Can you use base rock that has been outside?

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CathyB

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We are finally setting up a new reef tank after 15 years. For all those years I moved a 20 gallon bucket of my original rock around from house to house. About 3 years ago I gave up on ever setting the tank up and put the rock around in my flower bed. So my question is can I still use it to setup a new tank and how can I "clean" it.
 
scrub it with some ro water and a brush clean and you should be able to reuse it again
 
If it could have been exposed to pesticides, I would bathe in an acid bath.
 
First off Round-Up breaks down fairly quickly. It was one of the selling points about “killing” an area and being able to reseed after ten days. I would still give the rock a good wash. I wouldn’t use muriatic acid though…that’s too strong an acid and will cause for some of the rock to dissolve. Go with vinegar if you want to do an acid wash, but not too long, again, because it will start to dissolve the rock.

I would do multiple soak/rinses in tap water. Put it in a bucket and let it sit for a day; dump out the water and repeat. I would do this for or five times.

Now you’ll need to cure the rock in saltwater, so into a tank/tub/Brute with a heater and powerhead for a month or so. Monitor, at a minimum, nitrates. It they get high, do a water change. Continue to cure the rock….and you’re good to go.
 
Thanks so much! My husband is still working on the stand so I should have plenty of time to cure the rock.
 
You can bake the rock first (either in the oven or outside in the sun), then scrub it and then cure it. That way you kill off anything that might be living on the rock.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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