Video: Cooking Live Rock (not curing)

[melev]

My problem also is aiptasia. If this does not kill the aiptasia, there will be some left hiding in small crevasses or tiny holes in the rock. There would be no way to scape off every last one. Leave one on there and they will start to multiply as soon as you put the rock back into a tank with light.

Any that you find you can smother with Aiptasia-X or Aiptasia Rx. It's easier to work on them away from the aquarium. They are annoying, but won't end a reef unless the owner never intercedes. Part of good husbandry is dealing with stuff like this when the issue is minor.

 

[MT. Reefer]

Any that you find you can smother with Aiptasia-X or Aiptasia Rx. It's easier to work on them away from the aquarium. They are annoying, but won't end a reef unless the owner never intercedes. Part of good husbandry is dealing with stuff like this when the issue is minor.

To me it is not a minor issue. It's just another JOB that needs to have constant attention. Thing is, these little annoyances are not necessary and can be fixed by removing all of it and starting over with Clean rock. Reefkeeping is not easy and we don't need to add more work to what is already a very time consuming life style. Important thing is to keep it fun and interesting because when becomes too much of a job, people quit.

 

[melev]

To me it is not a minor issue. It's just another JOB that needs to have constant attention. Thing is, these little annoyances are not necessary and can be fixed by removing all of it and starting over with Clean rock. Reefkeeping is not easy and we don't need to add more work to what is already a very time consuming life style. Important thing is to keep it fun and interesting because when becomes too much of a job, people quit.

I had some aiptasia in my 400g reef. Way worse were some majanos that got into my tank from some frags I received from a friend. I just dealt with them about once a month when I was perturbed enough. But it never ruined the hobby for me nor did it take up all my time. I got a Copperband butterfly earlier this year and he's taken care of both of them, which I didn't expect at all. I've never heard about CBBs eating majanos.

Bottom line, I'm not about sterile museum environments. I like live rock and the things that come in on it. And if I have to deal with a few pests, which I have in the 18 years I've been in this hobby, I just addressed them as needed. Which resulted in various articles on my site.

 

[Sir Chris]

Exactly what I needed. And answered a slew of questions as well. Nice and thanks

 

[Scott.h]

If you did this to rocks covered in palythoas would this rid the Rock of them in 6-8 weeks?

 

[CenlaReefer]

I think this video is a little misleading. I believe there is a difference between cooking and curing and cycling, and what you are doing is curing the rock. Cooking is turning live rock into dead rock. Its a complete reboot of the rock. Its not about removing phosphates or nitrates its about making sure any unwanted pests are completely dead, and unfortunately this means killing the beneficial bacteria and beneficial organisms as well. Curing is the process of removing the excess nutrients that are caused by the dead organics on the rock (which is what you are doing here) and to some degree building beneficial bacteria. Cycling is all about making sure enough beneficial bacteria has built up to convert ammonia to nitrites to nitrates. Granted if you keep live rock in the dark for 6 years you have probably killed off a lot of unwanted pests (if not all), but in 6 weeks I bet a lot survive.

I understand the concern that Jaws has. I do not trust this technique to kill off aiptasia. Even periodically scraping off any visible aiptasia will not be effective. I would hate to bother with that aggravation anyway. I never want to take a chance with introducing aiptasia to my tank. What is so bad with causing live rock to become dead rock by letting it just dry out in the sun for a few weeks and then starting all over again? Dead rock can be re-seeded with bacteria and become live rock all over again.

 

[Drakonis]

Ok, so what about a pest algae like neo ann? im planning a reboot due to this and have been trying to be sure i employ a one time technique that puts an end to this green plaque. any and all advice here much appreciated

 

[simo]

No, cooking live rock will not kill the rock at all. It's rejuvenating the rock, if you follow the steps I outlined. You don't kill the beneficial bacteria at all, it will be just fine even as you remove trapped detritus through the bi-weekly vigorous shaking and water changes. The skimmer can even speed up the process. And using something like Phosguard or Phoshpate Rx to remove phosphate from the water is another worthwhile step. And finally, nuisance algae will perish leaving behind nice rock ready to use in your setup. Six weeks is the minimum. You can wait longer, of course.

Curing live rock is the process of cycling uncured rock, usually taken from the ocean with rotting organic matter due to travel time between where it came from to your LFS.

Cooking some rock my self its been 13 days now havent done a water change yet and no smell at all. I can already so all little holes everywere from the detritus coming out cant wait til its finished prob stop at 8 weeks got 50 pounds of live rock cant wait thank melv [emoji817]

 

[domination2580]

Very good video. If you are wanting to cook your rock this is the way to do it...if you want to kill everything i use bleach water. But this is a great video to watch!

 

[melev]

Ok, so what about a pest algae like neo ann? im planning a reboot due to this and have been trying to be sure i employ a one time technique that puts an end to this green plaque. any and all advice here much appreciated

Do you mean Neomeris Annulata? It won't last in a cooking session. That stuff loves calcium. However, before you kill it, take me some good pictures of them because I think they are beautiful and could use a few more pictures for my ID page.

 

[melev]

I understand the concern that Jaws has. I do not trust this technique to kill off aiptasia. Even periodically scraping off any visible aiptasia will not be effective. I would hate to bother with that aggravation anyway. I never want to take a chance with introducing aiptasia to my tank. What is so bad with causing live rock to become dead rock by letting it just dry out in the sun for a few weeks and then starting all over again? Dead rock can be re-seeded with bacteria and become live rock all over again.

Everyone is fixated on aiptasia. That's an unfortunately mention in the video - yes it helps get rid of them via starvation over time - but it's not a magic cure. I'm a patient guy; I've had rock cooking for months and even years. Only thing that survived was sponge (which is amazing), some very small amphipods surprisingly, and some gorgeous ready-to-use live rock.

What's wrong with drying it out and then using it later? The stuff in the rock that died will leach out, you'll get the normal cycle because all the dead stuff on the surface as well as within will have rotted, and no beneficial bacteria. Yes, it's a reboot. Maybe nothing will appear - maybe something will come out of the core that was essentially dormant. The saying in Jurassic Park "Life will find a way" is 100% true.

Cooking live rock prepares it for future use, without ruining the best parts of it.

 

[melev]

If you did this to rocks covered in palythoas would this rid the Rock of them in 6-8 weeks?

No, not likely. But scraping them all off first, then cooking the rock for 12 weeks would help immensely. Help the rock shed trapped detritus, stripping that food source as well as where PO4 comes from. If any palys survived 12 weeks in darkness cooking, you'd spot them quickly and be able to remove the last of them.

 

[CenlaReefer]

Everyone is fixated on aiptasia. That's an unfortunately mention in the video - yes it helps get rid of them via starvation over time - but it's not a magic cure. I'm a patient guy; I've had rock cooking for months and even years. Only thing that survived was sponge (which is amazing), some very small amphipods surprisingly, and some gorgeous ready-to-use live rock.

What's wrong with drying it out and then using it later? The stuff in the rock that died will leach out, you'll get the normal cycle because all the dead stuff on the surface as well as within will have rotted, and no beneficial bacteria. Yes, it's a reboot. Maybe nothing will appear - maybe something will come out of the core that was essentially dormant. The saying in Jurassic Park "Life will find a way" is 100% true.

Cooking live rock prepares it for future use, without ruining the best parts of it.

Starving aiptasia over years would get rid of them- especially if this method is done in complete darkness. How often would you change water if he would do this over two years?

 

[cromag27]

I think some people are misunderstanding the purpose of this 'article'. if you want to destroy all life, then acid, pressure wash and cure is absolutely the best method. you can still shake your rock while you're curing it, if that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

personally, I will never buy live rock and risk introducing pests into my tanks. I'm perfectly fine starting with a clean slate.

 

[melev]

Starving aiptasia over years would get rid of them- especially if this method is done in complete darkness. How often would you change water if he would do this over two years?

I changed water early on in the process, then I pretty much forgot about it other than to top off if there was a need. Having live rock on hand is always nice, and I never saw a reason to sell it so it just waited until I had a need. I used all that cooked rock in the 400g and 60g when those tanks were set up, plus whatever was already in my temporary system that still had corals attached.

 

[melev]

I think some people are misunderstanding the purpose of this 'article'. if you want to destroy all life, then acid, pressure wash and cure is absolutely the best method. you can still shake your rock while you're curing it, if that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

personally, I will never buy live rock and risk introducing pests into my tanks. I'm perfectly fine starting with a clean slate.

I never had any desire to destroy life. Just reduce the pesky algae and assorted stuff that was still on it.

 

[melev]

Here was some rock the anemones were still attached to, so it was never cooked.

 

[40B Knasty]

Are you all ready to gringe! Like everyone is talking aiptasia. I also got it. Granted my tank was only 20g. With 22lbs of LR. Bought a 40B. So taking care of 22lbs is not as hard as having 100lbs+. Before I go any further with this. Take a breath and understand I took all precautions! Safety goggles, gloves, outdoors, and fans. Also not breathing when close to what I was doing. So I took the 22lbs, air dried them for 3 days, put them in a lobster pot, and boiled them for an hour outside over a propane deep frier. Let them air dry for 3 more days outside. Placed them in the 20g, heater, FLUVAL 50HOB, 460 powerhead. Tested it for week and a half. Ammonia was very high. Sucked all the water. Scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed again with tap water. Fan pointing out towards the door turned on while NO ONE was home. Turned the stove On to 450F. Grabbed a broiling pan. Put 10lbs on at a time and baked them for 30 minutes. While waiting outside. For the timer to go off. Caution! When opening the oven door. Make sure your eyes are closed(with goggles on)and breath is held. Put the rocks outside to cool off. Brought them back in. Scrubbed them again and sprayed hot water in every cave/hole/pore I could see and scraped off all visible sponges before and after the bake. The rocks have been in the 20g for a week. Using used tank water from the 40B to fill up the 20g. Ammonia after a week is pretty much at zero from last nights testing. I did a side by side comparison with another tank that I have that is 3 years running brackish for ammonia. There is little trace of it in the 20g. Between 0 and .25. 0 zero trace of it in from the brackish. That's how I dropped a nuke on my aiptasia. Cycled the rocks both times with a table shrimp. Testing 1x5lbs LR per week or 2 weeks in the 40B. So far so good. The only thing I can say is the coraline algae that was once purple or cranberry is now white from being dead. You can not scrape it off. It is just calcium now. Please don't say never boil or bake it. I get that. What is done is done. All I know is I don't have to worry at all about aiptasia ever again ☺ I wasn't looking to fight it and cross my fingers only to find more. Did that while it was in the 20g for a month or 2. What a headache and I love my fish. They have to live with it not me. So I gave them a bigger and aiptasia free home. We are all happy. If anyone wants to know how my tank is doing week to week or monthly. I will gladly tell you. Good or bad.

 

[melev]

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[40B Knasty]

Thanks for sharing your story.

Thanks for sharing yours. I seen this video a day after I boled and baked them. I was like ohhh.. Thats what they meant by cook. I seen the laser pointer video you did. I don't have the money for that. Pretty neat though. So I had to improvise. My heart is not invested to bacteria I can always get back. Just the caution doing what I did has to be 100% done. I had zoanthids that did grow onto the LR. Made as many frags I could with the ones I could find. Just stinks because I refuse to use chemicals. I tried a needle with boiling hot water injections. It worked on two, but then came more. But the two that were gone. Were probably the reason for the spread cells.