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New rock or not

Im going to be transfering most of my stuff over to the new 95 cube but the old rock has that bad turf algae. Im not sure if I should get new rock or use the old stuff. Im afraid that it will take over in the new tank and that is not exceptable. If I place all of my corals on the bottom of the new tank and try to cook the old rock how long will this take to rid it of all the bad algae. Give me some ideas here.
 
I think it will take couple months if you cook them correctly...
Or you can do what I do... Cook them in the sun :D ... That should take care of it in a couple sunny days.
 
That would make it base rock. And there just way to many Zoa's on them to do that. I will probably get new rock and frag off as much of my corals as I can and then sale the old rock or giv it away.
 
Do you have a sump with any algae in it? If so lengthen the reverse photo period, shorten main tank lighting time and feed less. Also declorinated tap water may contain high levels of nitrates.

Just some thoughts, if all goes well it will be gone in days.. Also snails are always good for algae removal don't forget. Assuming you have none
 
Base rock will become live in 6 months or so.... I have to do that because my rock was cover with hair algae. Doesn't matter what I do it will grow back in 1-2 months. If there are corals on it, you can really cook them anyway. I don't think they will survise in the dark for that long.

In my 100G tank, there are about 40-50 lbs base rocks. After 4-5 months, you cant tell which one is live and which one is base.
 
Mike I have tried that. Most will come off but not all and it just grows back. I think I will get a tang for the new tank. I need a another herbivore anyway my lawnmower wont touch the stuff. I'm thinking a Chevron or Powder blue but I need to find Healthy stock.
 
I'm also concerned about the Detritus thats in the rock. I'm going BB on the new tank and I'm sure the old rock is going to be spewing out this crap for a while. I will probably go with new rock thats been cured.
 
One thing I wish I did before adding someones 3+ year old rock was to have a mixup bucket of saltwater and just use the most powerful jet stream of a power head I had to blast the rock and let all the crap get shot off. I did on some rock use my high pressure washer and that did an absolutely awesome job at removing stuff from the surface :)
 
Cooked corectly it should take 2 months at the most. And doing it in the sun does nothing for the stored nutrients in the rock, so a complete waste of time imo. If you use your old rock cook it. And you should also cook the new rock as well. You know its done when the algea is gone and it stops sheding detritius. You will be glad you did it when your done.
 
I would end up killing alot of cloves,shrooms and zoa I guess i just need t obite the bullet and face the fact that I will lose the stuff thats not going to come off the old rock. Where can i get a how to on cooking rock
 
Heres the thread from RC http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=405128&highlight=cooking+rock. And you might be suprised as to what can survive the cooking. I had a monti live through 6 weeks of dark. .
 
I am going to be facing the same problem. I am assuming the turf algae is the short brown bristly stuff tht reminds me of a beard ? I have snails and hermits with it covering their shells. It never seemed to bother or negatively impact the corals, but it bugs me a bit :) ... Moving from our 92 gal corner to the 180 we are still planning out the rockwork. Let us know what you decide hammerhead and how it turns out :)
 
I might just try an onslaught of herbivorous critters and use it as is. I dont have the time to cook it. The room where the tank is needs new paint and carpet. I only have a few weeks to decide my plan od attack.
 
I've had great luck in combatting algae by doing the following:

1) Reduce photoperiod and change bulbs to new ones if needed.
2) Feed less.
3) Increase water flow.
4) Introduce a flotilla of Mexican turbo snails and other herbivores.

I took a tank that was covered in hair algae and got it down to 0 in about one month... The trick is loads and loads of snails. The bigger the better.
 
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