does anyone scrub new liverock with a brush

kwirky · #1 04-09-2007, 04:13 AM

I've heard of some people taking a scrub brush to new liverock. I'm tempted to do that, looking at all the hanging bits of dead stuff on the rock. Anyone done that before? Heard some people go "no! bad! bad bad! don't do that!" but it appears to me like it's not too drastic if I only spot scrub certain spots on the really grungy rocks?

Black Phantom · #2 04-09-2007, 04:39 AM

I've always done it that way. I fill a large salt bucket with old tank water and then take the new rock and scrub away.
Just make sure it's a brand new brush that has never seen soap.
You have to use some discretion and not scrub away everything but it's the only thing that gets into all the nook and crannies.
Crannie?- sounds like an old highland term

kwirky · #3 04-09-2007, 04:53 AM

yeah, I thought it didn't sound like an insane idea. there was an article on advanced aquarist that named this practice "extreme".

I got most of the krud off already swishing it in water. I just want to remove the last large chunks that are too annoying to remove with my fingers because of how much it is. Like little dead filaments of macroalgae in some spots.

It's in salt mix from tap water ATM, and I plan on a 100% change with RO/DI water very soon. It's in my gyre-nano that'll be plumbed into my main 120g in about a week.

Plan on turning on the 150W HQI in about a week too. I think 2 weeks of cycling should be enough for an 8 hour lighting cycle at first. The rest of the water volume in the system should offset the early lighting.

EmilyB · #4 04-09-2007, 06:31 AM

Absolutely. The best rock I ever bought was from Petland eight years ago, when they had a SW guru who scrubbed, cured and babied the rock.

untamed · #5 04-09-2007, 03:31 PM

People expect different things from Live rock. For me, the thought of scrubbing away all the life that I just paid for seems wrong.

Raf · #6 04-09-2007, 04:51 PM

depends what shape it is in. Liverock that arrives in good shape and stays in good shape may need little to no maintenance......on the other hand, liverock that has been sitting on some boat or beach in the sun and then in boxes for hours/days at the airport may need lots of maintenance. I would say dying sponges are good to scrub off either way.

kwirky · #7 04-09-2007, 09:16 PM

I got the sponges off with my fingers already. I'll be scrubbing it to remove detritus, not things actually attached. Some of the rock's almost fuzzy with detritus.

Black Phantom · #8 04-09-2007, 10:12 PM

The idea is to take off the dead stuff. That will reduce your cycle and speed up the new growth. Leave the nice growing stuff on the rock.

danny zubot · #9 04-09-2007, 10:52 PM

I've never scrubbed new live rock before. I will however scrub hair algea off of my rocks to prevent it from getting ot of hand. I've never had anything bad happen from it.

BCOrchidGuy · #10 04-10-2007, 04:05 AM

I read somewhere that the best way to get pods growing in your tank was NOT to scrub your new rock. Decaying sponges etc are all excellent for starting a pod culture and I've found some very cool stuff growing in my tank that I never bought, right now I've got a small area of something that looks like coraline algae but it's raised, like flower petals, like a pink encrusting merulina... hard to describe but it's sure pretty.

Doug