Cleaning Reef Rock

[Spudroach]

I have a bunch of what was once nice live rock that has been sitting under an oak tree for a couple of years. Does anyone have any suggestions on cleaning it up so it can be used as base rock on a new setup? It's not real bad, brown from leaves and a little algae. I figured I would try pressure washing it first.

I have a picture but haven't figured out how to upload from my hard drive (if I can do that).

 

[CuzzA]

Here's what I would do. Pressure wash it and then give it a muratic acid bath Walter White style (research how to safely do this). If it's still stained with organics (unlikely), give it a soak in bleach and then rinse thoroughly and let it dry. From there I would cure it in saltwater with a pump/powerhead for a couple weeks and monitor phosphates with a Hanna checker. If you don't find any or very little phosphates you should be good to go. If you do find excessive amount of PO4, then water changes, lanthanum chloride and/or GFO will need to be used to remove them.

 

[setsail4mexico]

here's what i would do. Pressure wash it and then give it a muratic acid bath walter white style (research how to safely do this). If it's still stained with organics (unlikely), give it a soak in bleach and then rinse thoroughly and let it dry. From there i would cure it in saltwater with a pump/powerhead for a couple weeks and monitor phosphates with a hanna checker. If you don't find any or very little phosphates you should be good to go. If you do find excessive amount of po4, then water changes, lanthanum chloride and/or gfo will need to be used to remove them.

+1

 

[anbosu]

Here's what I would do. Pressure wash it and then give it a muratic acid bath Walter White style (research how to safely do this). If it's still stained with organics (unlikely), give it a soak in bleach and then rinse thoroughly and let it dry. From there I would cure it in saltwater with a pump/powerhead for a couple weeks and monitor phosphates with a Hanna checker. If you don't find any or very little phosphates you should be good to go. If you do find excessive amount of PO4, then water changes, lanthanum chloride and/or GFO will need to be used to remove them.

+2 - good advice here