Smelly rocks in sealed buckets 1.5 years

[Darsh]

Hi everyone!
Quick question.
I shut down my tank about 18 months ago. Now I want to set it up again of course
I put my sand and rocks in buckets, filled with tank water, sealed them and put in the basement.
No heaters, no pumps, no nothing.
Sand looks okay, no smell.

Bucket with a few bigger rocks, smells like the sea, not bad.

Last bucket with the most porous rocks and lots of small pieces, stinks! Water is quite cloudy too.

What should I do with these to use them again?
Wash them in tap water? Scrub and put in fresh saltwater?
Any suggestions?
Okay that wasnt so quick
Thanks!

 

[Peace River]

I'm sure that there will be several perspectives. One viewpoint is to not use the sand (get replacement) and soak all of the rock in muratic acid (with utmost care and plenty of personal protection for you while you are doing it).

 

[HomebroodExotics]

I’d bleach the rocks. Just soak in bleach and water and then soak in regular water for a bit. Then stick a hose in the gravel bucket and rinse that out. Bout it.

 

[bushdoc]

If your rock is a genuine, former Live, porous rock from the sea, I would bleach it and reuse. If it’s former dry rock, which was previously in your tank, I would just get new one.

 

[Darsh]

Okay thanks!
The sand isn’t important to be honest, I can get more.
The rock is about 30% real former live rock and the rest I made.
What if I just scrubbed it and use it to start the new cycle? Without bleaching or using acid?

 

[bushdoc]

Okay thanks!
The sand isn’t important to be honest, I can get more.
The rock is about 30% real former live rock and the rest I made.
What if I just scrubbed it and use it to start the new cycle? Without bleaching or using acid?

There is probably a lots of decaying matter and anerobic bacteria, not necessarily the type you want to cycle your tank with. It might work, but do you really want to try? Sometimes it’s better to start from scratch.

 

[Xarro]

Hi everyone!
Quick question.
I shut down my tank about 18 months ago. Now I want to set it up again of course
I put my sand and rocks in buckets, filled with tank water, sealed them and put in the basement.
No heaters, no pumps, no nothing.
Sand looks okay, no smell.
View attachment 2998523

Bucket with a few bigger rocks, smells like the sea, not bad.
View attachment 2998526

Last bucket with the most porous rocks and lots of small pieces, stinks! Water is quite cloudy too.
View attachment 2998529

What should I do with these to use them again?
Wash them in tap water? Scrub and put in fresh saltwater?
Any suggestions?
Okay that wasnt so quick
Thanks!

1.- little scrub with a brush
2.- salt mix in tap water (since you will be discarding this water
3.- cicle for 4-6 weeks.

 

[Waters]

I would completely start over and dump all of that lol. I don't think it is worth the effort to get it back into usable shape.

 

[Xarro]

1.- little scrub with a brush
2.- salt mix in tap water (since you will be discarding this water
3.- cicle for 4-6 weeks.

I just did this with my live rock that was in buckets for 9 years

 

[vsolovyev]

I dont think youll have to large of a problem with the rock if you clean it properly, maybe some algae outbreaks from the dead bacteria, ive used rock that was sitting in a damp plastic bag for 2 years just extra water changes for the first few months fixed the algae outbreaks... as far as the sand i would definitely toss that.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Hi everyone!
Quick question.
I shut down my tank about 18 months ago. Now I want to set it up again of course
I put my sand and rocks in buckets, filled with tank water, sealed them and put in the basement.
No heaters, no pumps, no nothing.
Sand looks okay, no smell.
View attachment 2998523

Bucket with a few bigger rocks, smells like the sea, not bad.
View attachment 2998526

Last bucket with the most porous rocks and lots of small pieces, stinks! Water is quite cloudy too.
View attachment 2998529

What should I do with these to use them again?
Wash them in tap water? Scrub and put in fresh saltwater?
Any suggestions?
Okay that wasnt so quick
Thanks!

You might of just Gain-of-Functioned your LR…

 

[Darsh]

Thanks everyone for your ideas, I want to keep the rocks not dump them.
I’ll see how cleaning them goes and if they look okay they will live again

 

[mfinn]

I'd bleach the stuff you want to save.

 

[Vincerama2]

After you scrub then bleach and rinse them ... it wouldn't hurt to leave them in the sun for a week or two. IMHO, just to make sure any bacteria is dead.