unusual live rock question

[grubsnaek]

alright i went to my mothers in PA for the weekend, came back with some live rock that was left out side for summers and winters year round for about 5 years. in a bucket with built up water. so i dried them out and figuring theres about 40 lbs of live rock here. im not going to just throw them out, so im on here tryin to find a way to salvage these pieces.
i am not thinkin bout placing them in my DT. mostly i was hoping for some chance i can through them in my QT, and FT. is there any chance i can use these pieces.

 

[kevin34]

If they have been sitting out of water for 5 years they have probably just turned into base rock now. If you clean them and put them into a tank that already has live rock in it the rocks will eventually become live again.

 

[bizzmoneyb]

yea they will eventually become live again. just take the proper precautions that anything bad on them is gone before adding them to any tank.

 

[grubsnaek]

thats wut im here tryin to find out. wut steps should i do...

 

[mscarpena]

I would let it dry for 3-5 days then bake it in an oven at 300 degrees for a few hours. Time will depend on how large and dense the peices are. 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes will kill anything. No chemical or anything bad to harm your fish afterwards.

 

[grubsnaek]

mscarpena thats exactly wut i was lookin for

 

[grubsnaek]

haha i go and put it out side to dry and the damn thing has grass growing on the rock, not much. mscarpena u got anything for that, or is the oven still the way to go

 

[fishygurl]

maybe you could scrub the rock with a knew sponge and then bake it or boil it?

 

[grubsnaek]

Originally Posted by mscarpena
http:///forum/post/2564885
I would let it dry for 3-5 days then bake it in an oven at 300 degrees for a few hours. Time will depend on how large and dense the peices are. 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes will kill anything. No chemical or anything bad to harm your fish afterwards.
well rite after i read this thread i put them out side to dry. today is monday 4/21/08. i then took the rocks took a hammer and resized them. they are going into again my FT and QT. so after boiling each piece of live rock for 12 minutes i then put all rock in the oven and baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. now all i have to do i scrubb some more of the dead grass off and start cycling the rock. here are some pics

 

[grubsnaek]

its been 23 days sitting in salt water, in a bucket, with a powerhead and a lid. i still have some grass on two of the rocks. is this normal. cause i really want to put them into my frag tank. but im not tryin to rush anything...wut are ur thoughts

 

[grubsnaek]

nobody huh

 

[nyyank]

Hi

I personally think you're taking a lot of risk and going to a lot of trouble for to replace rock worth about $40
IMHO---I would not put that into a tank with anything worth saving!!!
But----good luck

 

[kogle]

I'd tell you my method but the "tank police" here would be all over me...

 

[florida joe]

Boiling, baking what about pan-frying it for a few days? put the rock in a bucket with water put some bleach in it for a half hour dump the water rinse well until you no longer smell the bleach and your good to go

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2609477
Boiling, baking what about pan-frying it for a few days? put the rock in a bucket with water put some bleach in it for a half hour dump the water rinse well until you no longer smell the bleach and your good to go
Yeah, like Joe said, freshwater with bleach (I personally let mine sit for 24 hours in the bleach water ~ then soak for 24 hours in straight fresh, then rinse). Not only will it kill everything, but it will turn your rocks white! Then cycle or place in QT with some quality LR ~ few months you'll have nice looking rock

.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2609511
Yeah, like Joe said, freshwater with bleach (I personally let mine sit for 24 hours in the bleach water ~ then soak for 24 hours in straight fresh, then rinse). Not only will it kill everything, but it will turn your rocks white! Then cycle or place in QT with some quality LR ~ few months you'll have nice looking rock

.
You can also put some decorticator in the rinse water if you want to neutralize any remaining bleach

 

[gatorwpb]

bleach + scrub brush, repeat if necessary.
Baking is fine for bacteria and other microrganisms, but it sounds like youre more concerned about vegtative growth.
Whatever is growing will likely die when put into a SW tank because if it was in a bucket of rain water outside, it wont survive in the SW.
Looks like decent rock though. Worth using it if you can.

 

[grubsnaek]

i got it for free, alot of the vegtative has receeded, but still there. so bleach huh...
the rocks are nice sizes, and there only going im my frag tank, just to make it alittle more eye apealing. but for free, why not try. to me it would be a waste of rock if i didnt try. and also to know that i can use this rock again, makes me want to do this even more. im pritty sure its re-usable, so why throw it out

 

[florida joe]

With all due respect the rock is only a platform for growth on and in it. Aesthetically pleasing is what you’re looking for in size and shape remember it is just rock

 

[grubsnaek]

hahaha alright, florida joe, dont know how u took my last post, but with my DT and FT doing fine. this gives me something new to toy with about the hobby. yeah there just rocks, but that have value, i basically want them for when i get a good frag of something. attach it to the rock and let is spread in the frag tank. then do with the rock wut ever comes up.