Whats the best way to clean dead rock?

[Mandosh]

I was given a box of "dead" fiji rock when I bought one of my tanks. I'm planning on using this as a base rock but now that I've had it back in SW for the last week it turns out it wasn't so dead after all (it just didn't have anything good left alive on it). Whats the best way to completely ensure I rid the rock of all the slime and hair algae before it goes into the tank?

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Mandosh

I was given a box of "dead" fiji rock when I bought one of my tanks. I'm planning on using this as a base rock but now that I've had it back in SW for the last week it turns out it wasn't so dead after all (it just didn't have anything good left alive on it). Whats the best way to completely ensure I rid the rock of all the slime and hair algae before it goes into the tank?

I'd give it a good scrub with a brush or something, make sure you get anything that dried on it, off. After that, have a couple buckets with some water in it so you can swish off the rock to get any "hangers on" off, then another rinse in another bucket and I would imagine after that you're good to go.

I put it in water for a few days and then scrub with a brush it takes all the dead stuff off easy this way. The water gets in and rehydrate the stuff and when scrubbing use boiling water to rinse off this helps to leach out phosphates from the rock. let sit in salt water for a week or 2 to get as much of the phosphates out as possible the water has to be on the worm side. In essence you are going to be cooking the rock and after a week or 2 reduce the temp to normal and get some live rock in there to seed the dead stuff.

Bill

[Bryan]

Search RC for a thread on "Acid or Bleach wash". Bleach to kill off any organics, the acid wash (Muriatic Acid) to dissolve a thin layer off the rock to remove phosphates

[Mandosh]

Thanks a lot, to both of you.

[Mandosh]

three of you, sorry. That was fast