Quick rock curing

mattr · #1 03-30-2014, 04:01 AM

So I had some rocks in my fuge and I decided to add them into my display tank. The issue is that I forgot that I have a emerald crab in my fuge. He now has no place to hide, and is managing to crawl all over the place up and down baffles.

I have some dry rock and I have been boiling in water for the last few hours to "clean" it... how horrible would it be if I put it in my fuge? I have a 50g display tank with 20g in the fuge.

Thanks in advance for any help

BlueTang<3 · #2 03-30-2014, 04:10 AM

Are you attempting to cook your rock by boiling it? The problem I see is dead rock going in can have a bunch of die off and leech phosphates and nitrate into your tank for up to 2 years. You'd be better off to pick up some used rock and clean it well with a brush. You could put so,e PVC pipe and such in there for him to hide for now and just remember to feed him till you find rock

mattr · #3 03-30-2014, 04:50 AM

yes, boiling it because i figured it would clean it as much as possible.

darkreef · #4 03-30-2014, 06:59 AM

Throw it in a bucket with freshwater and power head , change water every few days .
Test for phosphates ... May take a few months but that's the quickest with dry rock.

jason604 · #5 03-30-2014, 05:45 PM

I normally just add them to my display few lbs at a time with no issues at all

Craigdillman · #6 03-30-2014, 05:56 PM

just add it they will become live a small addition like that won't affect much

donkey77 · #7 03-30-2014, 10:18 PM

iam cooking some LR right know in saltwater with a good power head and a heater with a temp about 85, i change out the water every week the rock had high posphates, is this the best way to get the phosphates out, i plan to run like this for a 6-8 weeks or should it be in freshwater

asylumdown · #8 03-31-2014, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donkey77

iam cooking some LR right know in saltwater with a good power head and a heater with a temp about 85, i change out the water every week the rock had high posphates, is this the best way to get the phosphates out, i plan to run like this for a 6-8 weeks or should it be in freshwater

Do it in salt water. Phosphate behaves differently in salt vs. freshwater. All the different chemicals in salt water push phosphate to form a different ratio of species, and since you're going to be using the rock in salt water you want it to reach equilibrium in salt water.

Aquattro · #9 03-31-2014, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Do it in salt water. Phosphate behaves differently in salt vs. freshwater. All the different chemicals in salt water push phosphate to form a different ratio of species, and since you're going to be using the rock in salt water you want it to reach equilibrium in salt water.

This. Phosphate speciation is affected by pH, and you're better doing this in water close to the tank parameters.

A good quick read here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphate