Reusing once live rock

[gopackgo93]

Just got some pretty sweet shaped live rock from a buddy who was moving out of state. I know he had some aiptasia and like 3 inch looking centipede worm things. Anyway! Is it possible to reuse this rock? It's been outside a couple days already. Can I kill everything on the rock and eventually use it in my tank? Thanks everbody!

 

[ThRoewer]

Should be fine.
If you want to be on the safe side you can soak them in bleach for a few days to remove as much dead organic material as possible. After that just make sure to water them good with some bleach neutralizer.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[hkgar]

Use them as is. The critters that come back to life will be good, for the most part.

 

[djryan2000]

Just got some pretty sweet shaped live rock from a buddy who was moving out of state. I know he had some aiptasia and like 3 inch looking centipede worm things. Anyway! Is it possible to reuse this rock? It's been outside a couple days already. Can I kill everything on the rock and eventually use it in my tank? Thanks everbody!

Definitely useable. That being said, don't throw it in the tank and then go buy some fish the same day.

Ideally you want to cure it in a brute trash can. Less ideally (what most people do) is you put the rock in the tank, cycle it in tank, and then add livestock once it's cycled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HumbleFish]

If it has aiptasia, I'd bleach the rock before reusing. Those are a PITA to get out of a tank.

 

[billdogg]

Normally I would side with hkgar, but if there were aiptasia present I'd consider bleaching or even just letting them dry in the sun for a couple weeks.

Will you be adding this to an existing tank or is this a new setup? If it's a new setup I'd use them to cycle with. Any pests that are still alive now will show up during cycle, and it would be very simple to then take out the rocks as needed, kill the pest(s) and return the rock to complete the cycle. Of course, the actual number of aiptasia is a concern in this case. If is really is "just a few" I'd use as is. Why kill perfectly good live rock if you don't need too?

 

[hkgar]

Normally I would side with hkgar, but if there were aiptasia present I'd consider bleaching or even just letting them dry in the sun for a couple weeks.

Will you be adding this to an existing tank or is this a new setup? If it's a new setup I'd use them to cycle with. Any pests that are still alive now will show up during cycle, and it would be very simple to then take out the rocks as needed, kill the pest(s) and return the rock to complete the cycle. Of course, the actual number of aiptasia is a concern in this case. If is really is "just a few" I'd use as is. Why kill perfectly good live rock if you don't need too?

And put a Matted Filefish on your fish list. Even if you bleach the rock, sooner or later you will get Aiptasia or Monjones or both. It just happens.

 

[billdogg]

And put a Matted Filefish on your fish list. Even if you bleach the rock, sooner or later you will get Aiptasia or Monjones or both. It just happens.

Or just be vigilant! I qt everything. I had some zoanthid frags in my QT for a couple months, then moved them to the FT and finally to the DT. It wasn't until a couple months after they had been in the DT that a couple small aiptasia appeared. A syringe and boiling water took care of them with no further issue.

 

[gopackgo93]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided to bleach them.... until covid19 happened and couldnt find any bleach to buy! So waiting for the world to reset so I can bleach them and then use a dechlorinator before I seed it

 

[cvrle1]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided to bleach them.... until covid19 happened and couldnt find any bleach to buy! So waiting for the world to reset so I can bleach them and then use a dechlorinator before I seed it

While dechlorinator will speed things up, it is not mandatory if you can wait around. One you are done with bleach bath, leave rocks to dry out and leave like that for a week or so. Bleach will disappear. If you live somewhere warm, this would expedite this process as well.

When you start seeding it you can check for chlorine with one of those chlorene strips to make sure it is all gone. Just something to consider as well perhaps.

 

[drs2140]

I like to bleach and power wash. Sometimes I'll add an acid bath in. I'll soak in water and swap the water daily for a few days.

 

[coralcruze2020]

I would recommend you cure this rock before using it.

 

[jmsilhy]

You can also use Pool chlorine, just keep in mind the concentration is different, usually 10% (the stuff the sell at Walmart/HD), while I've seen some Clorox that are only 6%.

That's always available.