Can I Just Kill This Rock?

[FlyinggFish]

I have a very cool rock that just won't stop getting hair algae on it. And I'm definately intending on making it part of my aquascape but it won't stop getting hair algae. (I've had it in previous tanks and it had algae) I put it in a bucket for a long time and most of the hair algae was removed but still a little was there after it was in the bucket for a month.

Can I just take it out in the water and put it outside in the sun or something. I really don't care if it's dead I just want the algae to stop growing on it, it's getting a little ridiculous.

What should I do?

[Don-Coraleone]

yeah you can just let it dry out outside and you should be good.

[FlyinggFish]

Okie Dokie.

[aaron1987]

Make sure you boil it before you add it back into the display after drying it out ;)

[FlyinggFish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13672231#post13672231 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aaron1987
Make sure you boil it before you add it back into the display after drying it out ;)

Why boil it? And how would I boil it? Over the stove or fire or something?

[reefing102]

boiling it would mainly be used to get off the dead and/or decaying stuff on the rock - such as dead algae etc...

over the stove would work fine

[aaron1987]

Pressure washing it would probably accomplish the same thing, assuming the piece isn't overly fragile. It'll remove any organics on the rock before it goes back into the tank, you never know what'll crawl inside the rock while it dries outside, either. I do it in a crappy pot on the stove and change the water out a couple times.

[FlyinggFish]

I just took it out of the tank and it's laying in the sun now. How long should I leave it outside?

[sammiefish]

you can boil it in a pot on the stove.... like stone soup...

I have had good luck by bleaching rocks then rinsing multiple times
(overnights in a bucket with fresh water each time)

[FlyinggFish]

Do I leave it outside in the sun for a little while or do I boil it first?

[sammiefish]

I would just boil it for 30 minutes, then rinse very well..maybe with a hose to get all dead stuff off of it.
you dont want that "dead stuff" decaying in the tank.

[FlyinggFish]

Can I boil it over the BBQ, because I highly doubt my mom would let me use the stove?

[jefathome]

You can boil it if you want... another option is to mix about 50% vinegar and 50% tap water. Then soak it for about 3 days.
That will kill any "spores" that are imbeded in the rock and will also help disolve some of the nutrients inside the rock.

[Bri Guy]

I sun dried mine, then soaked them in FW for about a week, changing the water each day.

I think some LR just gets filled with decaying matter and becomes the source of the HA, so if you soak out all the dead stuff It won't become a "problem" rock anymore.

If you just kill it and put it back, it will grow HA all over again.

Good Luck!

[cody6766]

I had this problem in my tank a while back. I pulled the rocks out and baked them at the highest my oven would go on a baking sheet. There was no mess, little to no smell and I had clean rocks. They got a quick scrub with a toothbrush and DI water and went back in the tank. Now they're not a problem.

I tried sun-baking them and the algae just grew back.

[Santoki]

Boiling/baking/sundrying are among the worst methods to get rid of nuisance algae from live rock.
Although you may not care to preserve the beneficial organisms on the rock, there are countless creatures/bacteria that live within the rock. When dead, the corpse on the surface may be blasted or washed off, but the ones that remain on the inside will stay there and become fertilizer for algae once you put it back in your tank. It may not be a problem when placed in tanks which have systems in place to handle the added nutrients, but since your problem seems to be nuisance algae, I doubt you want to be adding more nutrients into your tank.

[pimpinitup6969]

yeah sounds like a bad idea to me too! i had good luck cooking the live rock..... not on the stove or in the oven, but in a bucket with a powerhead and saltwater with NO light doing regular water changes for about a month

[FlyinggFish]

Well I'm boiling the rock right now. And the whole rock is turning green!?!? What in the world does that mean? Is that it's true color or something?

[dkh0331]

I like mine medium rare please.

[FlyinggFish]

LOL. But, is the rock supposed to be turning green?

[HiJacK]

No need to boil or dry just follow instructions here:

http://www.melevsreef.com/gha.html

[huskysglare1]

why not just get a fox face. lt'll eat all the algea

[FlyinggFish]

But why did it turn green???!?