Should I use my old rock?

[Fitzy]

Hello everyone, I’m upgrading to a larger tank 90-160g and wanted your thoughts on moving my rock over to the new system. I’m currently battling Bryopsis, Aiptaisa, and bubble algae in my current setup. I’ve been able to beat them all back but it’s an ongoing battle. My question is do I just buy new rock to start fresh or use my current semi infested rock for the new setup? I don’t mind cycling the new tank and starting over but would prefer not to buy even more rock. So do I start over with new rock or bring the Aiptasia and algae’s to the new system with the old and continue to battle them there? Thanks in advance for any guidance.

90g tank
5 small fish
5 small corals
60pds Carib Sea Life Rock
Tank is one year old
All parameters are good

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

My vote is to start over with new rock.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Oh, I see you are a new member. Welcome to R2R!

#welcometor2r

 

[saltyhog]

Welcome to R2R!

You could bleach the snot (literally and figuratively) out the old rock and be starting with essentially dead rock. I would scrub it aggressively to remove as much organic material as possible and then cure it in a Brute like you would new dry rock.

 

[LetItReef]

To save the headache, I would start from a new set of rocks.

 

[pshootr]

Welcome to R2R!

You could bleach the snot (literally and figuratively) out the old rock and be starting with essentially dead rock. I would scrub it aggressively to remove as much organic material as possible and then cure it in a Brute like you would new dry rock.

+1

If you have the patience to use the method mentioned above, you will be fine and save some money.

 

[Fitzy]

Thank you everyone! Much appreciated. So maybe add new rock now and then clean the old rock and add after.

 

[Fitzy]

Oh, I see you are a new member. Welcome to R2R!

#welcometor2r

Thank you!

 

[Captain Quint]

Welcome to R2R!

You could bleach the snot (literally and figuratively) out the old rock and be starting with essentially dead rock. I would scrub it aggressively to remove as much organic material as possible and then cure it in a Brute like you would new dry rock.

Welcome to R2R!

+1 for reasons besides my scuba friend ( saltyhog ) post here.

*Bleach method ensures unwanted pests.

*You'll probably be purchasing some new LR (hopefully it will be pest free but there's no guarantee on that) and you won't have to buy as much. Or are you buying dry rock?

*Then you could add the now pest free rock in with the new LR purchased and the new LR would help your old rock cure. It will take a bit longer this way than adding all new LR.

If you are adding existing critters and don't want the wait longer than the average cycle time you could donate or sell your old rock recured or as is.

***Even buying LR at an LFS will have some die off. Maybe not much but to some degree.

If buying DR in a box the time for the old and new to cure would be the same.

 

[Rcpilot]

I'd definitiely start over with new rock. No good reason to introduce pests or nuisance algea into a new system.

As others have said, it can be salvaged and used again, just not immediately. I'd get new dry rock and plan on a long cycle in the new tank. In the meantime, I'd be drying, bleaching, and sun baking that old nasty rock to make it truly dead and dried out. Then clean it up with a brush and cure it for 3 or 4 months (minimum).

 

[TheHarold]

When in doubt, use reefcleaners. Incredible inexpensive dry rock that does not need to be cured like some other brands.

 

[Fudsey]

Welcome to R2R ! ! !

I dried my old rock in the sun for 2 months then bleached it for a week. After I soaked it in clean water after I dried it again for another 2 weeks before I used it. But I would not just toss it that's for sure...

 

[LMDAVE]

This was always a concept I was curious about also if I ever upgrade to a bigger tank. Rock is one thing, but if you're starting the whole cycle over, at what point is it safe to move any LPS and SPS over if you're not using any your established system?

 

[cracker]

welcome Fitzy ! All good advice above . if You had "alot" of time You could starve out all the unwanted stuff & draw all the excess nutrients out of the rock. By curing in a darkened barrel. How ever it takes a very long time like months .

 

[Fudsey]

This was always a concept I was curious about also if I ever upgrade to a bigger tank. Rock is one thing, but if you're starting the whole cycle over, at what point is it safe to move any LPS and SPS over if you're not using any your established system?

I'd say it kind of depends if your rock is infested with pests that you don't want in your new setup. I used live rock from my old system directly into the new one with old bleached rock and only had a minimal cycle. I moved all my corals over in 2 batches in 2 days about a week after setup was complete with no die off. I also had 2 Brightwell plates directly from old sump to new one.

 

[NickC]

When in doubt, use reefcleaners. Incredible inexpensive dry rock that does not need to be cured like some other brands.

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm assuming you've used this rock with success? The reason I ask is that I've read similar things about John's rock, and ordered 100lbs for a new SPS tank. Is this rock free of phosphates like I hear? I plan on curing in a rubbermaid stock tank, but not sure if it would be overly prudent to soak in RO/DI for a while and test for phosphate. If that's totally unnecessary I will just rinse the rock well and cure in salt water. I have never used dry rock before, but with this tank I don't want to add any pests or nutrient problems. The only LFS near me has terrible rock, covered in aptasia, and lots of times it comes from customer tanks that have been broken down due to a crash.

 

[Siggy in CR]

I'm sure I'll be corrected if i'm wrong, but it sounds like all the things you're trying to eliminate are entirely on the surface of the rock. But the beneficial bacteria that make the live rock "live" are contained within the rock. Wouldn't it be possible to scrub the old rock well and then dip it in either an acid or otherwise deadly bath for just long enough to kill everything on the surface and then rinse it off and put it tub with salt water and do a water change after a few days. In my mind that would kill everything you want to kill while still maintaining the bacteria alive throughout the pores inside the rock.

 

[User1]

I'll be odd man out on this one. A year old rock has a pretty good head start on anything new and dry that you put in. That is a pretty good head start on the biological clock if truth be told. Sure you mentioned some items you are battling but you also said that it is more or less under control. Everybody is going to have algae in their tank but the key is balancing the food chain so that it keeps it under control without starving and causing other issues. This is just has important as managing your nutrients and overall tank husbandry. I started a tank upgrade back in February. I started with 150 lbs of dry Pukani. I used the fishless cycle method using Dr. Tim's one and only. In less than a month I was able to process 2 ppm Ammonia in under 24 hours. I fired up the lighting, skimmer, and let it run for another 15 days then tested again. Still able to process under 24 hours and everything more or less looked good outside of moon base 9 rock Anyway I moved my existing tank in that had a Xenia over population along with various forms of algae including hair on some rocks but more or less all manageable.

I'm just providing another side of the coin to consider. Dry rock, if that is what you are using, is going to take at least a year to fully mature. You will get the initial biological filter and growth of course via surface area but pods, sponges, worms, and anything else is going to take time to find it and spread. That year head start, well, is gold. Just my opinion of course and your mileage may vary.

 

[TheHarold]

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm assuming you've used this rock with success? The reason I ask is that I've read similar things about John's rock, and ordered 100lbs for a new SPS tank. Is this rock free of phosphates like I hear? I plan on curing in a rubbermaid stock tank, but not sure if it would be overly prudent to soak in RO/DI for a while and test for phosphate. If that's totally unnecessary I will just rinse the rock well and cure in salt water. I have never used dry rock before, but with this tank I don't want to add any pests or nutrient problems. The only LFS near me has terrible rock, covered in aptasia, and lots of times it comes from customer tanks that have been broken down due to a crash.

Totally free of phosphates. I can add fresh reefcleaners out of the box- not even washed- to my tank and it just grows coralline. No weird algae at all. I added a new bridge made up of reef cleaners to my well established reef. A month later this is what it looks like . If it was leaching something, you would see some odd algae appearing typically.

My new 300 gallon is just reefcleaners- thats how much I like it. And I am a very critical person in general. Just no complaints.

 

[Fitzy]

This was always a concept I was curious about also if I ever upgrade to a bigger tank. Rock is one thing, but if you're starting the whole cycle over, at what point is it safe to move any LPS and SPS over if you're not using any your established system?

Great question: I’m now wondering the same thing.