# drying my live rock



## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

Heyo

I am about to restart my entire tank, and everything. I am going to sell off all my fish and all my corals as I have too many aiptasia's in my tank at the moment. If I were to dry all my live rock in the sun, will my aiptasia still live? -.- or do I have to nuke them in the microwave or in the oven..


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## talon (May 7, 2009)

Place a rock outside, let them dry. Then brush the rock and re-seed. (My experience)


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

You can also freeze it outside, but it might be too late for that


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

What I am afraid of is that even after drying in the sun, will a spec of aiptasia still pwn my future tank? or should I just sell it.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

If it freezes, I'm fairly certain it will die.


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

The problem is, its not winter T_T. I mean, I could torch it but not sure if it will melt or smth ;_;


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## g0rally (Mar 1, 2011)

I am trying to do the same thing too. I have left my tank running without refilling fresh water. I am sure the salinity has killed the aiptasia. Now my tank is half filled with water (salt), should I dump all the water or I could still use those water...they are kind of stinky tho.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

After you dry it in the sun, put it back in the tank and add hot tap water over it. The chlorinated hot fresh water will nuke whatever may have survived in the sun


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

ozi said:


> After you dry it in the sun, put it back in the tank and add hot tap water over it. The chlorinated hot fresh water will nuke whatever may have survived in the sun


=( My water is not chlorinated..I have central filtration T.T


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## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

probably shouldn't treat it to chlorine as the rock could absorb some of that and cause you problems later on..


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

What about vinegar?


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## marblerye (Jul 25, 2010)

whoops meant to write some more; why not get a copperband butterfly fish and let him take them out? they love those things! unless you've got an anemone in the tank b/c they love those things too.. 

vinegar is a very strong acid; same concept would apply. 

i found that aiptasia are VERY tough to kill by leaving them in a liquid for a long period of time. First I tried killing the rock by leaving it in saltwater in a pale in the dark with no circulation or heat for a month but it killed everything else in the rock except the aiptasia. I then tried RO/DI freshwater for a month and those little [email protected]$#*s SURVIVED! i wouldn't have gone as far as tap water (chlorine) or vinegar/bleach because that would render the rock useless after it absorbed some of it.. 

if you can get berghia nudibranch they work wonders! get 3+ and they will breed in your tank while consuming the aiptasia. you can then sell them! what i ended up doing was setting up a quarantine tank for a copperband and slowly transferred live rock to it so he could eat. while moving the rock always keeping it submersed to prevent any die-off of course..


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## talon (May 7, 2009)

I did before, let the rock dry couple day, then put in RoDi water, brush out all dead stuff(it will smelly), water change couple time. Re-seed again. They never appear in my tank again.


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

Ahh, okay, i heard that high concentrations of calc kills aiptasia so i dumped a lot of old seachem calcium into the bucket i had, and the rock turned black and smelled like dead bodies =X......almost puked


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Flazky said:


> The problem is, its not winter T_T. I mean, I could torch it but not sure if it will melt or smth ;_;


Do you have a freezer? 

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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*live rock*

how about using a tin foil turkey pan and turn t he oven on and cook the rock i know i have done this to get rid of snails in my freshwater gravel , how about here would the live rock crack or break i mean anything would pretty much die in extreme heat 
cheers 
tom


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

My experience, I inject them with vinegar or limejuice(about 1mm or 2mm) and works for me. You must inject into the mouth of it and it works.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Flazky said:


> Ahh, okay, i heard that high concentrations of calc kills aiptasia so i dumped a lot of old seachem calcium into the bucket i had, and the rock turned black and smelled like dead bodies =X......almost puked


Yeah....they're probably dead.

Now cook the hell out of that rock - get out all the phosphates before returning it to your tank.


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## thingy (Dec 28, 2010)

How about soaking the rocks in hydrogen peroxide that should kill just about anything and will dilute with rinsing..

Thingy


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## mr_brixs (Jun 18, 2009)

dude why u sacrificing your precious creatures.. you dont have to sell them just because you have aptesia.. buy aptesia X it will kill them and not horm your live stock.. i know people say it will come back but you have to work on it till there is no more trace... its not going to go away in one shot you know what i mean... beside im having fun killing them lol but now i havent seen one in my tank...


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

I would like to keep my creatures but honestly, i have tried joes juice and then aiptasia x. They do not work for whiping them out permanantely or atleast in my case. They just come back bigger and in harder to reach places. Like right beside my corals.


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## mr_brixs (Jun 18, 2009)

i hear yah.. every tanks has different story


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## talon (May 7, 2009)

Don't made a simple thing be complicacy. Just dry out live rock and re-seed.
Water change a couple time before put back in DT.


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