I want to replace my live rock....

[Zeal]

Got into the hobby in April bought live “cured” rock so the LFS said....


Fast forward to now I’m noticing I have some aiptasia, colonial hydroids and Vermetid.

All of which I’m keeping at bay by regular maintenance.

Now I just want to get rid of all this dang rock and do a proper aquascape with some BRS rock or Carbisea rock


How should I approach this?

 

[brandon429]

They'll come back in the new system, best treated in current setup, or tolerated

We don't have vermetid free stocking options

 

[Zeal]

They'll come back in the new system, best treated in current setup, or tolerated

We don't have vermetid free stocking options

Ok what if I just want a new aquascape?

 

[brandon429]

The all at once swap is possible without recycling, we do this in cycling threads during home moves etc

Cycle that new rock with dr Tim's and ammonia in a brute can or in paint buckets, then can swap fully and skip cycle

 

[Zeal]

The all at once swap is possible without recycling, we do this in cycling threads during home moves etc

Cycle that new rock with dr Tim's and ammonia in a brute can or in paint buckets, then can swap fully and skip cycle

Can I get a link to that article I wanna do it right.

Don’t have room for a faint brute container but I don’t have 7 5g homedepot paint buckets

 

[brandon429]

Retracted.

 

[brandon429]

pre curing your new rocks for phosphate might be required. Dry rock problems

 

[Zeal]

Uhhhhh... not sure what I just read lol there’s no real instructions

 

[jda]

Dry rock is not free of issues... they are just different issues... and all of that stuff will come back unless you have a full-fledged coral QT which might be able to keep most of them out.

 

[brandon429]

.

 

[MTBake]

Dry rock is not free of issues... they are just different issues... and all of that stuff will come back unless you have a full-fledged coral QT which might be able to keep most of them out.

Totally agree.

@Zeal
I've dealt with similar issues in the past. Starting over may alleviate one or two problems at first. But they'll pop up again. It really is best to tackle the issues in your current setup through more aggressive removal and maintenance regimens.

The hydroids and vermatids aren't terrible to deal with. The aiptasia can be a pain though. Look into berghia nudibranch. I hear good things about them.

 

[jda]

If you live in South Florida, get a license and go and get your own bluelegs, peppermints and some emerald crabs. The bluelegs will steal food from the verms and harass them (sometimes to death), peppermints will eat the aips and emerald crabs and just good scavengers and can keep the bad algae at bay. You do kinda have to feed the crabs and shrimp with some excess food or else they will starve when they run out of stuff to eat - flake food works well for me.

If you do go, know and follow the law - there are threads on here about collecting your own cool stuff in Florida... and their website is not bad either, IIRC.

 

[Zeal]

Thanks for all the info, what if I say I just want a new rockscape.... how do I approach it with BRS or carbisea rock...?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

@brandon429 pretty much gave you the only way to do it and not contaminate the new rock with your old rocks problems.

If you don't care about the old rock problems you can swap a rock out every couples with a new one.

 

[Zeal]

@brandon429 pretty much gave you the only way to do it and not contaminate the new rock with your old rocks problems.

If you don't care about the old rock problems you can swap a rock out every couples with a new one.

I was under the impression of just throwing the new rock in a bucket with some bacteria, heater and flow and letting it sit there for a couple months

 

[MTBake]

Thanks for all the info, what if I say I just want a new rockscape.... how do I approach it with BRS or carbisea rock...?

Cure the rock in a bucket or bin for 2 months. You'll need circulation and a heater in said container. Adding some Bio-Spira or other bacteria may help. You could also add a raw shrimp for a couple days. Remove shrimp carcass and wait 8 weeks.

Fwiw, I ordered some rock and sand from Gulfliverock.com 3-4months ago. Couldn't be happier with what I got! No unwanted hitchhikers. Even got some cool sponges, coral and bivalves on the rock.

Edit:
I still cured the rock from Gulfliverock.com for 3 months before adding it to my tank.

 

[lapin]

Thanks for all the info, what if I say I just want a new rockscape.... how do I approach it with BRS or carbisea rock...?

Yep as MTBake says; cycle the rock outside the tank. You should be able to swap out the rock with out causing too big a cycle.
As for the problems. As said above will come back unless you sterilize everything. Even then things will magically appear over time.