Rock cooking, it does work.

I've been thinking about this debate for some time now, about cooking LR that is new "vs" cooking LR that has been in the tank for some time and have come to this conclusion.

Cooking LR that has been in your tank for some time, is usually loaded with junk, from not cleaning your tank properly, over feeding for months (even years) and generally not taking care of your rock the way we now know we should. Cooking this rock to rejuvenate it is a great way to recycle your rock to be used again.

Cooking new LR may not be as necessary as it may not be as loaded with junk, and covered with some desirable life. Yes, new LR can benefit from cooking, but at the same time, may not be exactly what you want to do. After reading Steven Pros thread questioning "LR cooking" ( Rock Cooking 101 )I think that we need to look at what it is we are trying to do before dumping our rock into dark corners of our garages or straight into the tank.
 
Konadog said:
Cooking new LR may not be as necessary as it may not be as loaded with junk, and covered with some desirable life. Yes, new LR can benefit from cooking, but at the same time, may not be exactly what you want to do. After reading Steven Pros thread questioning "LR cooking" ( Rock Cooking 101 )I think that we need to look at what it is we are trying to do before dumping our rock into dark corners of our garages or straight into the tank.
Click to expand...


I guess it depends on whether you think a two-week-old tank should look like this:


LeftSideof1801.jpg



Or, like this:

120_2wks.jpg
 
I'm just saying I see pro's and con's of both sides. Maybe in two months, the cured tank may have more growth of things never to be seen in the cooked tank.

I'm cooking 5 year old rock now and I can't believe the junk coming out of it! I kept the rocks that were in the sand bed separate from the rock on top and both bins are full of detritus.
 
I think if you cook rock in a temperature-controlled environment, thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s not a lot of dieoff of animals (beyond those which would have died anyway). Maybe this is the key to ensuring you prevent algae blooms while retaining beneficial critters.

In my 120 (the second picture), I cooked the rock in the tank for five weeks, but kept the water temperature very steady around 80F.

Those who cook rock in garages or outdoors, and allow the water temperatures to dip into the 50s or climb into the 90s, probably see a lot of dieoff of all those beneficial animals. Then, all they have left is little more than base rock, which has been cooked clean of excess phosphate.
 
sherm71tank said:
I was about ready to just give up and get out of the hobby. I kept running across these threads by SeanT and Bomber about rock cooking and the BB method. I thought "what do I have to lose?" This was several months back and my tank is algae free and cleaner than it has ever been and I'm actually trying some sps now that are looking good so far. You may not be sold on it but I am and I'm glad I did it!
Click to expand...
Comments like these make it all worthwhile to me.
It gives me joy when a new reefer does the "cooking" method and never has to deal with algae.
But when someone who has felt the heartache, hopelessness and despair of a tank overrun with algae, despite all their efforts, water changes, etc., benefits and rids themselves of a reefing nightmare...it is a great feeling that I have played a small part by yelling from the rooftop. :D


Thanks,
Sean
 
Konadog said:
I've been thinking about this debate for some time now, about cooking LR that is new "vs" cooking LR that has been in the tank for some time and have come to this conclusion.

Cooking LR that has been in your tank for some time, is usually loaded with junk, from not cleaning your tank properly, over feeding for months (even years) and generally not taking care of your rock the way we now know we should. Cooking this rock to rejuvenate it is a great way to recycle your rock to be used again.

Cooking new LR may not be as necessary as it may not be as loaded with junk, and covered with some desirable life. Yes, new LR can benefit from cooking, but at the same time, may not be exactly what you want to do. After reading Steven Pros thread questioning "LR cooking" ( Rock Cooking 101 )I think that we need to look at what it is we are trying to do before dumping our rock into dark corners of our garages or straight into the tank.
Click to expand...


Ken,
To me, I began championing 'cooking' rock mainly for hardcore SPS keepers as a way to help these types of corals survive long term and "color up".
It didn't take long for me to staunchly advocate this for everyone, regardless of the origin of their rock.
I believe in cooking aquaCluttered rock as well for several reasons.
First and foremost, the amount of dieoff deep in the rock during transportation is the very reason we go through a cycle.
No death, no ammonia. Right?

The second reason goes directly to the heart of the opinion that "cooking" fresh rock kills a lot of the life on it.
I agree with this to a point.
Most algaes will not survive this process and that is fine with me.
As for any other lifeforms that do not survive it, well, and take this with a grain of salt please, if I want that particular snail, cuke, worm, star, mantis etc. in my tank, I will add them.
I do not want anything in my system that I did not add so that I can exercise a modicum of control over the inhabitants.

These are just my opinions.
Sean
 
Sean, I here you loud and clear. :)

I was just thinking about what fresh LR looks like still in the box as I was "swishing and dunking" my old LR and could see the other side of the argument. While I understand the long term (and short term) advantages of cooking, I also remember the excitement the first time I looked at my tank after adding new LR and wondering what all that stuff was.

Now I'm at week two and three (two batches) of cooking my LR and the coraline is not as dark as it was, but the all the sponges, tunicates, brittle stars....... etc are still going strong.
 
Maybe it does work but I'm still not sold on the idea yet.

Killing off organisms (which essentially is what your doing) along with algae, sort of reminds me of the sterile tanks I saw in the 80's that were at the very least, unatractive and very sanitary looking. Much like weathermans second photo.

I've already seen things like this that were suppose to be magic cures such as vodka which I know has wiped out more than a few tanks as well as Oceanic salt which I had a VERY bad experience with.
I'm not suggesting this treatment will wipe out a tank but I'm not convinced that it's healthy overall for everyone in the tank either.

I'll continue to watch this thread though to see how it goes.
 
wds21921, I understand where you are coming from on the idea that you may kill alot of other beneficial life during the cooking process. I'm sure that is true, seems like it must be. But I also agree with Sean that if I want it in my tank I can put it there and not rely on chance with my rock. Biodiversity is cool and there is something to be said of what you can get with uncured rock but you really do take a chance with it. I remember your Oceanic horror story. What salt did you end up going with?
 
I finally settled on Kent Marine which has been doing very well for me. In a pinch though I was forced to pick up a bag of Reef Crystals though due to my work schedule and what was available at one of our LFS's. I don't like mixing in and out of brands but working 7 days a week 12 hour days doesn't afford you the luxury of time.

I agree that uncured rock presents a lot of unwanted guests and even cured rock as well sometimes. The only bad I've seen has been Aptasia which is easy enough to kill off using kalk mix and a syringe.
At the same time though I've also benefited from buying cured rock and gotten some very odd and interesting looking coral growth. Since that growth has adhered itself directly to the rock and conformed to the shape as well, I'd hate to lose something like that or anything else that may be undeveloped yet.

The mystery growth that we get is somewhat like Christmas in that you never really know what your going to have until it begins to develop. While it's not ALWAYS good, I've not really seen a whole lot of bad yet.
Nuisance algaes I try to manage using as natural a method as possible. Everything living falls into the food chain somewhere along the lines, it's just a matter of finding out it's predator. For really bad nuisance algae I sometimes also dose with kalk. Not completely natural but using an element found in the ocean.

I'm keeping an open mind about this but just being cautious about the lasting effects.

BTW, the last contact I had with Oceanic they refused to respond to at all after I posted the email that was sent to me from there factory rep. An expensive lesson for me and my tank but a lost customer for them, permanently.
 
I've been following along this thread and pose a question...

Would'nt the same habits that created the nutrient/algae problem that created this situation happen again after the live rock was cooked?

Essentially it seems that you are starting over.

I've had the same live rock in my system + live sand for 6 years without any problem..

Wouldnt the aquarist need to examine what is causing these problems in the first place. Go over each system in your aquarium to find out what if not many elements that are causing the problems. And slowly correct them.

It seems that rock cooking is a drastic measure...

Most changes should happen slowly in an ecosystem to see any results.

I just think that the same bad habits would just make the system perform exactly the same way mo's or years from now.

So you need to "cook" it again every few mo's or years?
 
Well, going on week 5. The algae has been gone for 2 weeks adn the detritus is still going slow. But I have seen pods again. I haven't seen them in over 2 years. So I guess this is actually helping.
 
A 1/2 dozen pages back, it was mentioned that this process will kill aptisia? If other life forms can make it, sponges specially. Will the aptisia die off from no light and far less food/nutrients? Has any one done this specfically to kill those damn aptisia? Thanks,

Don
 
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