Neptune Aquatics

Bake/boil old(ish) rocks?

Dyngoe

Dyngoe

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Hey guys(and gals),

My friend passed along some rocks to me for my new tank build and I'm wondering how I should treat them. They did have some aptasia when they were taken out of the tank and they've been in holding (damp) accumulating bacteria for ~3 weeks. I really don't have 2-3 weeks to let them dry out and "bake" in the sun. So, I was thinking about pulling out the big pot (used for making 5 gal batches of beer) and boiling them in small bunches. Any thoughts on the best way to "clean" these rocks before I start cycling them again?
 
Most people only use a few ounces of hops in their beer, we use 40-50lbs of LIVE ROCK. ;)

I think I'm actually leaning towards bleaching.

Again, any thoughts out there?
 
I say just dip them in a dark purple solution of PP :) All organic material will just burn off :) Bleach works as ian can attest too.. It takes a fairly high concentration though to get all the stuff off the rock.. Should kill just about everything though.. After the soak let sun dry for 1=2 days then give it a good soaking and rinse.. After the 2nd or third soak just add extra dechlorominator and you should be good to go.. The sundrying will get them that nice white all over again :)
 
Oh yeah I'd do whatever Jeremy sez.. I'm sure he has had plenty of experience.. :) I would not boil the rock.. You'd be releasing all kinds of noxious fumes from the aptasia melting away.. There was a thread on RC about soemone doing that with zoas I think and almost passing out...
 
this sounds crazy, but I thought it might be a interesting way to to "cook" live rock, high doses of bromelain, i.e. meat tenderizer. This stuff is derived from pineapples and digests protein like nobodies business. You can buy large volumes of it in powdered form, I was thinking it would help speed up the "cleansing" of the rock by lysing any cellular protein present.
 
[quote author=Dyngoe link=topic=4470.msg54373#msg54373 date=1220488241]
Jeremy, were you being serious?

Doug...what is purple PP?
[/quote]

I believe Doug is referring to Potassium Permanganate, it does the trick, but don't get any on the carpets it may affect the single/married status.

I wasn't joking about Oxy-Clean, I use it all the time especially for plastic plants, they don't turn yellow as quickly as they do if you bleach. I use it as well for bleaching coral if I'm able to do it off site, on site I have to use bleach because it works quicker, I need to be in and out in 45 min on my doctor/dentist office old school dead coral look type tanks.

If you were to use it on your rock make sure you use very hot water, and let the rocks soak overnight, take them out rinse them well, and your set.
 
[quote author=fishnfst link=topic=4470.msg54366#msg54366 date=1220481462]
I say just dip them in a dark purple solution of PP :)
[/quote]

I don't appreciate having rocks dropped on me, TYVM!
 
Yup Jeremy is right... Potassium permangenate... It'll melt the stuf right off. But it is quite potent.. It kills monti nudis eggs as well :) I've seen it melt the skin off of fish when dosed too high....
 
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