4yo base rock at side of house... Any good?

[tygunn]

It's been 4 years since I ran my last tank, a 90g (pictured here). I've been lurking around in the background since then, occasionally toying with the idea of another tank.

I was washing the windows when I came across this giant Rubbermaid bin of the base rock from my 90g. It is just BRS base rock. It's dry, and has generally just sat with a loose lid over it for 4 years.

I know way back in the day the guidance would be to "cool" the rock by filling the tub up with rod, with a power head and heater so that bacteria can flush this out.

Does this seem like a relevant course of action nowadays?

A part of me keeps thinking I should clean this stuff up and store it properly so I have one less excuse why not to set up another, smaller tank.

 

[newfly]

Rocks don’t go bad. As long as it’s not expose to any chemicals , you should be able to rinse it well and reuse. Soak it for a day or two to be absolutely sure.

 

[popper]

Afterward check for ammonia

 

[tygunn]

Rocks don’t go bad. As long as it’s not expose to any chemicals , you should be able to rinse it well and reuse. Soak it for a day or two to be absolutely sure.

I don't tend to use any harsh chemicals around the outside of the house, so presumably it should be okay.

 

[tygunn]

Afterward check for ammonia

I suspect there is plenty of dead material in the rocks from when it was in the tank; this would be my prime concern. Though honestly I'm pretty sure this stuff is just dug out of quarries which were ancient reefs, so it ultimately came from the outside at some point.

 

[sfsuphysics]

any algae or organics on there that do die will break down in your tank, they're not going to magically fall off the rock, which is why you should consider "cooking it" (not on a stove!!!!!!!!) before putting it back into action (also allows you to scrub anything off) but there's absolutely nothing wrong with storing it dry for years.

 

[tygunn]

any algae or organics on there that do die will break down in your tank, they're not going to magically fall off the rock, which is why you should consider "cooking it" (not on a stove!!!!!!!!) before putting it back into action (also allows you to scrub anything off) but there's absolutely nothing wrong with storing it dry for years.

That makes sense. I'll have to lay it out on the driveway and hose and scrub it, and then dry it out properly and box it up.
I keep having a vision of a shallow reef tank sitting on my patio.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Hose it off and start cycling it. No worries.