Making dead coral pieces safe for salt water aquarium

[lionstorm]

Hey I got a lot of stuff with my aquarium when I started 2-3 months ago from the previous owners of the tank and I just came across some of the coral decorative pieces they gave us. I believe the coral possibly used to be alive? might be imitation I can't really tell. All I know is that it's not the cleanest in the world right now and that it would NOT be a good idea to just toss it into the tank as is.
What steps should I take to get it able to be put into the tank? I know it should likely be cleaned without soap but I'm not sure what is the best way and how to make it completely safe. Any advice is much appreciated thank you

 

[dvs]

I have some of the same stuff, probably. I have a few pieces of huge barnacles that I would like to put in my tank. They kinda have pink to deep red streaks in them. Im not sure if that was done for ornamental reasons or if they really get that color. I did read somewhere that if corals were bleached or colored, the bleach/color might still be in the corals and cause problems when intoduced to the tank. Good question. Im looking forward to see what someone else thinks.
Good Luck

Jen

 

[timo]

Do not use soap.
Soak the corals in a light bleach solution overnight. Scrub with a brush. Rinse several times, ensuring all the bleach is gone.

 

[lionstorm]

they are already bleached should I still bleach and soak them overnight and scrub?

 

[acez28]

I would boil all the pieces.....

 

[lionstorm]

okay now im hearing a few different suggestions...i have the pieces soaking in bleach now downstairs as they will remain for the rest of the night and boiling them doesn't sound like a bad idea either now....anyone else have any advice?

 

[elan]

either method would kill any unwanted pests like bad bacteria...
bleach would get it to pure white, where boiling will get them more to a natural boiled color
as a suggestion, i have a 5 gallon bucket which has holes drilled into sides at the bottom. i stuck a hose in the bucket and let the water drain out from the bottom part... i let it run for an hour and i think i got all the chlorine off.
good luck

 

[lionstorm]

thanks for the advice everyone when i get home from school tomorrow im going to take all the pieces out of the bleach/water and rinse them thoroughly and scrub scrub scrub and probably soak in regular water for maybe an hour then scrub some more, without soap. And then possibly add to tank. I'll take some pics when I'm done.

 

[wrassecal]

It is OK to bleach them like you are doing, just be sure you rinse them VERY well and then rinse them again. I soak mine in water with ammquel (or any ammonia lock product). If you want to keep them white and once in your tank they turn brown with algae etc you can also set them out in the sunshine all day and then rinse/scrub them again. Never use soap. I'm not sure about the boiling. I do know that dead coral pieces are usually fairly brittle so I handle them pretty carefully. HTH

 

[bullshark]

LionStorm, I have had good success with bleach. What I do to get rid of bleach is to have the coral pieces in a tub with water covering it and rinse it for a while, then add de-clorinator(sp?) and soak in that for a few hours. That will kill off all the bleach. I put a powerhead in the water to circulate it around with the de-clorinator in it.
Good Luck!

 

[lionstorm]

hey I bleached them overnight and they are all looking good. (they were white before but had dirt and stuff on them so now they are especially cleaner) they still smell like bleach so I am soaking again and will scrub scrub scrub some more before they go in. Trust me I DEFINATELY am not going to use soap and im being careful with them, they got damaged slightly in the move but not too drastically (i think one tiny limb broke off...or might have already been broken off) but other than that they look good. I will submerge them when I no longer smell bleach and have boiled them for a little while and scrubbed them so more. I'll post some pics once i get them in, who says you can't have coral in a FOWLR?

 

[bahamianme]

Its ok to bleach the dead coral in a 5 gal. pail for 1/2 hour. After soaking in bleach, pour it out fill pail with fresh water and "Stress Coat" and leave soaking for an hour......You must get all the chlorine out before putting in tank......I learned this from another hobbyist......Good luck

 

[timo]

Elan...
What exactly does that "natural" boiled color look like?
J/K
TimO
PS I'm Still waiting on your new coral species... My 30+yo VW bus told me it won't go to So Fla (from Pens.) so I'll propagate vicariously through you!!!