Does live rock ever go bad?

[RWD]

Well does it? Over time it seems that live rock eventually gets clogged with detritus. Small piles of it sometimes appear on or next to the live rock. Using a turkey baster or powerhead will clear the stuff on the surface but is there anything else that can be done to clean the rock? If it is not cleaned, will the rock go bad and cause algae problems?

I have seen Jerel and others soak live rock in an unlit container with a powerhead and heater and it's amazing how much crap comes out of the rock! Is there some sort of time table that we should all be following to rejuvenate the rock?

[mad_coder]

holes increase until you have no more rock. then it's bad.
good question for spanky, though, since he replaced his.

[Spanky]

Actually, I cleaned the old rock and it's in a holding tank ready for a certain persons brand new show tank.

Great question Bob! and yes, it can become clogged with detritus and particulate material until it's no longer able to shed - and it will go bad.

[RWD]

I have some live rock that is approaching 10 years in my tank and has never been pulled out and soaked. Do you think it would be worth it to soak it or would it be a waste of time? I'm planning a major overhaul next year when the weather is nice and plan on setting up a kiddie pool outside for the rock and corals while I work on the tank. I might (????) pull out the dsb at that time and go BB.

[Spanky]

You can clean those rocks. Do them like you saw the setup in the greenhouse. The important thing to remember is that detritus contains phosphates and you want to keep that level as low as you can when you're cleaning them.
So get it out of the rocks and keep it out of the tub while you're doing it.

[RWD]

OK will do. I'm in the planning stages of the tank overhaul and I'm trying to sort this all out. Thanks Jerel.

[Spanky]

Here's the drill.

dunk, swish, drain, dunk, drain - until you've about had it.

Put in new water. Let sit until you see detritus building up.

dunk, swish, drain, dunk, drain - until you've about had it.

Put in new water. Let sit until you see detritus building up.

repeat until you see very little detritus coming out of the rocks after they sit for a few weeks.

(sounds like a old slam dance step)