Worried about live rock in start up tank

[peachyman]

I purchased about 40lbs of live rock to be used in a 75 start up tank. I didn't want his old hitch hikers so I power washed the rock and then baked it in the oven at 300 for an hour. The rock is still pretty stinky. Would it be a mistake to add it to the tank? Should I clean it further with peroxide or something.... suggestions

 

[Bruttall]

Sounds to me like you turned your live rock, into dead rock. The heat would most likely have killed off any beneficial bacteria or anything thing else that would have been on that rock.

Live Rock means the rock is ALIVE with Micro-organisms, bacteria, copepods, amphipod's etc that provide biodiversity to your tank, a good Reef Dip is all that is usually required to eliminate hitch hikers, I prefer SEACHEM REEF DIP because it has Iodine in it as well.

 

[littlefishy]

I'd use dry white Pukani before live rock that's been killed. It will be releasing ammonia and possibly phosphates for a long time due to dead organics in it.
Maybe that could help cycle the tank, though?
I used Pukani to scape and added an equal amount of KP live rock shipped in wet paper and had pretty much no "ugly phase", and a few days cycle.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Why would you do that? You paid extra for "live" rock then you killed it!

If the rock now stinks, then they should be bleached. Its full of cooked worms and crustaceans inside. Put them in a bucket of tap water and bleach with a powerhead for a few days, this will remove everything from your rock, then you will have perfectly white dead rock with no hitchhikers and no smell (but you could have bought white dead rock for half the cost)

 

[Dburr1014]

I purchased about 40lbs of live rock to be used in a 75 start up tank. I didn't want his old hitch hikers so I power washed the rock and then baked it in the oven at 300 for an hour. The rock is still pretty stinky. Would it be a mistake to add it to the tank? Should I clean it further with peroxide or something.... suggestions

Please do not do that again!

If that live rock had palys on it, baking it could have arerosoled the toxins and you would have been in the morgue instead of writing this post. Yes, it's that serious.

The rock could have broke open from the steam. Being in the oven, you would have been safe but maybe not your oven.

 

[Reefering1]

And fwiw, nothing from the ocean smells good...

 

[aSaltyKlown]

What hitch hikers were there that you were worried about?

 

[peachyman]

Why would you do that? You paid extra for "live" rock then you killed it!

If the rock now stinks, then they should be bleached. Its full of cooked worms and crustaceans inside. Put them in a bucket of tap water and bleach with a powerhead for a few days, this will remove everything from your rock, then you will have perfectly white dead rock with no hitchhikers and no smell (but you could have bought white dead rock for half the cost)

I paid 40$ for 50lbs from a tank that crashed pretty cheap imo

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I paid 40$ for 50lbs from a tank that crashed pretty cheap imo

oh thats pretty good, LFS prices is about $8-$10 for live rock. I didn't know you got it from someone else's tank, and frankly you did the right thing, you just did it the wrong way.

I would never put a rock from someone else's tank into mine. I did it once and paid dearly and will never do that again. But as mentioned, putting rock in the oven can be dangerous, there are better ways. Citric acid and bleaching are the 2 most common and safest I think.

Right now the rock is full of cooked seafood inside so bleach or acid will 'melt' that out.

 

[Bruttall]

And fwiw, nothing from the ocean smells good...

I must be weird, I like the smell of Nori.

 

[Reefering1]

I must be weird, I like the smell of Nori.

So do I, when it's fresh anyways, didn't think of that