Curing live rock in existing tank

[ccra18]

Hi,

I had a reef tank for almost a year and I recently closed it down. This was my first saltwater tank. I just sold all of my fish, corals and invertebrates and all I have left is my live rock and live sand which I am planning to sell as soon as the rock is ready and clean. I was away for some time and when I came back some of the rocks had hair algae.
My plan is to simply turn off the lights and do some water changes... I am new in the hobby so I was wondering if someone could please tell me or guide me on what would be the best thing to do to clean the rock in order to sell it later on. Unfortunately, I just sold my Ro-Di unit and skimmer about to go.
I have lots of buckets if its easier to transfer them..I just want to make sure all algae dies too but I want to make sure some of the organisms in the rocks remain. Also, what can I do for the sand?

Thank you for all of your help!

Chris

[NjOyRiD]

the goal is to remove nutrients
so try not having lights, and do a lot of water chnages

if doesnt work, use GFO in a reactor to strip phosphates from your water column

[Feivel]

How much Liverock? i had about 100lbs in one bucket with about 15 gallons of water. Put them in a rubbermaid storage container with a descent size (1050+) koralia and heater put the lid on it. change the water out every month.  No light, just heat and flow. it will become white in about 2 months. the idea is that the anerobic bacteria that live in oxygen deprived areas that feeds on the nitrate(No4) wich has 4 molecules of oxygen for every nitrogen. Algae doesnt grow because its photosythetic.

[ccra18]

Thanks for the help!! I think ill place them on buckets and change the water frequently.

Thank you!

[Jimbo]

I've read on another forum that you can clean live rock in a matter of days if you use muriatic acid.

Note 1: I haven't tried this process myself, so I can't guarantee the results or how safe the process is, although I am interested enough to try it in the next few weeks.

Note 2: Muriatic acid is apparently very nasty stuff. You should keep it away from animals and children, use proper protection when handling it (eye wear and acid resistant gloves), and ensure adequate ventilation is available.

For those brave enough to try it, the process is as follows:
1. Place your rock in a large plastic container and add water - take note how much water you add.
2. Add 1 part acid to 10 parts water - it will bubble and foam like crazy initially, you will be removing the outer layer of rock, which is where any PO4 will be bound to the rock.
3. Let the rock sit for a few hours.
4. Add bicarbonate of soda to neutralize the acid - you will need a test kit to check this.
5. Rinse the rock in water.
6. Soak the rock in RO/DI water for a day.
7. Test the rock for PO4 - if you detect much, give it another bath.
8. Once the rock test negative for PO4 you will have clean rock that is ready to be seeded.

Muriatic acid is apparently available in Home Depot, Home hardware, and pool supply stores.

The goal is to remove the outer layer of the rock where the PO4 is bound and disolve organic matter. If you leave your rock in the muriatic acid too long you will disolve it.

As I stated earlier in this post, I haven't done this, and I take no responsibility for your actions should anything go horribly wrong. It is in your interest to perform a quick internet search for acid bath curing, before you embark on any of the steps I outlined above.

[Greatwhite]

I have always preferred to let nature take its course... I am not a fan of chemically speeding up nature.