Dead Live Rock...?

[don.ald]

Originally Posted by DSlater

Hey guys - we're fairly new to the reefing hobby. We have a 20 gallon nano system that's 3 mths old. We decided to go bigger and are purchasing a 240 gallon tank but all the live rock was taken out and placed outside to dry/die. What are our best options in bring this rock back to life? I've been told to powerwash it then recure it in the dark for a couple of mths with a skimmer and to use Microbacter 7. After that place a few pieced of live rock in there and let it reseed. Any thoughts?
Cheers!

This sounds about right to me!
Don't know why you need micro B7 though?
R.

[DSlater]

Ok - yes I would love more tips on the acid treatment. Would you do a bleach bath first or just jump right to acid. And what kind & where would I get the acid. There's about a 45 gallon drum full of rock - any ideas how much we'd need to buy? Then do I let it dry out after rinsing and for how long?
So no MB7? I used Stability to get my original tank going w/ live rock. Is MB7 about the same? just speeds up the cycling period...
Also - what do you guys use to do the acid bath - a new garbage can? what kind of tub...?
Thanks so much!!
Cheers.

[don.ald]

My point being, if you are going to cook your rock for a couple of months you don't need microbactor7. Or acid??
Me , I wouldn't use the acid....just not my way of doing things....I will leave that explanation for ckmullin.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by don.ald

Me , I wouldn't use the acid....just not my way of doing things....I will leave that explanation for ckmullin.

Agreed. If you're cooking it for months, no need for the acid. If you're using acid, no need for cooking.

[DSlater]

ohhh - so I could just cook it with a skimmer running for a few mths. We're in no hurry to set up - we're in the middle of renos and my husband's going to plumb the sump into the crawlspace w/ the ro system... but if I cook it, then I could slowly start reseeding it before putting into the new tank?

[Aquattro]

I'd cook it (find an in depth article on the process, I think Myka has one posted in her sig) for a few months, add to tank, slowly populate tank. It will develop bacteria on it's own. Adding some live rock would help populate the critters that should be on/in it.

[ckmullin]

There is no point to waste your energy/time/electricity, not to mention smell...to cook something which is devoid of life but full of unwanted dry dead material. This is long dead rock.

If that rock was not sitting outside and still had wanted bacteria, I'd say cook 100% but this rock is the exact same as picking up a rock on the side of a road. It needs to be sanitized and deeply.

Use acid, clean the rock and it'll be done in a matter of hours. Then use that 2 months to properly seed that clean rock.

DSlater, I'll give you a pm and answer any questions.