Marcorocks

[sirreal63]

The first thing is to remove anything that is not rock from them, such as sponges. I used the cheap white vinegar from walmart. It doesn't have to taste good, just be acidic. You can also use a stronger acid diluted more to make it faster. Remember not to leave the rocks in for too long, this rock is very porous and you can weaken it. I cannot say how long but use your head.

 

[lancer99]

Hmm, my experience with Marco rocks was different. I put 50 lbs (along w/ 45 lbs of Fiji premium) into my 75G w/ a heater, powerheads & skimmer. Very little detritus, and most of that was from the Fiji.

Ten days later, with one 30% water change, NH3 & NO2 were zero (and still zero, two weeks later).

Maybe I just got lucky, and got a clean batch of Marco?

-R

 

[snodine]

Cleaning Marco Rocks

Cleaning Marco Rocks

Here is a picture of 50# of Marco Rocks in 10 gallons of vinegar and 10 gallons of water. I rinsed and scrubbed the rock before putting it in the tub. This is after about an hour.

How long should I keep in in the vinegar and water bath? and what should I do after taking it out? Put it in another bath? Rinse it and let it dry?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[rtecanoe]

About 2 months ago I cured 150 lbs of MarcoRocks by simply putting them in saltwater in rubbermaid tubs with flowing water and they cycled completely in about 10 days. I changed the water twice during that time.

 

[LockeOak]

Holy moly... I should have cured mine. I set them up in the new 50G display tank (don't worry, nothing living in it), and filled it with water. The past three or four days have been a journey through various kinds of stench. The first couple of days were just your standard "dirty ocean rock" smell, pervasive but not terribly strong. Then I added a tablespoon of sugar and a few drops of ammonia, turned on the powerheads, and ack

hack

wheeze

oh dear lord the stench. Full bacterial bloom, the visibility is about 6 inches, and the rocks are various shades of grey to black. I also cranked the heater up to 84 degrees, so whatever happens happens fast. I now have a window open and a bunch of fans. The smell has turned from "dirty rocks" to "oh my god rotten eggs". I hope rtecanoe's 10 days are what I can hope for, because this is... an experience. Bonding with the aquarium, I suppose.

I did take the time to pick over them with tweezers to get any obvious dead stuff (sponges etc.) off, but no rinsing. Ah, regrets.

This isn't a knock on marcorocks at all, I love the rocks, just my stupid misadventures have put me here

 

[JillNairn]

Good luck on the smell... I got a chuckle out of your post. Reef keeping is forever a learning experience.

 

[Fun $ Pit]

Marco Rocks!!!

Get it? Marco Rocks! They are the greatest!

Ok.. I get it.. not funny. :strooper:

Seriously thought.. I ordered 50#'s and got a couple more #'s than I paid for!.. Oh the humanity :eek2: Getting more than you pay for these days is amazing. :rollface:

 

[StrategicReef]

Is the 50/50 vinegar water proven to use as an acid bath cleaner? Wouldn't some of the rock dissolve?
I am worried about this because I have a pretty big piece about 1 ft long and wide and don't want to weaken it's structure.

 

[sirreal63]

Yes it is possible for some of the rock to dissolve that is why you don't leave it in vinegar a week. The idea is to remove outer layers, not dissolve the whole rock.

 

[StrategicReef]

Hello Sirreal63 and others, I put my 2 big piece into 50/50 vinegar water now... at first I soaked it in water for 2 days and scrubed it thought it might help, but nothing really came off, the brown on the rocks are still brown, so now in the acid bath now.

I have a power head in the acid bath too is this ok to have?

Can I expect in 24-48 hrs the rock come out alot whiter?

 

[sirreal63]

The rock may not be white, if the vinegar didn't do it in two days I wouldn't worry about it. Not all rock is paper white and it won't stay white in the tank. The idea is to get it clean.

 

[greenmonkey51]

Is there any reason to use saltwater when getting it clean. Also Could I use well water treated instead of RO.

 

[StrategicReef]

I am using tap water now considering how much work needs to be done here.. will let it cure in saltwater though. This is way more work than live rock! Already spent $20 on vinegar...

BTW thanks for the vinegar tip, the decay stuff smelled pretty bad, so this would shorten the process.

 

[trmiv]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11569913#post11569913 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rtecanoe
About 2 months ago I cured 150 lbs of MarcoRocks by simply putting them in saltwater in rubbermaid tubs with flowing water and they cycled completely in about 10 days. I changed the water twice during that time.

Pretty much what I did. I examined each rock and pulled off anything that wasn't rock. hen Then I stuck them in a rubbermaid brute with the rest of my life rock. I think I did one water change during the few weeks they are in there. 6 months later and aside from the normal new tank algae blooms--which have since went away--I haven't had any issues.

 

[StrategicReef]

I soaked all 50 lbs of rocks in vinegar water mix for 1-2 days, scrubbed as much as I can and put in salt water to cure now. The water after 2 days is turning a bit cloudy, they are in a tub right now. will it become clear later on, I assume this is some ammonia in there, not too much smell right now as I removed most of the slimy stuff after the bath on the surface of the rocks.

 

[Kannin]

I had a big shelf piece that I decided to split... and when I broke it in half, I found this. The smelliest dead mussel...

I love my Marco Rocks... by the way.

 

[StrategicReef]

I found a hairy crab dead body in mine, it was like 1" and it was all soaggy from the vinegar soak

 

[siwelk]

i recently got a box of 25lbs of marco rock for my 30g. ive been wondering how i would be cleaning/curing them. thanks to those of you who have been active in this thread (sirreal63, etc.) it has really helped me figure out what methods are working best for people. ill be starting my cleaning process next week, hopefully it will warm up a bit so i can do this outside and avoid the stench. its only been a high of about 15 degrees here lately though.


p.s. Marco rocks are the shiz.

 

[sirreal63]

The vinegar will help keep the funky smell down somewhat.

 

[jawfish1]

I ordered 25# of Marco a month ago and put it into a brand new 60g reef I just set up. I rinsed and cleaned off the rock a bit, but did not cook the rock. I figured since this was a new tank, I would just cure it in the tank like I do with my LR. NOT a great idea... For those of you in the same situation, do not treat this MR like you would LR. The smell and filth that comes off is something else entirely. The water turned milky white and stayed that way for almost a week (even with multiple water changes). And as other's have mentioned, the smell was bad too. It was NOT the same smell as uncured LR, but something much worse. The wife was a little upset at me because it smelled up our living room quite a bit...

I took the rock back out and cleaned it thoroughly and did a 95% water change to get all the crude out of the new tank. Decided to just start over (for the most part).

I must say; however, through this mess, I had the chance to really see how well my new Octopus skimmer works. This is a brand new skimmer, I just purchased for this new 60g tank, and boy did it work well. It pulled some gunk out that was just shear nastiness. That stuff coming out of those MR is just nasty, nasty stuff...

I learned two important things here... 1) CLEAN your Marco rock well & do not treat it like you would LR. 2) Octopus skimmers ROCK for the money.

Cheers,