Reefing restart

[windwaterwaves]

So I have an acrylic 120, tired of acrylic and coralline.. I had a great tank and lost it when overrun by aptasia. I have some mushrooms I want to save, and my clownfish (15 years old). What should i do to some of the old rock to guarantee I never see another aptasia again as I start my new tank? My new aquascape will be a big u with an anenome island in the middle.. Comments? Any Bellingham friends with frags? (In a couple months)

 

[Scooterman]

I hate to say boil/bleach the rock and re-seed it, that may be the drastic approach and it will take a really long time to make it live again.

 

[NanaReefer]

IMO one should never boil live rock. One of the more common practices for cleaning Live Rock and considered much safer than boiling is a Muriatic Acid bath. A sure fire way of riding rock of all unwanted pests.
I would post a link but they don't work on RF sorry. So you'll just have to Google it

 

[mfinn]

If you want to clean off aiptasia and other organic matter from rock, then IMO the easiest way to do it is with a bleach bath.
What I do is soak the rock overnight in a combination of 5 gallons of freshwater to 3-4 cups of bleach. If one overnight soak doesn't take everything off, do it a second time.

Then rinse the rock good, and do another overnight soak in a freshwater and a strong dechlorinator solution. I do 5-6 times the recommended strength.
I like to use API Tap Water Conditioner. Can be bought at many stores such as Petsmart. Some will use Prime.

If the rock is older rock, ( been used for several years), consider a muratic acid soak. It will help remove surface phosphate soaked into the rock.
I like to use 2 cups of acid to 5 gallons of water. Don't use any stronger or it can dissolve the rock completely. Plus I would only do this on larger pieces of rock.
Wait until the bubbling has stropped and dump the water and rinse good.
I like to let it air dry for a day.

Don't pull the rock from the bleach bath and do the acid bath. The possibility of toxic gas is pretty high.
Plus don't do either of these soaks inside. Do it outside. Use eye protection and rubber gloves and stay upwind of the fumes.

I've done this method of cleaning rock several times over the years and it's what has worked best for me.

 

[windwaterwaves]

Good tips, I used to have a tank maintenance guy and a bleach tank before i moved everything to reef. He used to bleach and dechlorinate in one afternoon, fish were fine, even had an anenome. I can get that done using my mix barrels.

Now the bigger question is.. my sand from the old tank... I guess I will just put it in buckets for a few years..

Is there anything that will re-hatch/seed? Anemones on the dry rock I have had out for a year, or will any of the algae (chaeto) grow? Does that stuff seed?

Thanks!

If you want to clean off aiptasia and other organic matter from rock, then IMO the easiest way to do it is with a bleach bath.
What I do is soak the rock overnight in a combination of 5 gallons of freshwater to 3-4 cups of bleach. If one overnight soak doesn't take everything off, do it a second time.

Then rinse the rock good, and do another overnight soak in a freshwater and a strong dechlorinator solution. I do 5-6 times the recommended strength.
I like to use API Tap Water Conditioner. Can be bought at many stores such as Petsmart. Some will use Prime.

If the rock is older rock, ( been used for several years), consider a muratic acid soak. It will help remove surface phosphate soaked into the rock.
I like to use 2 cups of acid to 5 gallons of water. Don't use any stronger or it can dissolve the rock completely. Plus I would only do this on larger pieces of rock.
Wait until the bubbling has stropped and dump the water and rinse good.
I like to let it air dry for a day.

Don't pull the rock from the bleach bath and do the acid bath. The possibility of toxic gas is pretty high.
Plus don't do either of these soaks inside. Do it outside. Use eye protection and rubber gloves and stay upwind of the fumes.

I've done this method of cleaning rock several times over the years and it's what has worked best for me.

 

[1guydude]

I just re started. Bleach rock but saved some for seed. Idk how bad ur aptasia problem is....anyways. I than vinegar and fw the rock.
Id just get new sand hths.
D

 

[Husker12181]

Not that we get much sun out here. But I had a Briopsis infestation and pulled all my rock out put it all in a Rubbermaid with water and Vinegar let that sit for a day or two then used regular water to rinse in the same Rubbermaid. and then after that I pulled all the rock out and let them sit outside in the sun for a couple weeks almost a month. Back into the Rubbermaid with dirty saltwater,a seed rock, and a pump. After a couple months it was ready to put into my new tank.