Pressure Washing Liverock?

Patow · 08/26/2008, 05:33 PM

I'm about to start cooking about 150lbs of liverock for my new tank. This rock came out of my old tank where I had algae and aptasia problems.

I'm wondering if anyone has used a pressure washer to try to get a lot of the junk out of the rocks?

Suggestions for/against using a pressure washer?

HappySkittles · 08/26/2008, 06:24 PM

i dont see why it would be a bad thing
probably best to try and get as much off as possible before cooking since it seems like you wanna start fresh with it

gotbags-10 · 08/26/2008, 06:32 PM

i would say you could but more than anything i would have a lot of flow in the tubs you plan on cooking the rock in. That and shaking the rock every couple of days will get everything off.

Patow · 08/26/2008, 06:45 PM

Cool, thanks for the replies.

Definitely want to get ask much as possible off the rocks for a fresh start. Have a 50 gal Brute container with two Koralia 4's in it for flow. That's where I'll be cooking it. Will do water changes bi-weekly, and dip/shake the rocks each time in buckets.

Playa-1 · 08/26/2008, 06:47 PM

The only draw backs the come to mind are the fresh water hipressure wash will likely kill any beneficial life on the rock and it likely will not effectively deal with the aptasia.
The second thing that comes to mind is the liverock is usually very brittle and unless your careful you will be disintegrating some rock.
The third thing that comes to mind is the pressure wash would need to be free of soap or chemicals. So a local car wash is out because those lines are rarely able to purge the chemicals out of the line properly. It would need to be your own equipment.

If it were my rock I would consider adding a bleach bath somewhere in the process or I would likely just throw it out and get some new rock if it was previously infested with aptasia. it would just depend on how bad it was infested previously and how much I like the rock.

robot2222 · 08/26/2008, 07:20 PM

what is aptasia.

ju66alo6 · 08/26/2008, 07:31 PM

AKA: Glass anemone

SALT WATER CRAZ · 08/26/2008, 07:36 PM

I rinsed all my live rock off with a hose when I flipped tanks.

Patow · 08/26/2008, 08:03 PM

I just pressure washed all the rock (my own pressure washer that has never run any soap or chemicals). Lots of crap came out, but no damage, or disintegration.

I then rinsed and scrubbed the rock in 3 separate salt water bins, before I put it in the Brute container to cook it.

I put 2 powerheads in the Brute, set the temp to 75 degrees (approx), salinity of 1.021, and sealed it up.

Will do a water change in 2 weeks, and rinse and scrub the rock in salt water baths again. Will repeat bi-weekly.

Hopefully in 6-8 weeks (maybe longer), I should have some clean rocks to start out with.

The aptasia wasn't unmanageable, just an annoying pest that I don't want to deal with. Before I tore my last tank down, I only had 2-3 visible in the tank. My peppermint shrimp cleaned up most of them.

Again, thanks for all the feeback. Greatly appreciated.

08/26/2008, 05:33 PM	#1
Patow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 181	Pressure Washing Liverock? I'm about to start cooking about 150lbs of liverock for my new tank. This rock came out of my old tank where I had algae and aptasia problems. I'm wondering if anyone has used a pressure washer to try to get a lot of the junk out of the rocks? Suggestions for/against using a pressure washer?

08/26/2008, 06:24 PM	#2
HappySkittles Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 401	i dont see why it would be a bad thing probably best to try and get as much off as possible before cooking since it seems like you wanna start fresh with it __________________ RESEARCH! <º)))>< Very important Sexy Blog? Click the red house! Current Tank Info: 3 gallon pico-zoas, gorgonian, mushrooms, nass snails and sexy shrimp

08/26/2008, 06:32 PM	#3
gotbags-10 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Indy Posts: 263	i would say you could but more than anything i would have a lot of flow in the tubs you plan on cooking the rock in. That and shaking the rock every couple of days will get everything off. __________________ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

08/26/2008, 07:20 PM	#6
robot2222 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: phoenix, arizonia Posts: 1,283	what is aptasia. __________________ 14 gallon biocube Current Tank Info: 72 gallon bowfront

08/26/2008, 08:03 PM	#9
Patow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 181	I just pressure washed all the rock (my own pressure washer that has never run any soap or chemicals). Lots of crap came out, but no damage, or disintegration. I then rinsed and scrubbed the rock in 3 separate salt water bins, before I put it in the Brute container to cook it. I put 2 powerheads in the Brute, set the temp to 75 degrees (approx), salinity of 1.021, and sealed it up. Will do a water change in 2 weeks, and rinse and scrub the rock in salt water baths again. Will repeat bi-weekly. Hopefully in 6-8 weeks (maybe longer), I should have some clean rocks to start out with. The aptasia wasn't unmanageable, just an annoying pest that I don't want to deal with. Before I tore my last tank down, I only had 2-3 visible in the tank. My peppermint shrimp cleaned up most of them. Again, thanks for all the feeback. Greatly appreciated. Last edited by Patow; 08/26/2008 at 08:09 PM.

08/26/2008, 06:45 PM	#4
Patow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 181	Cool, thanks for the replies. Definitely want to get ask much as possible off the rocks for a fresh start. Have a 50 gal Brute container with two Koralia 4's in it for flow. That's where I'll be cooking it. Will do water changes bi-weekly, and dip/shake the rocks each time in buckets.

08/26/2008, 06:47 PM	#5
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	The only draw backs the come to mind are the fresh water hipressure wash will likely kill any beneficial life on the rock and it likely will not effectively deal with the aptasia. The second thing that comes to mind is the liverock is usually very brittle and unless your careful you will be disintegrating some rock. The third thing that comes to mind is the pressure wash would need to be free of soap or chemicals. So a local car wash is out because those lines are rarely able to purge the chemicals out of the line properly. It would need to be your own equipment. If it were my rock I would consider adding a bleach bath somewhere in the process or I would likely just throw it out and get some new rock if it was previously infested with aptasia. it would just depend on how bad it was infested previously and how much I like the rock.

08/26/2008, 07:31 PM	#7
ju66alo6 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kennett, MO Posts: 61	AKA: Glass anemone

08/26/2008, 07:36 PM	#8
SALT WATER CRAZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: michigan Posts: 872	I rinsed all my live rock off with a hose when I flipped tanks.