Quickest way to cook live rock?

[NexDog]

I'm finally battling my mushroom problem. The rocks on top I can easily pull out and treat so what's teh quickest way to kill all the mushrooms on the rock? I don't think my wife is going to let me boil the rocks in a pan in the kitchen, heh. Maybe pouring boiling water on, sit for an hour, and repeat?

I left a rock in diluted vinegar in a bucket last night but it's going to take more than that. And I want to go faster than that, get it all done in a day. Probably 10 or so rocks.

 

[serpentman]

I would use a mild bleach solution. Either way, you are going to have collateral damage as everything on the rock will die. Therefore, you will need to cycle the rock again.

 

[NexDog]

I don't mind killing everything on the rock, I think that's unavoidable. But I want to get this done quickly and if I use bleach I wouldn't want to put the rock back in the tank unless it's been socked in RODI for weeks.

 

[serpentman]

I don't think that's necessary. I've used bleach many times. Rinse the rock several times and let it soak over night. IME, the larger risk is the die off causing a mini-cycle.

However, I would say this is minimized by your overall water volume.

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

Watch your salinity too removing the rock will make more room with topoff water if you're automated....

 

[NexDog]

I don't 10 rocks should make that big a difference. When I go away I add about 20 gallons RODI to the sump so wife et al don't need to fill the RODI reservoir and that barely affects the salinity.

Anyhow, the wife gave the go ahead to boil a rock with a pan she doesn't use and 30 minutes is all it needs to kill all the mushrooms. I'm going to buy a bigger cheapo pan tomorrow and do the rest on a gas burner outside as it does stink.