how to remove/keep alive LR during breakdown

[james1990]

hey all, Some may know me, most do not. Either way I had some major losses in my family over the past few months and plan on moving pretty soon. Long story short my reef has a nasty case of hair, bubble, red algae's and needs to be broken down.

I need to sell the fish but need to remove the rocks to do so. Once I move the LR the whole tank needs to be taken down that day, so how do I keep it "live" untill I can sell it on here? How can I manually remove the algae from the Rock without killing it?

thanks

 

[thirty6]

Sorry to hear and hope everything works out for you and the family: could you remove the rock and power wash them then place in brute pail with saltwater heaters and power heads
Just a thought as I've never had to do this

Good luck

 

[Chefjpaul]

Google; "cooking" live rock.

Sorry to hear your loss.
Good luck.

 

[james1990]

thanks man, all is well with other positive things =] I would guess power washing them would do the trick but it would also break apart the "aquascape" I made.

i am thinking if I drain the water from the water column into a brute can, I can take a brush to the rocks and rinse them in that but its going to get messy. I may just end up cleaning it and selling it as dead rock..

 

[BioMan]

your best bet is to put the rocks in a seperate container with enough tank water to cover the stones, run the heater and a powerhead, maybe light a few hours a day, change some water every few weeks and toss a polypad in there to suck up any ammonia or nitrates or basically anything undesirable. The price of live rock (sounds like you have a lot) can add up, plus you already know yours may have algae but does not have aptasia.

 

[Reef Lobster]

hey, I am sorry for your loss i hope all is well .

If you need help we can help you out we are on long island as well.

We would also be interested in purchasing the rock too, send us a PM. If you are trying to keep it yourself throw it in a large trash can and keep it dark for months. Everything nasty will die off