Washing rock...? (1 Viewer)

[Fb Joe]

Thats why i cycle my live rock with my mantis shrimp, he goes in and kills all the big pests, the rest is just observation.
I think taking live rock from the sea and treating it with acid is a waste of life.
you want dry porous reef rock, buy aragocrete

 

[dustybaker]

the pest thing i get... but all pests are removable without killing the very esscence of what gives lr the name lr... different tops for different pots i guess

It is an argument that never ends.

 

[David Grigor]

Would bleach be as effective as an acid bath? I am in an apartment making acid baths more challenging but I can deal with some bleach

It's not the same. The bleach will eat away the organics that are on the rock but will not release any heavy metals or phosphate that may be bind. You need a really low pH to do that.

Just get you a Christmas storage tub for $5 on clearance at the store and put it in the bathtub, do your acid bath in the tub and just dump down the drain when done.

 

[David Grigor]

Still dont get it...., Ive read posts about destroying perfectly live rock to get rid of hair algae?

I do it to rock that is already dry and dead. Old live rock that was dried out or dry rock that you purchase. Any organics that are on it will decay in the tank if you don't remove.

 

[hypertech]

Furthermore dead rock from the garage or otherwise would not even be an option for me because its already past dead..if you want a true eco system you have to start with Live rock from the ocean and deal with the inherit problems naturally without destroying it in an acid bath

This is just not true. I did a 100% dry rock tank and it had all the microfauna, pods, corraline algae, etc. I don't know where they came from - could have rode in on frags, in the salt, on the fish - in the fish, who knows.

All it takes is time and perhaps a small piece of established rock to seed a whole tank of dry rock. That rock could be old dead rock, it could be ocean rock shipped dry, or it could be mined rock that hasn't seen water in thousands of years.

In fact, I think the ecologically responsible way to do it is to use all dry rock and if necessary, seed it with a small piece of established rock or live rock. Plus, then you don't have to deal with some of the pests like bad crabs and mantis shrimp.

 

[dustybaker]

Thanks for the the back up on this.

 

[cubetankguy]

Thanks for the the back up on this.

well my argument is if u buy *live rock* then why would you kill it.... if u buy the eco rock then bleaching or acid bathing it would be a smart idea.... but i wouldnt spent 300 on box of live rock then kill it off....

 

[hypertech]

well my argument is if u buy *live rock* then why would you kill it.... if u buy the eco rock then bleaching or acid bathing it would be a smart idea.... but i wouldnt spent 300 on box of live rock then kill it off....

I completely agree there. I don't understand the people who spend $8-10 on rock and then burn off everything on it. There are much cheaper ways (ie BRS EcoRox) to get to that same point.

 

[dustybaker]

well my argument is if u buy *live rock* then why would you kill it.... if u buy the eco rock then bleaching or acid bathing it would be a smart idea.... but i wouldnt spent 300 on box of live rock then kill it off....

I bought the rock in question for 2.50 a pound, less than dry rock. I want a good fresh start on this 75g. As I said, if it bothers you that much, buy it and i'll go get eco rocks.

 

[cubetankguy]

I bought the rock in question for 2.50 a pound, less than dry rock. I want a good fresh start on this 75g. As I said, if it bothers you that much, buy it and i'll go get eco rocks.

its your tank.... u do what u would like... im just stating i dont understand why you would do that.... go get a big tub pre mix some sw and throw the rock in there with a skimmer and no lights for a few weeks with tons of flow..... that will kill off any unwanted organisms.....

 

[dustybaker]

its your tank.... u do what u would like... im just stating i dont understand why you would do that.... go get a big tub pre mix some sw and throw the rock in there with a skimmer and no lights for a few weeks with tons of flow..... that will kill off any unwanted organisms.....

That requires a few weeks, I can't stand to look at an empty tank anymore!!

 

[cubetankguy]

That requires a few weeks, I can't stand to look at an empty tank anymore!!

lol k now we are getting the root of the problem.....

 

[FISHEYES]

when I got hair algae I just took out of the tank srub it off with a new heavy duty srub brush and put back in the tank worked like a champ no more hair algae issues since then.

 

[OldNemo]

So that leads to my question of whether you would acid bath the BRS eco/Pukini stuff. Seems pretty fragile to do so. Thoughts??

 

[Pomacanthus]

So just to clarify- you guys are taking rock that retails between $3-$15 per LB and washing it in bleach or even worse muratic acid because you are afraid of maybe 1 Mantis Shrimp or hair algae? You are killing off thousands of brozoans and Copepods, etc etc etc because you dont have ANY patience or knowledge of how to deal with a couple challanges? Let me guess next you are going to buy a Mandarin Goby and then post a question asking why it died? All i can say is its this kind of mentality that drove me out retail pet stores.

 

[hypertech]

The majority of people are talking about cleaning up problem rock that is saturated with organic matter because it came from a problem tank or dry rock that was purchased dry and doesn't have any of that stuff in it anyway.

I wouldn't understand buying expensive live rock and cooking it either. I like to use dry rock for my tank. I won't go any other way.

 

[REEFSTOCK]

1 fist sized rock with a live coral on it will have more diversity of life than 1000lbs of live rock (I can't prove that BTW... but it sounds cool and dramatic... which seems to be the way of fools mocking things the barley understand). The coral has been shipped in water (and indecently the rock it is on) So-called-live rock has been shipped by boat for a week and then at the wholesaler for how long (other than FL stuff). Especially now the Live rock coming in is from Fiji or Fiji... GREAT! In any case, most of the life is long gone. Just because some companies will get the coraline to grow back on it does not somehow make it full of any more species than you will eventually get in your own tank. Who here has done a microscope analysis of multiple 1 year tanks some with some without "live rock"? I tell you what I will be placing my bets on... just about the same thing.
It is simply pompous to think you need to acid bath rock for a successful tank and equally pompous to think you need live rock to have a great looking tank. More over what different peoples terms of success are for their tank are so ridiculously large and wide, to assume anything will work for everyones dreams is also pompous. Most people who stay in any hobby have had success with one method or the other, then they get stuck on that method as the right-way instead of the right-way-for-me. Sprung has a nice diatribe about reef-guruism. So go read up Sprung #3 if you want a good laugh.

 

[OldNemo]

I think I'll stick to "dead" pirate ships.

 

[hypertech]

Are you calling me pompous for my preference of dry rock Mr. Tutu?

I expect to see pirate ships AND little bubbling diver men the next time I am in.

:goldfish:

 

[Pomacanthus]

Hmmm I thought this thread was about cooking live rock.

Hey REEFSTOCK Ill take my same day collected live rock shipped in water (WHO KNEW?) and put it up against your fist sized rock with a miracle coral any day of the week - and lets make it 1000 Lbs while were at it <snip>(I can't prove that BTW... but it sounds cool and dramatic... which seems to be the way of fools mocking things the barley understand) <snip>

From Charles Delbeek a close and personal friend of Mr Sprung:

<snip>The use of live rock immediately introduces into the aquarium numerous algae, bacteria and small invertebrates all of which contribute to the overall quality of the aquarium water. Live rock has just as much, if not more, surface area for bacteria than a trickle filter. Since live rock in the aquarium contains various types of bacteria, algae and corals, waste products such as ammonia, nitrate and phosphate can have a number of fates. Ammonia, nitrate and phosphate are readily assimilated by algae and photosynthetic corals growing on and in the rock. Ammonia can also be quickly converted into nitrate by the bacteria on and in the rock. This nitrate can be either absorbed by the algae and corals, or it can be denitrified by bacteria in close proximity to the nitrate-producing bacteria.<snip>

Never said dry rock would not work, only stated I prefer live. As far as things dying on the rock? Die off it determined by many variables to incl. 1) Quality of collection practices 2) Quality of rock 3) Transport method 4) Quality of curing system 5) Attentiveness of curator 6) Volume of rock being cured in correlation to tank size in gallonage
7) Protein skimmer 8) Use of ozone in curing process

REEFSTOCK

I would respectfully disagree with your statement "most of the life is gone" this is simply not true. Having cured well over 10,000 Lbs of rock I can say the quality of the finished product is dependant on the above variables. I have had the following survive the curing process: sponge (yellow and orange) mini favites brain corals, micro and macro fauna, other assorted hard stony corals. Additionally most of the life is INSIDE the rock (WHO KNEW?) where it is porus and wet (even when shipped dry) this life survives the shipping and curing process very well, I acknowledge this sounds cool and dramatic but hey Im just fool mocking this process who barely understands it.