How long will the good bacteria last on LR in the dark with no waterchanges?

[NoSchwag]

How long will the good bacteria last on LR in the dark with no waterchanges?

I picked up some LR that has been sitting in a garage with a powerhead for about 4 mo, there is alot of corraline (sp?) on it and even some slime alge.

I started the cooking process by making up a ton of ASW with ro/di, swishing the rock around, and putting it in a BRUTE garbagecan with a heater and 2 powerheads (in the dark)

I'm just curious as to if i'm wasting my time and ro/di membrains by cooking it. Like I said it's been in the dark with no waterchanges for months.

What do you think?

I posted another thread and got alittle help. I'm hoping this new and improved thread title will attract some more people.

[reef_noob]

Not sure if the bacteria will survive that long or not, although I imagine it will. However, From what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) you can add a couple of pieces of fresh lr from the lfs which will seed the old rock while it cooks(although the cooking process may take longer if the old rock is devoid of bacteria)

[ski1297]

I would just clean it very good and you could seed it with live rock you have.

[NoSchwag]

Are there any scientist type people that know what type of bactera it is and it's shelf life?

Spanky?

Okay lets say i buy 20 lb's of fresh live rock to throw in there while cooking. How long will I have to wait untill the bactera colonizes the other rock?

[wharyat]

I'm sure Tom and others will respond with the intricacies.

It should last as long as it has "food" (nitrogen based compunds and polyatomic ions); it is not photoautotrophic, so light is not necessary to its survival.

Give the rock a month or two. If you see declines in ammonia->nitrate levels, then you have enough denitrifying (good) bacteria.

[craigGP]

the bacteria will never disappear from the rock. it is the size of the population that will decrease. think of when you cycle rock. there is bacteria all over the rock. when all the sponges and misc stuff dies from transport, it decays releasing nitrogenous waste. the sheer amount of waste released is more than the existing population of bacteria can eat, so you see a spike in ammonia. once the population of bacteria grows due to the plentiful food source, it consumes all the excess ammonia, hence the drop to zero.

even dry rock has some of the bacteria on it. its everywhere, in the air, dirt, water... again, it is the population size that is useful to us to clean the water, so when you start with a small population, you have to give it food and time to grow large.

you said that there is green slime algae on the rock now? that means that there must have been some source of food (nitrogen) for it to be there. once you start cooking the rock, the algae will die and release the nutrients bound in its tissues. the bacteria will consume this waste and you will dispose of some of the nutrients thru water changes and rinsing the particulate matter from the rocks.

once you get done with the cooking, you will have lesser populations of bacteria because the bacteria consumed most of the waste that was in/on the rock. will it make any difference if you are adding it to an existing tank that has enough LR/LS to keep up with the existing bioload? no. will you want to take stocking slowly if you are starting a new tank so you don't overwhelm the bacteria population with waste all at once and cause a cycle? theoretically, yes. but once introduced to an environment with food for the bacteria (a stocked tank), the populations will bounce back to the normal balance of "mouths to feed vs. available food". it all depends on what the population is when cooking is "done". i'd bet that you will have perfectly healthy rock with plenty of beneficial bacteria when you are done.

you are worrying too much about this. we are letting mother nature do her thing in that bucket. when it is done, you will have clean, attractive, pest free live rock ready to be used in your tank.

[craigGP]

here is a pretty good description of cooking. i got this from RC. i'll link the thread over there at the end if you feel like doing lots of reading. its not as fun of a place to hang out as TRT, but you can find good info. i hope this makes you feel a little more comfortable with the process of cooking.

Originally posted by SeanT
Dave,
Sure thing.
But before I do I just want to say that Bomber instructed me how to do it several months ago and it works great. So it is his process that I am trying to make popular and cause fellow hobbyists a lot less heartache in the long term.
The purpose of "cooking" your rocks is to have tha bacteria consume all (or as much) organic material and PO4 stored on, and in, the rock as possible.

The first step to this is commitment.
You have to be willing to remove your rock from the tank.
It doesn't have to be all at once, but I feel if you are going to do this do it all. In stages if that is easier but make sure that all of it gets done.

The new environment you are creating for your rock is to take it from an algal driven to a bacterial driven system.
In order to this, the rock needs to be in total darkness to retard and eventually kill the algae's on the rock and to give the bacteria time to do the job.

So basically you need tubs to hold the rock.

Equipment needed.
1. Dedication.
2. Tubs to cook rock in. And an equal amount of tubs to hold the rock during waterchanges.
3. A few powerheads.
4. Plenty of buckets.
5. A smug feeling of superiority that you are taking it to "the next level."

Here are the steps, if you have any questions I will try my best to answer them. What I don't know I am sure Bomber can/will instruct.

1. Get into your head and accept the fact you will be making lots of salt water if you aren't lucky enough to have access to filtered NSW.
2. Explain to significant other what is going on so they don't flip out. This process can take up to 2 months. Prepare them in advance so he/she can mark it on the calendar and that they won't nag about it until that date arrives.
3. Setup a tub(s) where the rock is to be cooked. Garages are great for this.
4. Make up enough water to fill tub(s) about halfway and around 5-7 buckets about 60% full.
5. Remove all the rock you want to cook at this stage. (The rock can be removed piece by piece until you are done.) I suggest shutting off the circulation beforehand to minimize dust storms.
6. Take the first piece of rock and dunk it, swish it, very, very well in the first bucket. Then do it again in the 2nd bucket, then the third.
7. Place rock in the tub.
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 to every piece of rock you want to cook at this time. The reason I suggested 5-7 buckets of water will be evident quickly...as the water quickly turnsq brown.
9. Place powerhead(s) in the tub and plug in. Position at least one powerhead so that it agitates the surface of the water pretty well. This is to keep the water oxygenated. You can use an air pump for additional oxygenation if you wish.
9. Cover the tub. Remember, we want total darkness.
10. Empty out buckets, restart circulation on main tank.
11. Wait.
12. During the first couple of weeks it is recommended to do a swishing and dunking of the rocks twice a week.
What this entails is to make up enough water to fill up those buckets and the tub the rock is in.
First, lay out your empty tub(s) and fill buckets the same as before.
Then, uncover tub with the rock in it. Take a rock and swish it in the tub it's in to knock any easy to get off junk.
Then, swish it thru the 3 buckets again, and place in the empty tub..
Repeat for all your rocks.
Then empty the tub that all the rocks were cooking in, take it outside and rinse it out with a hose.
Place tub back where it was, fill with new saltwater, add rocks and powerheads, and cover.
Wait again unti the next water change.
You will be utterly amazed at how much sand, silt, detrius is at the bottom of the tub and every bucket. It is amazing.

How it works:


Some FAQ's.
When re-introducing the rock to my tank, a month or two from now, should I do that in parts to help minimize any cycling effect(s)...if there are any?
I never have. Really after a very short while, the ammonium cycle has been extablished. That's not what you're worry about though, it's the stored phosphates and that you have to wait it out.
When they are producing very little detritus - you'll know - then I would use them all at once.

Would running Carbon filtration and/or a PO4 reducing media help/hurry/hinder the process?
I wouldn't fool with it. You don't want the detritus to sit there long enough to rot, release water soluble P again. You want to take it out while it's still locked up in that bacterial detritus.




I hope this helps you out.
It really is a "miracle" and a low cost one at that.
The only monies spent are for salt and electricity for the powerheads which are nominal. Especially to rid yourself of Bryopsis.
Time and effort is all it akes. And really not that much effort.
I would say that 85% of my exposed rock had Bryopsis (hair algae) covering it.
There isn't a single visible strand on andy rocks in the tubs now.
Remember, the key is patience. Let this process run its course.

And a few last minute tidbits I remembered.
Your coralline will die back, receed etc.
My thoughts on this are GREAT!
Now my rock is more porous for additional pods, mysids, worms etc.
Coralline will grow back.
Throughout this process the sponges, and pods on my rock have not died off.
Everytime I do a waterchange they are there and plentiful.

If you have any questions please ask.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=437342

[Loverotties]

Well that says it all!