"Cooking" dry live rock

[brubakron]

In doing research for an upcoming tank upgrade, I have read more about cooking the rocks to get rid of any phosphates that may come from the rocks into the system. If I am going to get dry live rock (like Pukani from BRS or a Key Largo rock of some type), then should I begin to cook the rocks now? I am thinking that the tank will be ready to start setting up in 4 - 5 months. Also, would I only need a heater, power head to circulate the water, and bi-weekly water changes and then testing for phosphates? I have read threads on using chemicals, but this also seems to be for live rock that hasn't been dried out. Thanks for the input.

 

[Fish Bowl]

As far as I recall, you won't need to cook Key Largo or Reef Saver Rock.
Pukani,Dry Tonga, and Dry Fiji on the other hand, I would advise starting ASAP since it takes a while for everything to decay, along with ridding the rock of any phosphates.

 

[cherubfish pair]

No need for a heater because you're not trying to keep something alive.

 

[JMLewis]

I just received a batch of dry live rock from BRS I decided to go the much faster route of cooking using muratic acid and bleach bath. Separately of course.

There's some good instructional posts on how to do each. It worked amazingly. It sounds crazier than it really is. After both baths I ran the rocks in a brute can for 5 days and tested for phosphates and were 0.0 with Hanna checker.

Only reason I did this was because of all the threads I've read about people's dry rock leaching po4 so I figured I'd be more proactive about it. Worked like a charm.

 

[jaa1456]

I'm bleaching pukani rocks right now.

 

[downbeach]

The first time I purchased the Pukani rock, although completely dry, still contains a lot of organic matter, i.e. dead serpent stars, sponges, etc., that once placed in water will rehydrate and begin to rot. So, here is what I learned had to be done.

Let is soak for a day(I used WC water for this), and hose/pressure wash it off.

Place it in a container, i.e. tub, bucket, and cover it with a vinegar/acid/water solution(time will depend on how strong the acid/water solution is), I used a 50/50 vinegar/water solution and let it soak with a PH running for two days.(Don't reuse the old solution,make a fresh solution for each batch)

Remove it from the solution and hose/power wash it off again.

Place it in a tub of SW(again WC water), and let it cure for a couple of weeks, do WC's etc., check for PO4.

 

[brubakron]

Thank you for the responses, and there are a few great threads showing the process using an acid bath to get rid of the phosphates. In many cases though it appears that this is the process used to add the rock (now live again) to an existing system. Since this rock will be going into a new system, and I have roughly 4 - 5 months to cook/cure the rock (assuming that I order the rock soon) then do I need to use and acid bath or vinegar dosing? Would the phosphates leach out over this time period themselves? Also, since I am trying to get rid of phosphates initially do I need to use salt water each time, or can I use RO/DI water only? Could I use RO/DI until the phosphates get down, and then use saltwater and add a heater to cure the rock? Thanks again for the input.

 

[downbeach]

I did use RO/DI during the etching process(vinegar bath), since I figured the lower pH of the RO/DI water would be part of that process in desolving some of the outer layers of the rock, and attached PO4/metals, etc., but I used the old SW from my WC's for everything else. You could just add the rock to a newly set up system as part of the "curing" process(the last step I performed, before adding it to an established system).

 

[brubakron]

I am going to make my decision soon on the type of rock I am going to use. I am leaning heavily though towards the Pukani dry live rock from BRS. If I go this route the plan will be to get it soaking for a few days, and rinse and scrub off as much decay as possible. Do that a couple of times over a week or two, along with water changes. Then I will monitor the phosphates, and see if they are going down with just water changes over a month or two. If they are not going down, or are very high, then I will look into either using an acid or vinegar to treat the rock. This should give me plenty of time to have the rock with no to little po4 leaching out of it, and ready for the tank without any unwanted hitch hikers. I guess the next question is how much rock do I order for a 265 gallon tank. I am thinking that 300 pounds would work, with some large pieces to fill the tank, and possibly create a few caves and tunnels. Also it will give me more rock to work with, so that I can get the exact aqua scape that I want.