Drying rock out to reuse

[Mikeltee]

Hey guys. I have some nuisance red mushrooms that have taken over half my tank. Everytime I remove one two more appear. It's time to take action. I have offered many lfs a rock for rock trade and no one wants them. The plan is to take the rock out, do whatever you recommend, and put it back in. I am not worried if I have to start over with the coraline algae. There are no pests or harmful bacteria in the rock so it shouldn't need bleached. I just want to get rid of the mushrooms and get it back in without causing too much disturbance to the rest of the tank. Attached are some pics. If you can pick these up you are welcome to have them. I'm north of Indianapolis. What's the best strategy to remove the rock, get rid of the shrooms, and return the rock to the tank?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello

Glad you joined and welcome to R2r #WelcometoR2R

It has been a long time since I have cleaned rock. If I remember right, the best way to be sure to rid the rock of the mushrooms would be an acid bath. I would rather be sure though and get another opinion.

Let’s see if maybe @Retro Reefer or @reef lover are around tonight and know a bit more than I remember on cooking rock.

 

[GoVols]

If you can pick these up you are welcome to have them. I'm north of Indianapolis.

Welcome to Reef 2 Reef!!

Love those red shrooms.

Can you post them in the below, Indiana reef club, link?

Indiana

www.reef2reef.com

 

[NS Mike D]

I was able to simply scrape them off. Some grew back, but overall I was able to replace with other corals and limit them (I didn't want to totally remove them).


If you remove the rock from the water, scrape and rinse clean, the coraline and bacteria should be fine. It may take a while to scrape them off and you may need more than one procedure to fully eradicate the rock.

You can put the shrooms in a perforated container with sand and rubble rock until they attach and give away if tossing them is undesirable.

 

[GoVols]

I was able to simply scrape them off. Some grew back, but overall I was able to replace with other corals and limit them (I didn't want to totally remove them).


If you remove the rock from the water, scrape and rinse clean, the coraline and bacteria should be fine. It may take a while to scrape them off and you may more than one procedure to fully eradicate the rock.

You can put the shrooms in a perforated container with sand and rubble rock until they attach and give away if tossing them is undesirable.

Yeah,
I don't think he'd need to nuke the rock, like if they were plays.

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r! If u can't find someone to buy it and really want them gone I suggest this..

 

[Mr Fishface]

Why not just take the rock out and let it completely dry? Seems like an acid bath or bleaching it would be unnecessary. Pull it out, scrape everything off that you can, let it sit out of the tank and dry for a few days. I don't know any coral that can be totally dried out and still live - especially scraping them first off the rock.

 

[Mikeltee]

Thanks for the replys guys. I decided to flip the rocks upside down. I realize this could potentially cause an ammonia spike once they start dying off. I will be monitoring it everyday. If it does indeed spike I will be removing it immediately. I raised the rock higher in the column and plan to use it as an SPS shelf so I hope I get to keep it. There are shrooms growing on the sides of the rock still getting light but they dont concern me at this point. I'll be scraping off any new ones that grow on it.