What is the best easiest method to nuke live rock

[Lonelyreef]

So to make a long story short I have some devil agae byprosis. I've tried it all and at this point I think a restart is going to be the easiest best thing. I haven't restocked with new corals and I want to redo my sump get things right. So I'm nuking about 150lbs of rock. I have heard in the past that a muratic acid solution will kill everything no problem. Then I believe baking soda will neutralize the acid. So all that's left then is for me to keep the rock in salt water with a heater and do some water changes for a while while I'm fixing up my tank.

So I guess I'm just wondering has anyone ever done this before and if you have what methods did you use. I want 100% success rate. I love this hobby and I'm not getting out but I have learned I need to be much more careful of where I buy frags from and will probably begin cutting all corals off and using fresh plugs or it goes right on the rock after quarentine. So any ideas and help will be appreciated. Again I want to nuke everything on this rock it will be dead rock at the end of this and then I will properly get it ready by cooking it off in a brute container for a good month before using it.

Really appreciate any help I can get on this one. This is my first ever tear down and reboot. Thanks.

 

[Nomadic1]

The acid will do it. Neutralizing the acid is nice...but it will precipitate a salt (acid + base reaction = salt) which might plate out onto the rock, requiring you to pressure wash it or scrub it off. Not sure if it's harmful or anything, but, if you're trying to also get rid of the organics locked onto the surface of the rocks, some of that salt precipitate might bind to them and keep them on the rock. It might not be "eco friendly," but, in the past, after I have acid washed rocks, I directed the solution right down the storm drain, then rinsed the rock with copious amounts of water and then pressure washed them.

 

[100LL]

I would STRONGLY suggest using Kent M TECH to easily get rid of BP... I use the method all the time with 100% success!

 

[hart24601]

You can dunk the rock in peroxide for a min or two, that will definitely kill everything.

 

[Nomadic1]

Kent Tech M has never worked for me. I have bryopsis growing in my tank right now, and have been dosing the stuff for 2+ months and the bryopsis just laughs at it. That had been my experience in the past on another tank, as well. IMO, the formula for Tech M has changed, and that "mystery ingredient" is no longer there. Several other reefers in my local club have had the same exact result in the last few months -- no response from the Tech M.

 

[100LL]

Kent Tech M has never worked for me. I have bryopsis growing in my tank right now, and have been dosing the stuff for 2+ months and the bryopsis just laughs at it. That had been my experience in the past on another tank, as well. IMO, the formula for Tech M has changed, and that "mystery ingredient" is no longer there. Several other reefers in my local club have had the same exact result in the last few months -- no response from the Tech M.

Hmmm... How much are you using?

 

[hart24601]

I spot treat with peroxide in the tank for bryopsis. Works great for me, I get a little bit that comes back from one of the problem spots, but the rest of it has been killed off. I just turn off pumps, apply with a 10ml pipette, wait 10min before turning on pumps and the next day it's all white and the CC eats it. I have spot treated 20ml in a 65 with zero problems over the years.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I did same no luck also there are more than 1 type of byprosis and some die easier than others. I literally have thrown this stuff in cups of straight peroxide and it will still be green three days later. No lie. So acid is what I will be doing at this point just wasn't sure about the other part of the equation and if anyone else had tried it. I'm gunna let this stuff soak for a day or two in the acid bath kill everything

 

[Nomadic1]

Don't forget that as it's sitting in the acid, your rock is dissolving. I don't think I'd let it soak a day. An hour should be more than enough.

 

[mikellini]

Easiest? Let it dry, sun-bleach (might be tough to do this time of year depending on where you are), then do a few successive soaks in RODI with a powerhead until the water is clear. Takes a couple of weeks but is pretty darn easy, no chemicals, no fuss, no muss.

 

[Pete polyp]

Bleach water

 

[Lonelyreef]

Thank you guys all for your ideas my concern is this algae would survive this stuff is the meanest thing I've ever encountered in the hobby quite honestly. I've raised ph done Kentsm my clean up crew won't touch it and I haven't found an herbivore that will either. The reason I went to the extreme of acid is I know that will kill anything although I suppose bleach water could as well. Problem is I'm in Wisconsin and temperature are suppose to go back down to single digits next week. I may wait til spring to really get this going give me a chance to regime some fish and let a couple sit in my friends tank til I get mine ready.

 

[Windy]

Once you get it clean, what will stop it from happening again? I think you need to look at your nutrient export system.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I have good nutrient export I was running bio pellets have an reef octopus sro3000 feed light and it's only a 93 gallon. I have tried all the old reliable saying but this is just one of those algaewell that doesn't want to go away. The only thing I haven't tried is a Seahawks or like a rabbit fish but I'm not even sure they would touch this algae to be honest. I may try taking the rock out and dipping it.

The biggest problem is this algae out competes with my corals for nutrients. You drive all your nitrates and phos so low and then the algae is still sucking up nitrates and phos leaving the corals to suffer. While it will be a pain. I actually have a ton of rock so I ca probably do this in phases and keep my fish.

Just leave them in the tank with some pvc pieces clean the sand bed and remove the rock and get it outta there.

 

[brandon429]

bryopsis isnt a for sure tank killer, ostreopsis and neomeris annulata sure are.

the number of tank we have taken from "taking it down" to "dang thats clean" is maybe 40 or so in the online peroxide threads

some are too far past frustration to care, they want to nuke and risk reimport but that initial clean surely would be bryopsis free. as long as you insta kill any new popups from frags, snail shells, any hard substrate you bring in from another's tank, it w be ok.

but we've never lost a single tank from a bryopsis cure after the keeper agreed to a trial. we are trying to build entrants right now for a stickied nanos forum thread of big challenges

wanna be in it

 

[brandon429]

you haven't seen the power of 35% yet

its thors hammer man. I have videos of me dumping it into a gallon sps reef thats nearly ten years old, in a very specific way, it'll beat bryopsis but you dont just dose the tank with it. based on a full tank shot of your problem, we make a super duper run

magnesium boosting is very powerful against bryopsis and is used more often than peroxide

we have a ton of before and after pics of bryopsis infested tanks all cleaned up

 

[Ms. Mermaid]

You can dunk the rock in peroxide for a min or two, that will definitely kill everything.

Will it kill majano infested rocks? Are will they just come back?

 

[JMSKI333]

Could you bake it in the oven as opposed to the sun? Just a thought. Our significant other can't be home of course.

 

[Nomadic1]

If the rock dries out, it all dies. No reason to put it in the oven (there is a thread here or on some other major forum) in which someone boiled their LR in their kitchen and got very sick from the fumes. Just dry It out, bleach or acid treat it. Done.

 

[brandon429]

the reason not to nuke your rock and simply fix it is because you aren't sourcing your rebuild from containers that clean. its regular reefs feeding your clean one with all the vital space open to the tank. the opposite is truer: guide more cycled and calcified rock into what you want it to be, its more rejective of algae in certain conditions. it looks way better.

the whole point of a reef is guiding the benthics, you've not. easily can. once the thought of tank wiping gets into someone's mind who has watched their reef not auto-correct, it can rarely be extracted. just imagine threads with tanks far worse than yours looking great in a week, then multiply by 10, then 20, and simply join on up.


there are only two reasons you need to nuke a tank

ostreopsis dinos after everything has been tried

neomeris annulata.

dont nuke it but post a pic






its fun yin/yang from the crowd:
nuke it

dont nuke it

nuke iT!