Nuking Liverocks

[cci[RR]us]

Hi there!

When I first started my marine tank, I was impatient. I simply got LRs all over the place (from LFS and bros) and dump them into my tank without ensuring that the LRs are healthy.

Now, my tank is infested with fireworms (or bristleworms?) and algae. They are quite disgusting. I would like to redo my tank and "nuke" my LRs (and perhaps even my sandbed) to get rid of the worms and "bad" algae before putting them back into my new tank.

1. Can I boil the LRs in hot water and "cure" them later?

2. Are there any medication for this purpose?

Thank you for your inputs!

[dreamzcape]

bro i think boiling the liverocks kinda defeats the purpose of them being live in the first place.

i think just by cooking the rocks should get rid of stuff.

cooking doesn't mean boiling but putting them into a container and keeping the rocks in a totally dark place so the algae won't photosynthesize and the worms should all crawl out also.

Curing in hyposalinity i think will get the worms out

[cdckjn]

I think what he meant is soaking in fresh water for a certain length of time, how long, I think one day??? I am no expert in this area, just my 2-cents worth.

[mUAr_cHEe]

so what if u kill everythiing? so what if it becomes dead rocks.....

no one forced you to buy Live Rocks in the first place....

we buy LRs, becuz we wants the good bacteria.... but the good always comes with the bad... its a natural balance....

personally,

ran my tank.... instead of a reef... i come home everyday to a forest.... damn fed up....

then i made the decision of my life..... decided to marry my girlfriend....

waitamin.... wrong story.... oh!! the tank.... decided to get rid of my forest once and for all!!!!

i soaked my LRs in fresh water once.... soaked it in fresh water for a week. yes. you guys read it right. A WHOLE WEEK. 7 DAYS.

I do not care with everything dead. its either that, or i will get a planted tank. a heavily planted tank.

even still... the algae came back.... the bristleworms come back......

maybe i should bring nuking to another level...

*picks up phone*

*speed-dial 7*

"May i speak to Kim Jong II, pls??"

"Yo! kim buddy, WAZZZZZZZUUUPPPpppp...."

"You were telling me the other day, u got some nukes to get rid???

[cci[RR]us]

so what if u kill everythiing? so what if it becomes dead rocks.....

no one forced you to buy Live Rocks in the first place....

we buy LRs, becuz we wants the good bacteria.... but the good always comes with the bad... its a natural balance....

I think I haven't made myself clear. Ok I shall elaborate further:

By boiling the LRs, will the LRs become "irreversibly dead"? Or will they bounce back to their prior glory? I read somewhere that one can store LRs in the absence of water (dry!), causing all the good and bad stuff to "die"; however they will come back to life eventually, (i.e. over some time) when they are placed back into the tank.

That may be the reason for which we "cure" LRs after we give them the dry or freshwater treatment. Coz after those treatment, the good and bad stuff die yet they are able to revitalize after which.

But does the same applies to the boiling of the LRs? Wouldn't the freshwater treatment kill the same stuff the boiling treatment does? And, will the LRs come back to "life" after I put the boiled LRs back into the marine tank? Wouldn't the good stuff like beneficial bacteria re-populate the LRs that have been void of everything?

To be honest, I don't mind having dead LRs. My main concern is with worm infestation. I wouldn't mind having LRs not for filtration. Mine's a anemone tank and having a good rock work would certainly please my anemones. I also have a deep sandbed, a reasonable skimmer, and a few contributors of biological waste; LRs would primarily serve as decorations as well as to house my anemones rather than for filtration. You note that my case is different from your opinion that "we buy liverocks for the good bacteria".

So, in my case, it would be preferable to have revitalized LRs that can help out in the filtration process. However, this is not mission-critical.

[cci[RR]us]

I think what he meant is soaking in fresh water for a certain length of time, how long, I think one day???

I didn't contemplate the "freshwater" or "hyposalinity" treatments because I believe they might take a significantly longer time to achieve the desired results. I would prefer to exterminate the nasties asap. Thus, the "boiling" treatment came to my mind.

I am afraid that my worms are commando-worms such that they can withstand the freshwater / hyposalinity treatments, and haunt me later when I put my supposedly-cured LRs back into my tank.

[yellowfin tuna]

hi,,

no expert in this field,,, the last time when my LR went haywire..... some advice was given to me,,,, take the live rocks out and scrub them clean and put them out in the sun,,, dry them up big time,,, they will be dead rocks by then,,,,

then put back into tank to slowly cultivate the bacteria and stuff again.... not easy...

so chose the second option,,, throw all the LR away and buy better quality LR.... bought mine from one of the LFS ,,,, veri nice but a bit ex..... if you want ,,, pm me and i can let you know the place but their price cant be neg..

[Kelmen]

fire worms are being regards as good cleaner critters for reef tank.

Maybe you really pissed off by their "ugliness", else they are great value to your tank.

Especially if you running a DSB.

For algae control, you may look into herbivor approach.

HTH

[wil_lee76]

imo, killing / cooking liverocks will get rid of all unwanted pests...and make ur rocks look ugly!! but at least, you will feel peace without the harm of bristle worms...mantis...piston shirmp...etc etc.....

i nuke all my rocks after trying to catch a mantis....(which i suspected) but in the end, piston shirmp is the culprit...break my back....dirtied the floor...wife nag nag nag......damnz shagged...hungry....and fed up!!! later do my scaping....realised it damnz hungry (cos w/o red red thing)

anywaz, after runnning for few months....red red come back liao....more nature liao....but guess wat.... the worms still backz.....

so, in summaRY....do it only when u veri veri veri free hor.......

[cci[RR]us]

anywaz, after runnning for few months....red red come back liao....more nature liao....but guess wat.... the worms still backz.....

Maybe... maybe the worms come back because their "babies" are not killed by the nuking process? Could their eggs have endured the nuke and bounce back when they went back into the tank?

That is why I wanna boil the fookers. I strongly believe that all the worms and their eggs would perish inside 100 degrees Celcius water.

[wil_lee76]

us,Oct 12 2005, 04:23 PM]

Maybe... maybe the worms come back because their "babies" are not killed by the nuking process? Could their eggs have endured the nuke and bounce back when they went back into the tank?

That is why I wanna boil the fookers. I strongly believe that all the worms and their eggs would perish inside 100 degrees Celcius water.

bro, i boil my rocks too....

anwyayz, it depends on diff reefers lah...like my friend, he just dump everything inside his tank...he choose rocks with coraline alage with hitchhikers in it. Cause he feels, it worth the $$..so as i said, diff pple have diff idea. I really "bo wei gong"

theres one time, when i nuke a batch of rocks from my friend ...guess what i found? please see pics....this will scared u off pal!

[cci[RR]us]

Wah lan eh... your worm is DAMN BIG LAH~!!!!

My worm is thin but super long, yours is damn thick! I wonder how you "feed" your worm until like this.

I shall post my worm tonight. Heh

[wil_lee76]

us,Oct 12 2005, 04:56 PM] Wah lan eh... your worm is DAMN BIG LAH~!!!!

My worm is thin but super long, yours is damn thick! I wonder how you "feed" your worm until like this.

I shall post my worm tonight. Heh

i think im the champ for SRC for the largest bristleworm!

[flying carpet]

Just a suggestion. Why not put your LR in a container then pour a whole bottle of copper remedy. I think wil destroy every damn pest. After you are confident that everything is gone then run lots of carbon to get rid of the copper. And there you go infestation free rocks.

Just a suggestion I never try it before just that out of the blue this thought pop out.

[cci[RR]us]

I have attached the picture of my worm. It is around 8 inches long Also, it is purple blooded.

[cci[RR]us]

Why not put your LR in a container then pour a whole bottle of copper remedy.

Why not? Erm... coz I don't have such a bottle of medication but I do have a pot and a stove.

[wil_lee76]

us,Oct 12 2005, 10:03 PM]

Why not? Erm... coz I don't have such a bottle of medication but I do have a pot and a stove.

need pot , stove meh? just uses your water heater and that does the job!

[cci[RR]us]

need pot , stove meh? just uses your water heater and that does the job!

Water heater's water is not hot enough! I don't wanna do a "half-f**k" job and regret later . What if the heater water is not hot enough to kill them? Sian 1/2.

[dreamzcape]

wooohooo....biggie worm!

[wil_lee76]

us,Oct 12 2005, 11:16 PM]

Water heater's water is not hot enough! I don't wanna do a "half-f**k" job and regret later . What if the heater water is not hot enough to kill them? Sian 1/2.

i uses that , and it working fine...of coz, you must soak...i KS, i nuke them 3 times with 1/2 hr soaking. U will see the results.. More KS, bring your rock and tan under the sun! Confirm guarantee all "mati"

[cci[RR]us]

Steady. Will do. Thanks for the info.

You know, I used to nuke my planted tank stuff with Hydrogen Peroxide, an oxidising agent (like bleach), to clear the disgusting black brush algae. Maybe I could add H2O2 in as well... Heh.

[Little_Fish]

Erm bro... what ever u do... DOnt add H2O2... tried it. Just say the liverocks turned out wrong...

Got some foul smell come out...

Had to throw the rock away.

[louis]

u can try this,take yr LR n put it into another tank or a pail then u use 2 water pump filter to let the water pump at the LR n also use a heater too.

let it pump 4 aronud 1 week,this is to cure yr LR but dont know it will help u anot ba u can try it.....btw i didnt try it b4 keke

GD LUCK TO U.....sorry if i said anything wrong.....

[bluezing]

WAT THE.....

maybe can feed those worms to arowanas?