baking live rock?

[td1415]

I will be tearing down my current 75g tank soon and setting up a new display. As part of this I would like to "kill" all my live rock and start fresh. The reason I don't want to use the existing live rock is because I have a significant bubble algae problem. The new tank will be bigger, so I am going to buy some seed live rock to add to the existing rock. I'm not concerned about how long it will take for my current rock to "live" again because most of my live rock started dead/dry.

So my question is: what is the best way to "kill" the live rock? I think I remember reading somewhere that you could bake it in the oven. How would that be better than just setting it out to dry for a week? When the algae dies, will it just leave phosphate and nitrate on the rock? Is there some way to get that off?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Bleach will rapidly kill and remove any organic materials on the rock.

 

[billsreef]

Go with the bleach. It will work and is easily removed. Sticking it the oven will kill things and make a really bad stench and not clean up any of the organics.

 

[td1415]

Thanks for the replies. How long should it soak in bleach for? After the treatment, what do I need to do to remove any traces of the bleach? Soak in water with an ammonia remover?

 

[Sk8r]

Actually, just an alternate opinion, bubble algae will just come back the first time some spores arrive from a specimen, and there is no tank I have ever had where I don't have some. What I'd do rather than all that grief is add a really big fuge and let it start working on the general problem of surplus nutrients, phosphates, et al. Granted bubble is the least responsive to a fuge, but eventually it will starve it out.

If they still make "Safe" it will take out chlorine bleach.

 

[td1415]

I'm starting the new tank because we are finishing our basement and I'll have more space... it's not because I'm giving up on this one. The new tank will definitely have a refugium, so I should be able to use a more "natural" method of controlling the bubble algae. But with the current tank, I am not interested in fighting this battle any longer.

At what ratio should I mix the bleach with water?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Maybe 5-10% bleach in tap water.

 

[Muleball39]

I thought about doing this as well. I am going from a 55 to a 90 but my problem is Aptisia's. Will bleaching the rock there on kill them or can I just leave them out in the sun to bake for a week or so?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Both ways will likely kill aiptasia, but the sun method will leave the dead organisms on the rock, which will later decay like cycling new live rock.

 

[rivoth]

Soaking in bleach by itself wouldn't remove dead matter either, he would still need a method of flushing dead matter out of the pores, and off of the surface of the rock.

Or are you saying that bleach will alter the chemistry of the dead organics so that it will not decay when the rock is put back in the water?

 

[witfull]

"cook" the rock in total darkness to kill algae and allow the pores to unclog through bacterial tugor.

 

[td1415]

I am in the process of doing this right now (the bleach treatment). Most of the algae does seem to fall off, and then I periodically collect it from the tub. I was under the impression it would dissolve in the bleach, but that hasn't happened. All the algae lost its color and is now clear, and it's all very soft, but most of it is still there.

I have had the rocks soaking in a tub with a couple powerheads for about two days.

 

[spsfreak]

I would take the rocks in there current location, scrub with a stiff plastic brush until clean, then do a 100% water change.

 

[SPACEMANS2]

put on your grill if you are worried about the stinch in your house. there is nothing like dead rock! no critters, no algae surprises...........until you put new items in your tank that you got from a frag swap.lol