Sterilize live rock

[ahg]

After 10 years I lost the fight with bubble algae and broke down my 70 gal aquarium. (Saved the fish but couldn't decontaminate the corals.) I kept the live rock and am now baking it in the sun. Does anyone know for sure if that will kill ALL of the bubble algae spores? Is there anything else I can do? Should I boil it piece by piece? With nearly 100 lbs I hate to lose all of that rock.

Also, I want to sterilize my sump, skimmer, pump and chiller. What can I run through them to get rid of all of those %^&$ spores? Main aquarium is a lost cause with enclosed return I couldn't keep free of demon bubble algae.

 

[ericarenee]

the rock will likely leach phosphate.

There are several threads on how to give the rock a acid bath to remove these locked up organics.. I would search for acid bath for live rock and see how they are doing it

 

[KingTriton1]

For sterilization purposes I would use regular bleach (not splash-less). Although many people recommend using 10% bleach I personally use 50/50 and bleach the rock for a good week with a powerhead (I like overdoing things). Acids are good phosphate and copper removers.

Aside from the live rock, I would fill your tank up with RO water and add two gallons of bleach and run everything overnight. Don't forget to use some prime and drying time after.

 

[atraperegrinus]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1914426

link to clean up rocks.

Going off from what I've seen others say, avoid boiling anything as its dangerously hazardous to our health to boil the rock.

 

[Sk8r]

You can end up in the hospital by boiling rock. Please don't.
The bubble algae is not a magical appearance. It's not an infection. It's just a plant growth because of a nutrient level it happens to like. Toss the sand. Never mind sunning the rock, either. Tub it in a Rubbermaid Brute trashcan in 1.025 water, maintain that salinity, light it with an ordinary shoplight bulb, keep it about 80 degrees, with a strong pump, and change the water totally once a week for about 5 weeks. Then start over with rinsed aragonite sand and let it cycle.

 

[KingTriton1]

You can end up in the hospital by boiling rock. Please don't.
The bubble algae is not a magical appearance. It's not an infection. It's just a plant growth because of a nutrient level it happens to like. Toss the sand. Never mind sunning the rock, either. Tub it in a Rubbermaid Brute trashcan in 1.025 water, maintain that salinity, light it with an ordinary shoplight bulb, keep it about 80 degrees, with a strong pump, and change the water totally once a week for about 5 weeks. Then start over with rinsed aragonite sand and let it cycle.

I actually did this for a good 6 months and the algae remained in its original state. It seems to me that nutrient control works at reducing the spread of this type of algae, but not so much in terms of removal. At least this has been my experience from it.

 

[ahg]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad I asked before boiling. I don't like the idea of seeing a headline like "Local family killed by pet rocks." Course, I probably wouldn't have to read it myself....

 

[Sk8r]

Lol! You got that right!

Honestly, I fought my own battle with this sort of mess, and simply ran GFO---a lot of it, changing media monthly, on the hair algae front. I never had it really graduate to bubble (usually the next stage) but I have tried carbon dosing (after the GFO), and one or the other may have prevented that. Jury's still out on that, but certainly the skimmer is way more efficient while dosing vinegar. If you do it, read about it extensively and, again, be careful. Doing this wrong can affect the tank badly.

 

[tkeracer619]

At this point it's already dead and personally I would soak it in bleach, dry it out, acid bath if you want to speed up the process of getting rid of phosphates, then into a rubbermaid with saltwater and a pump. I would then dose Lanthinum Chloride as the rock cures to remove what phosphates are left.

 

[whosurcaddie]

10 years... Damn that sucks.

 

[CStrickland]

I would do like tkeracer said, if your not up for the acid, at least powerwash the dead stuff off instead of waiting for it to rot away.

If you search the forums for posts about "cooking" "curing" and "revitalizing" rock you will find some good techniques to get your fresh start off on the right track. Boiling is for fw tanks where they don't have to worry about coral toxins, it's not really an option for SW

Good luck with your clean slate!