Live Rock Question

L

lilredwuck

Member
Ok so I bought some base rock that was live rock a week ago. He said it was full of Bristleworms and Aptaisia (check spelling) and he pulled it out of his tank a week ago. My question is this. (The rock was dry for the most part I think, but was sitting outside when I got there) (around 35 degrees today) I am pretty sure I know what bristleworms look like now, and that they are bad. LOL!!!! Is there anything I should do to the rock??? It had dried up brown worms and dead brown worms with tons of legs. There was one in there about a foot long!!!!! Should I soak in vinegar or what??? Does this stuff survive wierd conditions and such like flea eggs. Anything that is a nuisance I have figured out can live through everything I.E. cockroaches.

BTW I did go to the car wash and sprayed the hell out of all of the rock and tank, but stuck my finger in something squishy on the underside of a rock and I looked and my finger was covered in orange goo!!!!
 
I don't like boiling stuff. I just don't like the idea of whatever is on the rock will now be in the air I'm breathing. There has to be another way to kill everything on/in rock. Maybe soak in bleach. Once it dries the bleach should all dissipate in the air.
 
I wouldn't boil the rock. That doesn't serve any useful purpose.

Bristleworms are good to have: they do a lot of cleanup work and can provide the tank with live food. Aiptasia, on the other hand, are a pest.

I'd probably ditch the rock at this point, but it could be cleaned up with an acid bath. The best acid to use is muriatic, though, and it's dangerous to handle. If you want to go that route, I'd add 1 part acid to 10 parts water, and put the rock in the mixture for 20-30 minutes, then rinse well with a hose.

Never add water to acid: it might boil and splatter in your face. I'd wear gloves and eye protection, and the fumes are dangerous, so working outside is the only way to go. Keep any leftover acid out of the reach of children.
 
You can also soak the rock in a bleach / RO water bath overnight. Just pour a healthy amount of bleach into the bucket and soak. You will be killing everything in the rock, essentially making it dead base rock instead of live, but you've already done that by leaving it in the sun. Bleaching should take care of the aiptasia, which you definitely do not want in your tank. After the bath is done, leave the rock out to air dry for another day just to be safe and you will be good to go. Don't forget to get a couple pieces of true live rock from your LFS to seed this dead rock and make it live again.
 
lilredwuck said:
Ok so I bought some base rock that was live rock a week ago. He said it was full of Bristleworms and Aptaisia (check spelling) and he pulled it out of his tank a week ago. My question is this. (The rock was dry for the most part I think, but was sitting outside when I got there) (around 35 degrees today) I am pretty sure I know what bristleworms look like now, and that they are bad. LOL!!!! Is there anything I should do to the rock??? It had dried up brown worms and dead brown worms with tons of legs. There was one in there about a foot long!!!!! Should I soak in vinegar or what??? Does this stuff survive wierd conditions and such like flea eggs. Anything that is a nuisance I have figured out can live through everything I.E. cockroaches.

BTW I did go to the car wash and sprayed the hell out of all of the rock and tank, but stuck my finger in something squishy on the underside of a rock and I looked and my finger was covered in orange goo!!!!
Click to expand...

add it back to a tub of salt water--put a heater and power head in there and let it recycle separately from the rest of your tank.
Measure the ammonia and when it spikes change out the water in the tub
a couple of weeks it will be cured for the display tank use
 
Ok, so far I don't have a tank "set up" per say. I am still setting up my main tank. I do however have a 55 gallon drum full of RODI water and a 55 gallon sump I made, (only 1 baffle) filled most the way with RODI water. Now when it comes to salt water live rock does it need a light to "grow"? Just wondering as the LFS said it would take about 30-60 days to seed the base rock I have using live rock. Does that sound about right? I think I'll throw up a build thread or something for future questions I have.
 
Live rock does not need light to "grow" per say. Basically it just needs to be in saltwater with correct temperature and some flow so that all the little critters can survive and reproduce. For now I would just put them in the sump and wait until you get the tank set up. When you are transferring the rock to the tank eventually remember not to leave them out of water for to long otherwise you could cause die off when you've been working so hard to get it all seeded again.
 
Do as capn said , no light needed . You can go to wallyworld , home depot , or lowes and get so rubbermade tote's to put the rock in .

stubby
 
OK so what I need to do is.......
  • Add salt to 55 gallon tank (sump)
  • Put in heater(s)
  • Add base rock
  • Purchase live rock
  • Place live rock in tank
  • wait.....wait.....wait....

Here are the questions
  1. I have 40 lbs base rock how much live rock should I add?
  2. No light required right? I do have PC's, NO Fluorescents 10k and 03 actinic, 175 w Metal Halides, 6500k NO flur bulbs
  3. What temperature is ideal? What wattage u think would work
  4. I have from 100-300 watt heaters
  5. Is a filter required or needed?
  6. What about a skimmer?
  7. Do I need to "feed" the rock
  8. By "feed" what does the bacteria need to survive/eat?
  9. Does it matter orientation of the rock for better "germination"

That is all I can think if for now, if you have relative information I might think is pertinent just let me know. Or if I am missing something. Thanks. I'll work on that build thread.
 
stubby 58 said:
Do as capn said , no light needed . You can go to wallyworld , home depot , or Lowe's and get so rubbermade tote's to put the rock in .

stubby
Click to expand...

I have plenty of tanks sitting around......But still a good idea, but I have heard from people that they can sometimes use mold inhibitors or other chemicals in the plastic...... Just a thought.
 
lilredwuck said:
I have plenty of tanks sitting around......But still a good idea, but I have heard from people that they can sometimes use mold inhibitors or other chemicals in the plastic...... Just a thought.
Click to expand...

As long as it says it is safe for food you will be OK .

stubby
 
stubby 58 said:
As long as it says it is safe for food you will be OK .

stubby
Click to expand...


this tote has been running for 3.5 years in my system with no problems. I believe it was 7.95 at Home Depot

fuge.jpg
 
lilredwuck said:
OK so what I need to do is.......
  • Add salt to 55 gallon tank (sump)
  • Put in heater(s)
  • Add base rock
  • Purchase live rock
  • Place live rock in tank
  • wait.....wait.....wait....

Here are the questions
  1. I have 40 lbs base rock how much live rock should I add?
  2. No light required right? I do have PC's, NO Fluorescents 10k and 03 actinic, 175 w Metal Halides, 6500k NO flur bulbs
  3. What temperature is ideal? What wattage u think would work
  4. I have from 100-300 watt heaters
  5. Is a filter required or needed?
  6. What about a skimmer?
  7. Do I need to "feed" the rock
  8. By "feed" what does the bacteria need to survive/eat?
  9. Does it matter orientation of the rock for better "germination"

That is all I can think if for now, if you have relative information I might think is pertinent just let me know. Or if I am missing something. Thanks. I'll work on that build thread.
Click to expand...

Senerio one---to preserve life on the live rock in the display tank.
use your sump to cure or cycle the dead live rock you have--you need a heater and a powerhead--that's all. Just add enough salt water to cover the rock--once a week dump that water and repeat for three weeks.

At the same time you are doing this add the newly purchased live rock to your display tank and let it cure and cycle in there.

During the cycling phase of all both the display tank and the base rock monitor for ammonia and nitrate spikes. When both spike and come back to zero reading then add your newly cycled base rock(now live rock too) to your display tank.

Wait one more week to monitor the ammonia and nitrate levels
You then add your clean up crew
Followed by easy to keep corals
Followed by one fish at a time weekly

Senerio two( new tank and not caring about the life on the live rock)
Add all the live rock and base rock to your tank at once. Monitor the cycling process as outline above.

In both cases run your lights for 4 hours a day--this will preserve the corraline algae on the live rock(looks purple and is desirable to have)
 
adding a skimmer is usually a must. sometimes things will die off because of too much of such and such then all of a sudden things will bloom up once you hook up a "good quality" skimmer. you will be amazed of what skimmers can collect. i've been in and out of this hobby and have been through tons of skimmers, just to find what works best. just about any would work if you know how to tune it but a good quality skimmer will be best. i can't go without one. (i.e. bubble magus, bubble king...)
 
Ok after a hecktic couple of days I finally have some time to do something, though I want to do nothing! Anyway, I brought the rock inside. Here is a couple pictures....

100_6631.jpg


100_6634.jpg


I think I will just throw them in the 55 gallon sump I had made for a different tank, but no longer have the DT.
100_6641.jpg
 
lilredwuck said:
Ok after a hecktic couple of days I finally have some time to do something, though I want to do nothing! Anyway, I brought the rock inside. Here is a couple pictures....

100_6631.jpg


100_6634.jpg


I think I will just throw them in the 55 gallon sump I had made for a different tank, but no longer have the DT.
100_6641.jpg
Click to expand...

that will do fine
 
lilredwuck said:
How many pounds of live rock should I put with it?? (It's about 40 lbs worth of rock.)
Click to expand...


since you are curing it and cycling or recyling it away from the display system

all 40 lbs---let it cure together and its ready together

You might have to change the water more often in the sump

a it might stink up the joint or
b. the ammonia might spike really high which imo is no use at all
c. both:D
 
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