live rock help.....

tom g · 10/02/2013, 06:16 PM

hey there I purchased some live rock from a fellow reefer last nite ....he had the stuff in a brute container running air pump and return pump so flow was in there .
his tank broke so this is the remnents of what he is wanting to get rid of .it was late had some great shapes and coralline algae on it .when I came home I used revive to clean the rocks ,but did notice that there was plenty of green algae on the rocks .my question is how do I clean this before I put in my new tank set up .
im not worried about the rock not being live as I have plenty of live rock from my current set up.do I wash with bleach or just scrub more im assuming if I bleach I will kill the coralline algae .should I be concerned ,im not interested in having a green hair algae breakout in my new tank .can anyone give me some advice on what my next step should be .
much appreciated
tom

oscarinw · 10/02/2013, 09:59 PM

If you bleach the rock, you will be effectively killing any life that's still on the rock. Which could be good or could be bad. If all you need/want is more rock, then I'd say bleach it. That way you guarantee you are not introducing anything else in your system. Make sure you give it a lot of water to rinse and a lot of time after the bleaching.
If you don't mind taking the risk of the new rock or if you know for a fact the seller did not have any pest, then just use a brush and scrub the algae away and rinse the rock in saltwater.
Good luck with things

tom g · 10/03/2013, 06:26 AM

Thank u....do u think the green algae will conti nue to my tank
If I scrub rock and rinse well...
The rocks have been in revive and ro water for a few days now.
Thanks

oscarinw · 10/03/2013, 06:43 AM

It is hard to answer. Many times, the algae food comes packed within the rock. Other times we provide the nutrients via lighting and feeding.
I would say in your case you should try scrubbing first and then if it persist, try a different method.
Remember that your best ally in the fight against algae is consistent and conscious maintenance.
Good luck with things!

tom g · 10/03/2013, 07:43 PM

ok thanks for all the help , I came home from work today took out the wire brush and continued to scrub the green algae .not much luck it went away but was still there in the greenish hue. I even pulled out the potable torch and tried to burn the green algae off more soaking in water . was not happy so I decided to bleach the rocks the results were not what I wanted but I am happy to go ahead now with out worrying that the green hair algae will infest my tank .
the bleach did take away the purple coraline algae .right now I have had the stones running in water to flush , soaking in ro water with heavy dose of prime .
hopefully this is ok and wont cause me problems down the road now I am just waiting for the rocks to soak and make sure the bleach is rinsed out
any tips I should do before adding to tank , and how long should I soak rocks .
thanks again
tom

oscarinw · 10/03/2013, 10:34 PM

Soak them in bleachless water for two days and let them air dry for another 4 days. You will need to cure/cycle those guys.
Good luck

10/02/2013, 06:16 PM	#1
tom g Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: toronto Posts: 218	live rock help..... hey there I purchased some live rock from a fellow reefer last nite ....he had the stuff in a brute container running air pump and return pump so flow was in there . his tank broke so this is the remnents of what he is wanting to get rid of .it was late had some great shapes and coralline algae on it .when I came home I used revive to clean the rocks ,but did notice that there was plenty of green algae on the rocks .my question is how do I clean this before I put in my new tank set up . im not worried about the rock not being live as I have plenty of live rock from my current set up.do I wash with bleach or just scrub more im assuming if I bleach I will kill the coralline algae .should I be concerned ,im not interested in having a green hair algae breakout in my new tank .can anyone give me some advice on what my next step should be . much appreciated tom

10/03/2013, 06:26 AM	#3
tom g Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: toronto Posts: 218	live rock Thank u....do u think the green algae will conti nue to my tank If I scrub rock and rinse well... The rocks have been in revive and ro water for a few days now. Thanks

10/03/2013, 07:43 PM	#5
tom g Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: toronto Posts: 218	update .... ok thanks for all the help , I came home from work today took out the wire brush and continued to scrub the green algae .not much luck it went away but was still there in the greenish hue. I even pulled out the potable torch and tried to burn the green algae off more soaking in water . was not happy so I decided to bleach the rocks the results were not what I wanted but I am happy to go ahead now with out worrying that the green hair algae will infest my tank . the bleach did take away the purple coraline algae .right now I have had the stones running in water to flush , soaking in ro water with heavy dose of prime . hopefully this is ok and wont cause me problems down the road now I am just waiting for the rocks to soak and make sure the bleach is rinsed out any tips I should do before adding to tank , and how long should I soak rocks . thanks again tom

10/02/2013, 09:59 PM	#2
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	If you bleach the rock, you will be effectively killing any life that's still on the rock. Which could be good or could be bad. If all you need/want is more rock, then I'd say bleach it. That way you guarantee you are not introducing anything else in your system. Make sure you give it a lot of water to rinse and a lot of time after the bleaching. If you don't mind taking the risk of the new rock or if you know for a fact the seller did not have any pest, then just use a brush and scrub the algae away and rinse the rock in saltwater. Good luck with things

10/03/2013, 06:43 AM	#4
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	It is hard to answer. Many times, the algae food comes packed within the rock. Other times we provide the nutrients via lighting and feeding. I would say in your case you should try scrubbing first and then if it persist, try a different method. Remember that your best ally in the fight against algae is consistent and conscious maintenance. Good luck with things!

10/03/2013, 10:34 PM	#6
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	Soak them in bleachless water for two days and let them air dry for another 4 days. You will need to cure/cycle those guys. Good luck