i recently found that some of my live rock had some nasty free living flat worms so i put them in a container and dosed it with lots of copper.would it be impossible to re introduce that rock into my reef tank? or does it take lots of rinsing?
Not a good idea to reintroduce it. The copper bonds with the calcium carbonate in the live rock, and it will slowly leech out into your aquarium, which will be toxic to any invertebrates in the system. No amount of rinsing is going to get rid of it. Your could possibly use it in a quarantine tank for fish only, since copper isn't harmful to the fish, and it still contains some beneficial bacteria. Just don't put it back in your reef tank. Feeding less and vacuuming out as many worms as possible will help reduce the flatworm populations. Also, many small species of fairy wrasse will eat these worms, and keep their populations in check.
I don't know, but I do know that live rock means living organisms, and copper that kills flatworms will kill whatever is in the live rock.. You paid bucks for that rock because it's live rock and it helps your reef tank.
