Video: Cooking Live Rock (not curing)

[Finatik]

In my case, I'm getting BRS Pukani rock which is dry live rock from the ocean that comes loaded with all sorts of dead, encrusted creatures on it - which will cause phosphates to go thru the roof in my tank if I don't do something to it before I use it.
Should I use the method in the video for this type of rock too ? In this case, I think I do actually want to remove all of that dead, encrusted stuff from the rock - right ?
So should I use acid in this case to quickly "clean" this rock ? And will it take 6-8 weeks to do this ? I was hoping to have my tank set up to start cycling in about 2 weeks.

 

[brandon429]

If you hand scrub the rocks first then treat w muriatic acid bath we are talking hours to prep it for cycle not weeks. The acid etches off the outer layers of rock that normal cooking takes weeks to purge, months in many cases

Even simple vinegar is a fine dissolver of outer layers. A test rock tells how long we need to reduce the rock to a fresh outer layer

 

[40B Knasty]

Pic 1) 20lbs NEW LR, cycled, corals fish inverts, month and 2 week.
Pic 2) 1x5lbs rock added that was boiled and baked. Nothing changed for a whole week.
Pis 3) added the rest yesterday. 17lbs more of LR that was boiled and baked.
Pic 4) .10 nitrites swing after 24hrs.

 

[brandon429]

I read that as zero nitrites tho? even if im off only the ammonia portion matters. if that's not .25 its g2g

boiling and baking can still leave organics in the rock porosity, if the nitrite is indeed there its interesting to trace back to the biological material providing it.

 

[Roy 9121]

Will cooking the rock get rid of colonial hydroids?

 

[brandon429]

they are requisite hitchhikers and must ride in as imports in some manner, so if any method truly kills them off in a given tank they will not come back until reimported. either the juvenile or adult stages (snail shells from other tanks, frags, any hard surface, the water cross contaminating) must ride in

acid etching will for sure kill them. whether extended time in dark vats unfed might kill them is up for variation. boiling/literal cooking sure would but Id never actually have to do that w live rock. id kill anything I didn't want on it via scraping and 35%

interestingly, many hydroids in my tank aren't phased by powerful 35% peroxide! I don't bother to scrape the rest I just leave em to their preferred rock, luckily mines not taken over. if they do, Ill surgery them out of my live rock and put it back or Ill do a med approach like TWs thread

 

[Roy 9121]

they are requisite hitchhikers and must ride in as imports in some manner, so if any method truly kills them off in a given tank they will not come back until reimported. either the juvenile or adult stages (snail shells from other tanks, frags, any hard surface, the water cross contaminating) must ride in

acid etching will for sure kill them. whether extended time in dark vats unfed might kill them is up for variation. boiling/literal cooking sure would but Id never actually have to do that w live rock. id kill anything I didn't want on it via scraping and 35%

interestingly, many hydroids in my tank aren't phased by powerful 35% peroxide! I don't bother to scrape the rest I just leave em to their preferred rock, luckily mines not taken over. if they do, Ill surgery them out of my live rock and put it back or Ill do a med approach like TWs thread

What is the med approach?

 

[Roy 9121]

they are requisite hitchhikers and must ride in as imports in some manner, so if any method truly kills them off in a given tank they will not come back until reimported. either the juvenile or adult stages (snail shells from other tanks, frags, any hard surface, the water cross contaminating) must ride in

acid etching will for sure kill them. whether extended time in dark vats unfed might kill them is up for variation. boiling/literal cooking sure would but Id never actually have to do that w live rock. id kill anything I didn't want on it via scraping and 35%

interestingly, many hydroids in my tank aren't phased by powerful 35% peroxide! I don't bother to scrape the rest I just leave em to their preferred rock, luckily mines not taken over. if they do, Ill surgery them out of my live rock and put it back or Ill do a med approach like TWs thread

What is the med approach?

 

[brandon429]

I think it might be diflucan ill have to go search, TWilliard has the good threads on it. I can put 35% directly on my hydroid patch, they bubble and froth and bend wildly which only feigns death. in a week they're all back lol. I might try a spot delivered micro blowtorch next go. burning things off live rock is old school and does work sometimes, worth a try on a test rock

lr surfaces are so cold outside the tank it doesn't transmit heat around the rock at all.

 

[40B Knasty]

It is just a touch above 0. Like maybe a .10 the most. I have seen it a lighter blue than that a day before and from my brackish tank. Keep in mind I kicked up the sand bed a little aquascaping. Still 0 with ammonia and 0 nitrates. I just feed the tank. So maybe a little nitrates. I have 10 gallons filtered just in case on standby ☺

 

[brandon429]

I agree sandbed clouding is likely to have some nitrites

 

[melev]

I don't know this for sure, but it sounds like these people possibly tried to boil their rock, and it ended up becoming news.

 

[Mike N]

I don't know this for sure, but it sounds like these people possibly tried to boil their rock, and it ended up becoming news.

I saw that story somewhere else and it was reported that they scrubbed the corals. Either way... yikes.

 

[melev]

Yeah, I'm now hearing they were brushing it off the rock.

 

[stevo01]

I don't know this for sure, but it sounds like these people possibly tried to boil their rock, and it ended up becoming news.

If I hear spores again im going to scream! And it appears to have been either grandis or implosions.

 

[islandbreeze]

Just like to say great video. I had a ton of live rock w bristles and atapsia I put in trash can w powerhead and bubble for months...it kept coralline well. I also freshwater soaked a trash can of old dead rock most of which found its way into my back yard from years ago when I moved I had had a 100gal I torn down...that rock I washed fresh then soaked 6 months then on my Florida sunny deck for a whole summer. Now I'm using it for a new reef build I maybe add a few pounds of live fiji down the road...it is white but super clean. I will def use this salt method soak for the few pounds of pukani one day...nothing but aragamax and this white rock to start. I did scrape a ton of coralline algae off old rocks and put in sun for couple weeks and it grew no problem after sprinkling it over the new rock on last build...must be dozen colors of coralline I want to prsserve. I wonder if the soak in salt for 6 weeks would kill any delicate corals....on new pukani...