What should I do with my Marco rock?

[kiran]

I'm going to be turning my Fluval 13.5gal tank into a tiny little frag tank over the next couple months. Right now I have sand and Marco rock in it. I know I should just throw the sand out, but I was wondering what I do with the Marco rock? Do I just toss that in the trash as well or should I keep it to use for another tank? The rock is in the tank right now but it's going through a 90 day fallow so I'm not sure if it's wise to keep it.

Also I'm open to suggestions for creating a successful frag tank, but I might make another thread about that when the time comes.

 

[muzikalmatt]

If you're able, you could setup a container to keep the rock in saltwater with a heater and some flow and it will maintain it's beneficial bacteria so that you'll have good "cured" rock available at the ready.

If you're not able to do that you can just remove it from the tank and set it somewhere to dry out and allow the organic matter to decompose. It's probably going to smell so putting it outside in the sun is probably the best idea. Then you can reuse it on future tanks, you'll just have to recycle/repopulate it with beneficial bacteria.

You can have live rock in a frag tank too if you want. I'm guessing you don't have room to keep the rock and the frag rack in the tank though? If that's the problem you could consider breaking the live rock up with a hammer and chisel and either keep it in the bottom of the tank under the frag rack or place it in the rear filter chambers. That way you can keep the beneficial bacteria that you've built up on the rock. If you're concerned about disease, as long as you don't put any fish in the tank before the follow period ends, you should be good.

 

[kiran]

If you're able, you could setup a container to keep the rock in saltwater with a heater and some flow and it will maintain it's beneficial bacteria so that you'll have good "cured" rock available at the ready.

If you're not able to do that you can just remove it from the tank and set it somewhere to dry out and allow the organic matter to decompose. It's probably going to smell so putting it outside in the sun is probably the best idea. Then you can reuse it on future tanks, you'll just have to recycle/repopulate it with beneficial bacteria.

You can have live rock in a frag tank too if you want. I'm guessing you don't have room to keep the rock and the frag rack in the tank though? If that's the problem you could consider breaking the live rock up with a hammer and chisel and either keep it in the bottom of the tank under the frag rack or place it in the rear filter chambers. That way you can keep the beneficial bacteria that you've built up on the rock. If you're concerned about disease, as long as you don't put any fish in the tank before the follow period ends, you should be good.

Great tips man I appreciate it.

I think I'll take some of it and do what you said and break it up and throw it in a chamber and put the rest outside. Will leaving it outside in the sun help kill off potential diseases and parasites?

Also yeah I want to get rid of anything that I dont need in the main display part of it to have room for as many frags as I can fit in the racks.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Great tips man I appreciate it.

I think I'll take some of it and do what you said and break it up and throw it in a chamber and put the rest outside. Will leaving it outside in the sun help kill off potential diseases and parasites?

Also yeah I want to get rid of anything that I dont need in the main display part of it to have room for as many frags as I can fit in the racks.

Yes, leaving it outside in the sun long enough will turn it into "dead rock" and nothing should survive. You'll likely still have some dead organic matter on the rock, but you can take care of that in the future by re-curing the rock.

 

[kiran]

Yes, leaving it outside in the sun long enough will turn it into "dead rock" and nothing should survive. You'll likely still have some dead organic matter on the rock, but you can take care of that in the future by re-curing the rock.

Thank you!