is my rock tank safe now?

[Bsmith_SigEp]

i recently took all the live rock out of my tank due to purple mushrooms spreading all over them and not being able to control them as well as "Aiptasia"...i took the rock out....soaked it in a tub of RO water for about a month....then realized this wasn't working and read online that nothing would die off of the rock this way...

next i read to put a gallon of vinegar in the water also and this worked great...let vinegar soak on the rock for about a week or 2.....

took rock out...rinsed good with water hose at home and then put rock back in tub to soak in RO water again and its been a week now.....

WHEN will this rock be safe to put back in my tank without causing my tank to run another "cycle".....or should i put a few pieces.....i have a standard big size storage tub full of rock.....about 20 pieces prolly of rock???

any help would be appreciated......

 

[Rudolph]

As your rock is now dead, you will have to cure (back in saltwater) them again.

 

[Bsmith_SigEp]

so i need to soak them in saltwater again for a bit? or??? how long? etc?

 

[Rudolph]

Look up "curing live rock" on the internet to get more specifics. Since it is dead rock it could take several week or up to a month or longer (not what you wanted to hear). If you had a lot of mushrooms and stuff die off, some residual may still be on the rock, so you may have to scrub the rock to get it clean. You will have to put a heater and a power head in the tank and circulate the water. No lights. You will have to test the water until the amonia and phos is zero, so regular water changes will be needed. If you want to do it right, try to be patient (I run low in this area like most) and don't go forward until the rock is ready. If you rush it, it can just bring on problems down the road. If your rocks are leaching phos. you will just have algae problems. Once again, for more detail, search here on RC or the internet for more info. on curing live rock.