Can I save my liverock?

bourganaes · 09-09-2005, 11:35 AM

Ok so I am home from my Katrina evac, My tank smelled awful and everything was quite dead. I have cleaned out all my dead coral (my poor babies) all my live sand (which turned black) and I took all my liverock outside where I scrubbed it down. My question is can I recure it? Can I reseed it with the proper organisms? I have put it in a 55 gallon drum with saltwater and a small air pump- what should I do from here? There is about 75 lbs. of rock and I currently don't have the money to replace it all- am I wasting my time or can this de done?

Warnberg · 09-09-2005, 11:50 AM

Even rock that has been completly dryed can become live once again. What I would do is this, keep the rock in the 55 gallon drum, aireate it well and provide lots of circulation (power head). Keep an eye on it for a few weeks and test the water from time to time, you may even want to change the water after a couple of weeks. Once you are ready to restart your tank, you can use this rock with a few lbs of new rock and sand, this should be enough to kick start the cycle of life once again.

I started my tank with 120 lbs of base rock and about 75 lbs of live rock from an established tank. It took all of 2 weeks for the cycle to complete and the base rock after 3 months started coming to life.

JMO

Good luck

Witfull · 09-09-2005, 12:30 PM

your rock will be fine, being in totaly fouled water the inner core of anaerobic bacteria is sure to be alive with all the fuel for biologic processes going on. let it cure for a week as Warnberg said, test the water for ammo and trites. once they are zero,,,your good to go. the coraline should comeback too.

Warnberg · 09-09-2005, 01:11 PM

bourganaes, I admire your sticktoitness..... good luck with your tank restart and hope you didn't loose anything else in this disaster....

gussy · 09-09-2005, 02:14 PM

I would do a weekly partial water change on the rock and put a skimmer in the drum if you have one available. Just makes it faster.

bourganaes · 09-09-2005, 03:53 PM

Thanks everyone- I'm going to hook up a powerhead and skimmer asap- will lighting or lack of it affect the curing process?

Witfull · 09-09-2005, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bourganaes

Thanks everyone- I'm going to hook up a powerhead and skimmer asap- will lighting or lack of it affect the curing process?

it wont effect the curing, but some light will help coraline rebound.

cheeks69 · 09-09-2005, 06:54 PM

The LR will be fine AFA bacteria is concerned but I'm sure the Fauna was probably wiped out since there was no oxygen and a large ammonia spike, but you can reseed it with new LR.

09-09-2005, 11:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
bourganaes Midas Blenny Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 112 View Gallery Karma Komment	Can I save my liverock? Ok so I am home from my Katrina evac, My tank smelled awful and everything was quite dead. I have cleaned out all my dead coral (my poor babies) all my live sand (which turned black) and I took all my liverock outside where I scrubbed it down. My question is can I recure it? Can I reseed it with the proper organisms? I have put it in a 55 gallon drum with saltwater and a small air pump- what should I do from here? There is about 75 lbs. of rock and I currently don't have the money to replace it all- am I wasting my time or can this de done?

09-09-2005, 11:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Warnberg Acropora Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 1,911 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Can I save my liverock? Even rock that has been completly dryed can become live once again. What I would do is this, keep the rock in the 55 gallon drum, aireate it well and provide lots of circulation (power head). Keep an eye on it for a few weeks and test the water from time to time, you may even want to change the water after a couple of weeks. Once you are ready to restart your tank, you can use this rock with a few lbs of new rock and sand, this should be enough to kick start the cycle of life once again. I started my tank with 120 lbs of base rock and about 75 lbs of live rock from an established tank. It took all of 2 weeks for the cycle to complete and the base rock after 3 months started coming to life. JMO Good luck __________________ Dave 240 Gallon Tall Tencor (96"L x 30"T x 18"W) 4 250 Watt MH XM10K bulbs 2-54 Watt T5 Actinic Euro-Reef CS8-2-RC Jetstream 1 Calcium Reactor 4 Tunze Turbelle stream 6000 power heads 7095 Tunze controller

09-09-2005, 01:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
Warnberg Acropora Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 1,911 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Can I save my liverock? bourganaes, I admire your sticktoitness..... good luck with your tank restart and hope you didn't loose anything else in this disaster.... __________________ Dave 240 Gallon Tall Tencor (96"L x 30"T x 18"W) 4 250 Watt MH XM10K bulbs 2-54 Watt T5 Actinic Euro-Reef CS8-2-RC Jetstream 1 Calcium Reactor 4 Tunze Turbelle stream 6000 power heads 7095 Tunze controller

09-09-2005, 02:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
gussy Torch coral Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 579 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Can I save my liverock? I would do a weekly partial water change on the rock and put a skimmer in the drum if you have one available. Just makes it faster.

09-09-2005, 03:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
bourganaes Midas Blenny Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 112 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Can I save my liverock? Thanks everyone- I'm going to hook up a powerhead and skimmer asap- will lighting or lack of it affect the curing process?

09-09-2005, 06:54 PM	#8 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 7,386 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Can I save my liverock? The LR will be fine AFA bacteria is concerned but I'm sure the Fauna was probably wiped out since there was no oxygen and a large ammonia spike, but you can reseed it with new LR. __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

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