Quote:
Originally Posted by Craigdillman
How big is your tank?
Not 100% sure on the acid ratio would look that up
But for the vinegar what I did was just regular 5% white vinegar. Fill a tub with 3:1 ratio (vinegar to water hot is best), and throw the rocks in and make sure they're all covered. The rocks will "bubble" because the vinegar is dissolving the calcium the rock is made of. So what happens is that the outermost layer of the rock is dissolved off, along with the organics that are stored on the outside of the rock.
Once the rocks stop bubbling, that means the acid has been neutralized and the "magic" is pretty much over. But I'd leave it in the vinegar for a full 24 hours just to be sure you get the most effect out of it. For the second bath, If you want to go this far i rinsed the rocks quick then did another bath of 3:1. After a couple baths the rock should be bright white since the outer layers are gone and what you're left with is extremely clean base rock.
Then I rinsed the rocks and put them a few weeks (Mine stayed longer cause my tank wasn't ready to get running yet the longer the better) in saltwater with a heater and powerhead in the bin, and I'd put it in my tank. It's very simple, but requires some effort and time. But it's cheaper than fresh live rock without all the curing and die-off. It will take a good 4-6 months in your tank to look great, but it's well worth the wait. Oh, and you need a few pounds of good, quality live rock in the tank as well so you can seed the dead rock with all the good life forms and bacteria you need in/on it.
This is the process I went threw and by the time they were in my tank i had a brief diatoms stage but didn't go through any algae blooms and id like to think this is why
Hope this helps
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It is a 75 gal.
I have some dry Pukani and Tonga Shelf.
With the vinegar do I add RO/DI water or will tap water work for this purpose?