Baking live rock.

M

Matt850

New member
I recently acquired another 65 lbs of live rock to add to the total of my 90g but decided against adding in two of the medium sized pieces due to excessive bubble algae even after i spent an hour with a toothbrush going at it. The rock is very established marco rock but I was wondering since it is just these two pieces that i need cured of this issue, what is the best way to make it back into base rock and start over? Is it possible to stick it in the oven for a while and bake everything off, scrub it down and wallah? Is there a better way?

I'm not as much worried about the coralline algae as it will come back easily... more worried about the bubble algae than anything.
 
I've never heard of anybody doing this, but if you're not worried about losing the biological filter and bringing back to a dry piece of rock it probably can't hurt. Anyone else out there ever hear of this or try it?
 
I've never heard of anyone actually baking their rocks in the oven. I think somewhere online I did read about somebody placing their rocks in boiling water to kill everything off then "baking" the rocks in a separate tub before placing them in the display.
 
I'm wondering if this is a misinterpretation of "cooking" your rocks, which does not involve any household appliances. It's also the way I'd go instead. Basically, you just keep the rocks in a completely dark environment. This thread has some instructions about half way down. I'm sure there are plenty of other techniques out there if you want to do some searching around, though: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=437342.
 
Matt850 said:
Is it possible to stick it in the oven for a while and bake everything off, scrub it down and wallah?
Click to expand...

Sure, that works... it won't smell like baking cookies, but it will work :) Doesn't have to be extreme... something like 300 for about 30 minutes should be adequate. ( voilà )
 
haha, I knew it was a bit extreme. I should have asked it a different way.. I want it to be base rock again so that there is zero die off to break down when I stick it into my tank. Thanks for the responses. I don't care about biological filtration yet... i have another 70 lbs (may end up taking out one of the larger pieces for these two) in the tank already and it isn't stocked heavily yet.
 
When I bought some base rock for my tank from a garden center I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and dumped muriatic acid on it. After it stopped bubbling I rinsed it with a garden hose and repeated once more. Nice clean rock in just a few minutes!

And yes I know I am a bit extreme, but I had a lot of acid left over from my pool.
 
I would either bleach or acid bath the LR. Let me find the discussion.

Here it is. Bleach vs acid

Baking is probably going to get really stinky and your significant other probably wont appreciate it in the oven
 
graveyardworm said:
I would either bleach or acid bath the LR. Let me find the discussion.

Here it is. Bleach vs acid

Baking is probably going to get really stinky and your significant other probably wont appreciate it in the oven
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing when he said bake... LOL

Anyway yes just soak the rock in bleach and water over night (has to be pure bleach not any of that scented stuff)... I have done it many times... Then I rinse it and throw in in a bucket with some water with dechlorinator added and let it sit over night. Next I let it dry and then it is fine to add. In a couple months the rock will look just like your other rock.
 
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you could always take it to the local car wash and use a power washer on it, you would be suprised at its stripping ability.
 
I have cleaned off a few rocks in the past just by leaving them in the back yard in a sunny spot on my table....2 days later the algea just peeled right off of them. Washed them and they were good to go.

I would avoid the oven scenario...I cant stand the smell of algea out of the tank more then a couple hours let alone putting it in the oven.
 
Problem with just hosing stuff off your only cleaning the outside of the rock and who kows whats on the inside of that rock.. Some worm, sponge or shimp may have burrowed into it and if left in there will slowly rot in your tank and actually start a cycle over again or create an algae bloom... By using bleach it will be oxidized right out. Cooking also takes a long time for dead rocks.
 
I know people who have put their rocks in the oven. Most didn't have problems, but some had rocks explode (I assume water trapped in pocks, water boils to gas, pressure builds up and boom). In any case I would just let it dry out completely for a while and treat it like uncured rock from there. If you are in a snowy part of NorCal (I know there isn't much of CA that gets very cold at all), letting them freeze would do the trick too.
 
uh... I am not expert by any means but Id be afraid that the rock would explode. When I was in Boy Scouts we were all around the camp fire and someone had tossed a river rock in several hours before and it exploded all over. I received a pretty decent burn on my neck from a chunk landing in my shirt collar. :mad:
 
So I tried this baking the rock method... It killed everything. I rinsed it very well or at least I thought I did... put it in my new little 20 gallon thinking oh all will be well. Added the coral from my established tank and some live rock and live sand from the established tank... ammonia spiked, the water turned brown, and everything almost died, needless to say those rocks were pulled out of there, primed away and water changes until things leveled out. Tank still looks like poopoo but hopefully it will turn around. Boil your rocks, lesson learned.
 
OK, This is a little late but NEVER, EVER boil, bake or otherwise heat LR.
It can kill you!!!!!!!
If you have problems with algae, bleaching will do the job, If leaching bound-up phosphate is the culprit then an acid bath will work.
Once again, NEVER, EVER boil or bake LR
 
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