I'm looking for the best way to clean a skimmer and other plumbing parts and pumps and rejuvenate the rock (probably 50-60 pounds worth) .
Here's the background. My wife has a friend who husband passed away. Shortly after his passing, his tank crashed because she didn't know / didn't care to take care of it. When the livestock died, they drained the tank and put the whole thing in the garage where it has been sitting for almost a year. They put the live rock in a couple of 5 gallon buckets and sat them outside of the garage where they've been exposed to elements this while time. I've been told that I can have it all. I can clean the tank but the skimmer is rather nasty as are some of the other plumbing parts. I'm looking for the best way to clean the skimmer and more importantly rejuvenate the rock. I've researched every thread I can find and vinegar seems like a good way to go. I'm just a bit stuck on deciding the best way to go about bringing back the rock. I've read about cooking it, acid bath, bleach bath etc. I don't know which way to go but I'd hate to just throw it away. Anyone with experience and a helpful suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Here's the background. My wife has a friend who husband passed away. Shortly after his passing, his tank crashed because she didn't know / didn't care to take care of it. When the livestock died, they drained the tank and put the whole thing in the garage where it has been sitting for almost a year. They put the live rock in a couple of 5 gallon buckets and sat them outside of the garage where they've been exposed to elements this while time. I've been told that I can have it all. I can clean the tank but the skimmer is rather nasty as are some of the other plumbing parts. I'm looking for the best way to clean the skimmer and more importantly rejuvenate the rock. I've researched every thread I can find and vinegar seems like a good way to go. I'm just a bit stuck on deciding the best way to go about bringing back the rock. I've read about cooking it, acid bath, bleach bath etc. I don't know which way to go but I'd hate to just throw it away. Anyone with experience and a helpful suggestion would be greatly appreciated.