Previously live rock & sand now dried out HELP! I want to use in my existing tanks!

[antiquitiesmuse]

I had a small tank set up for my son he decided it was too much responsibility so instead of telling me he didn't want the live rock and sand I had bought for it he let in run dry...now a couple of years later I want to put the sand and rock back into my existing 72 gallon bow reef tank and 50 gallon bow fish only tank they have been set up for approx. 7 years for the 72 and 5 years with the 50 ...I refilled the tank that the sand and rocks were in with saltwater and set up a small pump...the same idea as curing live rock. Is this the best way to get the rock and sand ready for my other tanks??? I have read other forums about the live rock and they seem to have a variety different opinions on the rock but not the sand...cooking the rocks, curing, etc... I have an eel coming and want to add more rock for him but I don't want the levels to spike and kill the existing fish and inverts. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated as this is some lovely rock and I would love to add it asap!

 

[sweatervest13]

Curing the dead base rock is not a bad idea. But there really isn't anything live on the rock. So it really does not matter. You can also rinse out the sand using a bucket or pillow case with a hose. Just rinse it until the water runs clear.

For the rock... You might consider "cooking" the rock with a bleach solution to help remove any phosphates that could have built up (especially if the rock with in a system that was let go). The idea is that you cook the rock with a bleach solution for a few days than fill up the container with fresh RO water and let it run a couple of days (this should be repeated a couple of times). Then you have some nice base rock with nothing on it.

Acrylic51 has done this a few times. You can check out his huge "plywood tank build" thread. Towards the beginning of this year he cooked a few batches of base rock with bleach. I have never done this, but have read it can help phosphates from leaching from the rock after you add to the tank.


HTH's!!

 

[antiquitiesmuse]

I appreciate all the info... I have read the thread you suggested and I love the idea about rinsing the sand in a pillow case.... Thank you !!!