Using Vinegar to Clean My Rocks? How to restart my tank?

[Chiuy]

Is there a proper way to clean my rocks using vinegar? Do you  soak it overnight or just use it to rinse? Algae has overgrown my entire rocks and covered all the rocks. My tank died a month ago and finally had time to restart everything from the beginning. Don't want to just throw everything away, wanted to at least savage some things. And one of my friend told me not to throw all the water out and just do at least a 90% change water to at least keep the bacteria. Any suggestions on how to restart?

[seabass]

12 hours ago, Chiuy said:

Is there a proper way to clean my rocks using vinegar?

Not really.  Vinegar does a good job cleaning equipment; however the rock will neutralize the vinegar.

 

12 hours ago, Chiuy said:

one of my friend told me not to throw all the water out and just do at least a 90% change water to at least keep the bacteria.

The bacteria reside on hard surfaces; they don't concentrate in the water column.  While you might be able to keep it, there isn't much benefit in doing so.

 

There are a few options for stripping your rocks clean.  First brush off as much algae as possible:

• Muriatic acid, which is stronger than vinegar.  It's pretty dangerous to use, and will eat away some of your rock.  I wouldn't recommended it.
• Bleach is effective, but should be used outside, as the fumes are hazardous.  Afterwards, rinse the rocks thoroughly, then soak the rocks using a dechlorinator.  You could also let the rock dry out just to be sure that the chlorine is gone.
• Peroxide is relatively safe and will kill most algae.  Make a strong solution of hydrogen peroxide (enough to cover the rocks), and let it soak overnight, then rinse thoroughly.
• Overdosing an algaecide like API AlgaeFix (maybe the whole bottle) can be effective.  Let it soak overnight, then rinse thoroughly.

I guess I would:

• Remove the rocks
• Remove the algae with a stiff bristle brush (like a vegetable brush), then hose off the rocks
• Treat the rock with one of the above methods (like peroxide)
• Rinse the rock
• Clean the tank and equipment
• Add new saltwater
• Add the cleaned rock
• Dose a bottled bacteria culture like BIO-Spira
• Use the fishless cycling method to build back the biofilter by: Dose ammonium chloride so that NH4 is 2ppm (not more), wait until NH4 drops to 0.25ppm, and repeat until your tank can process 2ppm of NH4 down to 0.25ppm within 24 hours.

[mcarroll]

On 9/7/2022 at 9:02 PM, Chiuy said:

Is there a proper way to clean my rocks using vinegar?

In brief – no.

 

For perspective, you can make other methods work like using vinegar would work....just clean your rock and then throw 10-20% of your rock in the garbage at the end.  (Vinegar dissolves limestone!!!)

 

On 9/7/2022 at 9:02 PM, Chiuy said:

Do you  soak it overnight or just use it to rinse?

No.

 

On 9/7/2022 at 9:02 PM, Chiuy said:

Algae has overgrown my entire rocks and covered all the rocks. My tank died a month ago and finally had time to restart everything from the beginning. Don't want to just throw everything away, wanted to at least savage some things. And one of my friend told me not to throw all the water out and just do at least a 90% change water to at least keep the bacteria. Any suggestions on how to restart?

Your friend is more right than anything else so far.  👍

 

First, your tank didn't "die".  Your tank is glass.  Snarky, but it's important to be clear about what has happened so you can be clear about what to do next. 😉 

 

If your corals died and the tank became overgrown by algae, then that's what happened.  (Is that what happened?)

 

IF that's what happened, then the tank is still completely salvageable – we (or you, rather) just need to ID what happened before and not do that again.  Success!

 

Pay attention to this guy's advice on SNAILS and HOW TO PULL ALGAE:  (other advice he gives will not apply to your tank)

 

I dunno how much Marc gets for every view of this vid, but as much as I post it I feel like I ought to get a percentage at this point!!

 

In a nutshell: You pull the algae out by hand.  Pinch by pinch.   Work in small areas like 1 inch square or maybe 2 inches square....and do not start a new zone until the algae is 100% gone where you're working.  If there's a lot, don't expect to get it all in one sitting – hit one or more small zones per day until it's gone.   And make sure you upgrade your algae eating cleanup crew!  Turbo, Astrea, Trochus, Margharita, Nerite, Cerith.   Others are detritus eaters!  (I've detailed this in probably hundreds of posts if you want to look up a more in-depth how-to on this topic.)

[kaia14]

Try leaving it to soak in a cup of vinegar overnight for up to 24 hours. You can then scrub the algae off with a toothbrush before rinsing the stone in water.