Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I will be scheduling a hair algae fragging and eradication seminar at my house some time next week. We will need guest speakers as well as area experts willing to discuss eradication techniques in an open forum type atmosphere. There will be numerous "hands-on" opportunities for attendees. Free Chlorophyceae of the "hair algae" type to all who attend!


Come one , come all... see the amazing green fields as they rhythmically sway to the tidal motions of my tunze.

It is possible to blow torch underwater right......

Just had to vent a tad..... Thank you, drive through please!

have you seen any of the post on RC about cooking your rock. Now i'm not sure if you wanted to take it all apart to do that but maybe you could do a little at a time. Not sure if it would help though.

I am hoping Peter can save me a trip and sell some at the meeting, i need hermits.

Originally posted by SeanT on Reef Central:


The purpose of "cooking" your rocks is to have the bacteria in our systemsconsume 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.

Fishfood wrote:have you seen any of the post on RC about cooking your rock. Now i'm not sure if you wanted to take it all apart to do that but maybe you could do a little at a time. Not sure if it would help though.

I refuse to add "rocks" to the list of things that I have destroyed in my oven

People already wonder why my house glows all day from the inside.... rumor gets out I am cooking rocks up on the stove and DEA,FBI,DHR and all the other scary acronym's will be staking the joint out for sure.

God Scott that is too much work reading that much less DOING it.

I like the idea to cure hair algae or some other problem, but just dont see that as a good option if you have corals growing on the rock.

This is an interesting concept. I'll keep this one in mind for when I setup my new tank.

As far as corals on the rock... I'll be cutting them off and re-attaching them anyways!

I just let Amy's rock sit outside for 7 days in the sun then rinsed it off. It is almost totally purple now with zero nuisance algea in the tank. I am happy with the results.

snoopdog wrote:I just let Amy's rock sit outside for 7 days in the sun then rinsed it off. It is almost totally purple now with zero nuisance algea in the tank. I am happy with the results.

I just spent about 2 hours reading RC to figure out exactly WTF they were talking about when it comes to "cooking". Snoop, I think you missed the whole point. (I say so very respectfully though! )

They're not tryng to "kill" the algae, they're trying to "regenerate" the rock. The point is that by going nocturnal and starving the bacteria, the algae that is on the outside AND inside is consumed. This will open up the pores of the rock allowing all that nutrients (organic and inorganic) to fall out.

The rock is like a sponge for the extremely high nutrients levels in our tanks, but our sponge is plugged up. I can tell you that the agae in my tank grows on the same rocks and the same location each time. I can take it off, blow it off with a power head, siphon it up, peal it off, and for God's sake... shake it off. It doesn't matter. It doesn't regrow where it lands... it regrows in the same damn spot! I've often wondered about that! It makes since though... deep in that rock is alot of poop and as we all know... the grass is greenest on top of the septic tank's field lines!