Brs pukani dry rock

[Jakepen]

I did not bother with bleach, but I did power wash it after the acid bath.

I was thinking about just mixing in some bleach and power washing after. See how that turns out. If that doesn't do the trick, than I will use the acid.

 

[jgvergo]

I think you will find the acid help a lot, but there is no harm in trying bleach + power wash first.

 

[Jakepen]

I think you will find the acid help a lot, but there is no harm in trying bleach + power wash first.

Picked up some acid as well. If I'm not satisfied with the bleach and power wash, this weekend I'll do the acid. I really appreciate your help man.

 

[Jakepen]

So I have some bleach mixed in with the rock. I also have a return pump, and a heater in there. How do I effectively clean them both, making them safe for use in my tank?

 

[Ginu]

So I have some bleach mixed in with the rock. I also have a return pump, and a heater in there. How do I effectively clean them both, making them safe for use in my tank?

Well if you make sure acid is neutralized and rocks thoroughly washed/treated to remove bleach, I don't see how you will have issues

Just make sure you neutralize that acid properly with baking soda, and bleach is harmful when first introduced, however after washing, drying, curing the rock, I don't see bleach lingering around.
you could also use some bleach remover when soaking the rocks to be sure bleach is neutralized as well just to make sure.

 

[Jakepen]

Well if you make sure acid is neutralized and rocks thoroughly washed/treated to remove bleach, I don't see how you will have issues

Just make sure you neutralize that acid properly with baking soda, and bleach is harmful when first introduced, however after washing, drying, curing the rock, I don't see bleach lingering around.
you could also use some bleach remover when soaking the rocks to be sure bleach is neutralized as well just to make sure.

I'm not using the acid just yet. As of now I have bleach only mixed with RODI and rocks. Going to power wash the rocks after I take them out of the bleach. If I'm not satisfied with how they turn out, I'm going to bathe them in acid.

 

[Ginu]

I'm not using the acid just yet. As of now I have bleach only mixed with RODI and rocks. Going to power wash the rocks after I take them out of the bleach. If I'm not satisfied with how they turn out, I'm going to bathe them in acid.

Sounds good, however keep in mind Pukani rock is very light and extremely porous and anyone using it should consider acid dipping to remove all organics from within the rock. while bleach will kill all algae, it will not remove the stuff accumulated on the inside, just have a look at my dead eel pic above... that thing came from the middle of the rock and acid or a very long period decaying in salt water would probably get rid of it and not fully...

 

[Jakepen]

Sounds good, however keep in mind Pukani rock is very light and extremely porous and anyone using it should consider acid dipping to remove all organics from within the rock. while bleach will kill all algae, it will not remove the stuff accumulated on the inside, just have a look at my dead eel pic above... that thing came from the middle of the rock and acid or a very long period decaying in salt water would probably get rid of it and not fully...

True. Acid bath just seems like a messy job, was hoping bleach would suffice. I don't want to deem the rock "cured", and have algae problems two months down the road. I think I may just do an acid bath.

 

[Ginu]

True. Acid bath just seems like a messy job, was hoping bleach would suffice. I don't want to deem the rock "cured", and have algae problems two months down the road. I think I may just do an acid bath.

Well, I'm sure everyone's experience is different, however I'm taking down my main tank and acid washing the rocks after 1.5 years of use due to weird algae... after this restart, all my sps will go through QT first then after at least one month of QT and observation they will go in the DT if i feel confident enough. Also I'm changing my filtration system and really hoping this will help and wont have to use much GFO or other chemicals to bring phosphates and nitrates down...

Also another word of advice (and this will hurt), always discard others frag plugs even if that means cutting out some growth encrusting and only use fresh sps cuts and if you must glue it on a frag plug, use your own fresh plugs. I think my biggest source of crap algae and flat worms came off frag plugs... I dip everything however, the sellers can dip and make sure there are no visible pests on the plugs prior sale and the eggs can be hidden underneath etc... biggest pain in the rear are flatworms,bugs and pest algae...

Do it the right way once and you wont have to worry about that aspect if a problem ever arises...

 

[Jakepen]

Well, I'm sure everyone's experience is different, however I'm taking down my main tank and acid washing the rocks after 1.5 years of use due to weird algae... after this restart, all my sps will go through QT first then after at least one month of QT and observation they will go in the DT if i feel confident enough. Also I'm changing my filtration system and really hoping this will help and wont have to use much GFO or other chemicals to bring phosphates and nitrates down...

Also another word of advice (and this will hurt), always discard others frag plugs even if that means cutting out some growth encrusting and only use fresh sps cuts and if you must glue it on a frag plug, use your own fresh plugs. I think my biggest source of crap algae and flat worms came off frag plugs... I dip everything however, the sellers can dip and make sure there are no visible pests on the plugs prior sale and the eggs can be hidden underneath etc... biggest pain in the rear are flatworms,bugs and pest algae...

Do it the right way once and you wont have to worry about that aspect if a problem ever arises...

Interesting, had never considered swapping plugs before going into the DT. A lot of pests can hide in the plugs than?

 

[Ginu]

Interesting, had never considered swapping plugs before going into the DT. A lot of pests can hide in the plugs than?

Well nudibranches/flatworms and other pests cant lay eggs directly on a coral until they clear the area first.. polyps will keep them away until eaten....

The only time this theory doesn't stand up is against zoa eating nudibranches. they like to lay their eggs directly on the zoas.

Lets say you purchase a nice SPS frag of RR red diablo or something worth 100$ and the size of the frag itself is 1/2" to 3/4" and the frag plug is much bigger at 3/4" bottom part and 5/8" crown, so 4-5 times more surface area than the actual plug and thats a worm haven to place eggs onto...also you will have to deal with the crappy looking plug until the coral fully encrusts and starts growing on your rock


Always snap the SPS off the frag plug, dip and look for pests very carefully and check for bite marks. Always QT the coral and remove the plug it came on even if you lose a part of the encrusted coral.
The only exception would be if you know the person selling you the frag very well and at this point you are just trusting someone and hope they know their tank very well, however at this point you're gambling.

 

[Gpettit721]

Not gonna lie I ordered mine from BRS went straight from box to the tank. A little die off and the skimmer is doing well keeping up. Phosphates spiked last week somewhere around 0.55 down to .23 today. No smell really it's just gonna take a while for everything to cycle but that's part of the game I guess. If I were to do it again I would have remembered to rinse them first but crap happens.

 

[Ginu]

Not gonna lie I ordered mine from BRS went straight from box to the tank. A little die off and the skimmer is doing well keeping up. Phosphates spiked last week somewhere around 0.55 down to .23 today. No smell really it's just gonna take a while for everything to cycle but that's part of the game I guess. If I were to do it again I would have remembered to rinse them first but crap happens.

Long term is where this rock will be annoying to deal with if you will house more sensitive sps corals. In my case i cooked the rock in a drum for 9-11 months (cant remember) and it ran with a skimmer, gfo, circulation pump and skimmer and a year later I'm tearing the tank down and planning to clean the rock properly.

The first week of soaking, the water was just fowl and yellow color...

 

[Gpettit721]

I don't know your whole situation but how are you sure it's even the rocks? We put so much stuff in our tanks after its cycled as you mentioned before it's a crap shoot.

 

[Ginu]

I don't know your whole situation but how are you sure it's even the rocks? We put so much stuff in our tanks after its cycled as you mentioned before it's a crap shoot.

Well I dont know for sure, thats why I'm hitting the reset button and starting out with my fish only... Wish I acid washed my rocks prior starting the tank.

 

[Gpettit721]

Idk I guess I'm missing something

 

[Ginu]

Idk I guess I'm missing something

A year into this tank and my rocks are covered in this brown algae (some say its wafer) and it would not come off with anything. This algae could have possibly come on the rock itself and survived the cycle or on a frag plug and I will never know. On top of this I am running Zeovit so my nutrients are low.
Didn't remove plugs or QT coral and i got hit with monti eating nudibranches and flat worms. My monties and sops are now dead and I'm not 100% sure what caused it.. Monti eating nudies, flatworms, zeovit or bad Hanna test reagents which I have been using for the past year reading a normal 7.5-8dlh when the tank was in fact at 9.75-11...

 

[Gpettit721]

What zeo products are you dosing and amounts? Tank volume extra.?

 

[Gpettit721]

I can't tell from the picture but could very well be what happened to me and it ended up being a bacterial film from the zeo additives.... Had a full zeo tank last go around loved it just wanted simple this time.

 

[Gpettit721]

I'll scavenge through some old photos and see if I still have a close up