Rock cleaning advise....

[rcillig]

So here is the deal, I had some rock about 50-75 lbs cycling in a tub and was going to use it for my next build but today I smelled something that was almost like a burning smell or electrical fire and it ended up the pump I had in with the rock went out and then somehow the heater fell to the bottom of the tub and started melting the plastic, it didn't get the water hot or it had already cooled down but the smell is terrible. The water and rocks with in smell like a rubber/electronic fire. How do I or can I get the said rocks back to be able to be used in a tank, saltwater btw. Will it bother the fish or corals at all? Do I need to start the cycling process over? I dunno, wash with rest water placed back in saltwater? Thought id ask before just blindly jumping into something as I really don't know.

thanks everyone
Rob

 

[vetteguy53081]

So here is the deal, I had some rock about 50-75 lbs cycling in a tub and was going to use it for my next build but today I smelled something that was almost like a burning smell or electrical fire and it ended up the pump I had in with the rock went out and then somehow the heater fell to the bottom of the tub and started melting the plastic, it didn't get the water hot or it had already cooled down but the smell is terrible. The water and rocks with in smell like a rubber/electronic fire. How do I or can I get the said rocks back to be able to be used in a tank, saltwater btw. Will it bother the fish or corals at all? Do I need to start the cycling process over? I dunno, wash with rest water placed back in saltwater? Thought id ask before just blindly jumping into something as I really don't know.

thanks everyone
Rob

Although the plastic should not be an issue, add a little bleach and circulate 48-72 hrs
Empty and run cold water with a hose until you can’t smell bleach any longer and sun dry 2-3 days

 

[rcillig]

Although the plastic should not be an issue, add a little bleach and circulate 48-72 hrs
Empty and run cold water with a hose until you can’t smell bleach any longer and sun dry 2-3 days

Ty been busy so didn’t get around to say I followed this and said rock is cycling in a new tank setup with an old tank.

 

[ZoWhat]

Best way to cleanse rock outside the tank is to submerge it into a 5g bucket of RODI and by hand violently swoosh the rock (up, down, side to side) to release debris. do this several times....