cleaning rock

[allanfranklin]

I have about 70 lbs of rock that just came out of a recently broken down fish tank. It is covered in algea and is quite nasty, but I would like to clean it up and use in a new tank that I will be starting soon. My question is how should I go about cleaning this rock? I want to make sure it doesn't start my new tank off with algea and other stuff bad stuff.

Thanks for your help

 

[harsh12ka4]

you can scrub it off or cook the rocks

 

[kzickovich]

I scrubed rock with a brand new scrub brush to brighten it up before

 

[allanfranklin]

what does "cooking" the rock mean.

 

[an411]

cooking means to boil

 

[cowdawg]

NO!!

Don't boil it! Cooking is a term for keeping your rocks in freshly made salt water for several weeks. During this time, you'll want to do many water changes. Each time you change the water, you either scrub or swish your rocks off before putting it in the new water.

This process is normally done with brute trashcans, a heater, and a powerhead. Keeping the lid on the trashcan is key, as the long (usually 6 weeks) period of darkness combined with all the water changes is necessary to kill of the algae.

What you end up with is nice clean looking rock which has been stripped of detritus and algae. Beneficial bacteria is left intact.

Oh yea, keep the water between 75 and 80

HTH

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13231673#post13231673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by an411
cooking means to boil

I hope this is in jest, as it's pretty rotten advice otherwise. There are a number of ways to accomplish this process, but cowdawg pretty much wraps it up. do a search for the specific techniques, but I'm familiar with this thread.