The concerns you listed are valid. Years of fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide probably can be negated by going through the process you described. However, after all the hassle and time it probably won't be worth it. You'll also probably suspect the rock first if something is out of whack with your tank...which could cause you to overlook the real problem. Get some Marco rocks and be happy and worry free. Just my opinion. Link to comment
7digits Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 This may or may not help, but Marco rocks and reefcleaners rocks are mined from an ancient reef that has long since been dry land. They are thoroughly cleaned though. Link to comment
Builder Anthony Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 i think u would be ok Link to comment
acropora1981 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Just buy rock. The concerns you listed are valid. Years of fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide probably can be negated by going through the process you described. However, after all the hassle and time it probably won't be worth it. You'll also probably suspect the rock first if something is out of whack with your tank...which could cause you to overlook the real problem. Get some Marco rocks and be happy and worry free. Just my opinion. +1. I think you're asking for a headache here. Link to comment
Gill-Crazy Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thank you everyone for the fast replies! Some good points you make there. It's probably not worth sacrificing corals since there's no way to really know if it could still have toxins in there. Damn I hate that since the rocks look so amazingly awesome. I've never seen anything quite like it. But still, just not worth it. Thanks everyone!! Link to comment
disaster999 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 its easier to buy new rocks, but if you really want to try and use those rock and not in a hurry to do so, why not soak the rock in RO/DI water with weekly water changes for a long period of time, say 2-3 months, until everything is non detectable in the RO/DI water. that way any thing used in the garden should be all leached out into the RO/DI water and changed out weekly. try and start a cycle with the squeeky clean rocks and see if simple corals or fish can survive with those rocks. once you are sure the rocks are save then start stocking your tank. granted this is way too time consuming and buying new dry rocks is much much MUCH easier. but if you really think the rocks is worth it and have the time and resources to do so. i dont see why not. Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Agree with above. You could definately clean/soak them enough to get off all chemicals and pestcides, but what I would worry about is that is it really old reef rock or something else that might leach unwanted minerals? Link to comment
Veng Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Risk/reward isn't there. Just buy new. Link to comment
Captain Hook Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Risk/reward isn't there. Just buy new. +1 nicely put Link to comment
gbose Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 If you reallly like them, I recommend boiling them for a while, to get rid of any weird stuff on them... Link to comment
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