Drying live rock to reuse...?

Wunderpus · Apr 30, 2019

All,

I have about 40-50lbs of live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater that I have in a system that I am shutting down (actually, turning into a QT tank). So, my question is: Can I dry the live rock, then store and reuse it as "dead rock" someday? What would be the ideal process here?

One of the main reasons is, this rock from Tampa Bay has been riddled with pests (I've pulled no less than 7 or 8 gorilla crabs out of it) as well as nuisance algae, anemones etc. The rock LOOKS great, but I'd never use it again...

So, I want to essentially sterilize it to reuse in either a new build, for adding to my refugium, mounting frags, etc.

Please let me know your thoughts on pulling it out, drying it then scrubbing it with RO and a brush.

Roid Reefs · Apr 30, 2019

Following

DangerDave · Apr 30, 2019

I don’t see why you couldn’t. Let it dry, afterwards do a bleach or acid bath. After that You are going to need to cycle the rocks to get all of the organic matter off.

Seamore2001 · Apr 30, 2019

Sure you could. As @DangerDave guides, you'll need to cycle it before using it again because of all the organic matter that will be inside the nooks and crannies of the rock, but it can certainly be reused.

That said, I imagine someone else might want to risk using it while it's still alive, pests or no pests (I would). Why not post it to Craigslist or your local reef/aquarium forums and see if anyone wants it. That way you'd also recoup some of the money you spent buying it.

redfishbluefish · Apr 30, 2019

Sounds like you have an ideal situation to do a Marc Levenson's cooking of you rock. Check out his video on how to do this....pretty easy:

Wunderpus · Apr 30, 2019

All good advice, I think the "cooking" option or just letting it dry, rinse then recycle are the two front runners here... The "cooking" may be faster, yeah?

*edit* after actually WATCHING the video, LOL, the cooking seems way longer.

redfishbluefish · Apr 30, 2019

Wunderpus said:
All good advice, I think the "cooking" option or just letting it dry, rinse then recycle are the two front runners here... The "cooking" may be faster, yeah?

*edit* after actually WATCHING the video, LOL, the cooking seems way longer.

Once you dry out rock, it now needs to cure. This is NOT the cycle, but a cure to allow the death within to decay and leach out. This typically take 1 1/2 to 2 months with multiple water changes.

And yes, melev's way will take about eight weeks (about the same amount of time) or so, but leaves you with the best of live rock.

Colin Adams · Apr 30, 2019

I have bleached live rock before, just do that, rinse it good and it can go back into a tank with zero chance of causing another "cycle"

Wunderpus · Apr 30, 2019

Colin Adams said:
I have bleached live rock before, just do that, rinse it good and it can go back into a tank with zero chance of causing another "cycle"

This option is tempting to me, as I have a new build and this rock would be GREAT in my refugium etc... I may go this route. Is there a very safe method to bleaching (in terms of not getting bleach into the main tank)? I assume it's rock->bleach water -> RO water -> dry the rock -> RO rinse again?

Thanks!