cleaning ROCK!

[ericosuave]

My tank went beyond any other algae bloom known to mankind.. so i broke it all down and started all over.. i was wondering how to clean off the rocks? do i scrub them under freshwater then put them back in saltwater to cure? if so how many days do they have to cure for before i put them back into the viewing tank?

also, some of the algae will not scrub off in tiny little cracks.. will all that die of as i am letting them cure in a bucket of saltwater?

TIA

[schoeplein]

I'm curious what kind of "algae breakout" you're referring to. If it was red cyano - there are much easier methods to repair, reduce and prevent this from happening again....

Otherwise cleaning your rock in said manner was fairly a large waste of time. Fortunately you have alternate means of re-curing your rock as it would cause a multitude of mini-cycles and spikes in water stats. Let them sit in the buckets with a PH for a couple weeks and see if you can clear out the suspect algae over time.

[ericosuave]

the algae that was taking over was the Caulerpa taxifolia.. if i let my rocks sit in a bucket for a couple weeks in HIGH salted saltwater.. should that kill it all? because it was on all of my rocks in my tank.. i have no idea where or how it came.

[schoeplein]

Oh, caulerpa went sexual on you! Ouch! Sorry to hear that! Soak them in freshwater for a couple days first. Heck, you might even want to leave them in open air and out of light to make extra sure.

[Hara]

actually, if the live rock is dead, it is best to put the rock out in the hot sun for a couple of weeks. Then take a bristle brush and brush it thoroughly before putting it back into water. I have heard tales of caulerpa living through things that should have killed anything. If you truly want it gone, dry out the rock.

Wait, I have light green fine algae about 1/8 - 1/2 inch long. I thought it was OK to leave them in there to give this natural look. What's will all these scrubbing? Should I do that too to my live rocks? What's the downside of these algae thriving in the tank? Are there any marine creatures that can rid of that without going through the scrubbing and the freshwater treatment?

[Hara]

yours sounds almost like hair algae from the description. It can become quite a nuisance algae. In your instance, you can probably get it under control by reducing feeding amounts, more water changes, less lighting time and manually plucking out
what you do see as often as possible. With the fish you have, most clean up creatures like snails and crabs would become snack food.

[Mrbill]

I had a massive hair algae outbreak a few months back. I ended up taking out all my LR and scrubbing it in 5 gallon buckets full of SW with a NEW toilet scrubber. Worked great and I haven't had a problem since. (knock on wood)

Sorry about the late reply but I haven't been here in a while...

During my water change, I syphoned about 2.5G of SW tank water into my 5G bucket. Then I individually rinsed my LR in that bucket, gently rubbing it with my fingers and my palm. No cuts, thank goodness.

I had another bucket so I was placing cleaned LR in there. I also cleaned whatever artificial plants. I cleaned all sides of my tank with the magnet thingie (even the back). Red and green algae all over the place, it was filthy.

Then I syphoned 2.5 more gallons of water, syphoning from the sand bottom. More algae rushing into the bucket. Then I added the contents of my other 5G bucket with water and Instant Ocean marinating the day before with a powerhead in it. Then the rocks back with a new arrangement.

I am currently marinating another 5G bucket of Instant Ocean/Water and will be replacing 5G more tonight.

What a nuisance those algae. I rid my tank of as much algae as I can, including the light canopy. Wow, I almost forgot how bright and beautiful my tank was. It was like this green-lighted tank before, very ugly.

Thanks for all your advice!