You're welcome.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Bleach vs Acid
- Thread starter bheron
- Start date
gwenvet
Premium Member
After bleach washes, acid washes and adding Drayno to neutralize the acid I have changed out the tap water it is sitting in aobut 6-8 times over a few days. Despite all this there is still algae clinging to the rock (albeit it is dead and white). Even scrubbing with a toothbrush doesn't take it all off. Can I leave whatever doesn't readily come off and the snails will get it or is that bad?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14776710#post14776710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
this is coming out of acid or bleach?
If from bleach, you need to do a lot of rinsing or dechlorinating.
Randy, besides smelling the rock, any rule of thumb on how much cleansing the rock will need to remove the bleach?
would 3-5 rinsings and a few days w/ a dechlorinator be adequate. Obviously I will test/smell the rock, but I'm trying to figure out how much time to allot to this project.
I would let it dry first, but it's been raining and will continue raining all week...
thats what im doing now.not to worried about the agea at this point the rock pretty damn clean.im going to make up salt water tonight to get the cycling started.
thanks every one for all your help,what a ordeal that was.
thanks every one for all your help,what a ordeal that was.
Hopefully the problem organisms won't come back. 
never really had agea problems,just REALLY bad aiptasias
sorry,gwen that was for you.time to pass the thread keys:smokin:
good luck and again thanx guys:smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin:
good luck and again thanx guys:smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin:
builderguy
New member
Okay...I'm confused....I've seen three different Acid/Water Ratios...
1:10
1:5
1:1
What should I be using...I've finished the bleach bath and done a few rinses...tested for Chlorine...0.0 there...now ready for Acid Bath, Rinse, Base ....oh and why not use a strong Kalk Solution for this....that's pH 12.0?
1:10
1:5
1:1
What should I be using...I've finished the bleach bath and done a few rinses...tested for Chlorine...0.0 there...now ready for Acid Bath, Rinse, Base ....oh and why not use a strong Kalk Solution for this....that's pH 12.0?
The more water in the solution, the less dangerous it is to handle. The more acid, the faster the rock gets cleaned, and perhaps more cleaning gets done. I would add one part of acid to 10 parts of water, personally, but they'll all work.
A strong base rinse with kalk would be okay, but other solutions will do more neutralization with less liquid, and avoid any possible precipitation. I'd just add baking soda and test the pH now and then, personally. I think it's the safest to handle.
A strong base rinse with kalk would be okay, but other solutions will do more neutralization with less liquid, and avoid any possible precipitation. I'd just add baking soda and test the pH now and then, personally. I think it's the safest to handle.
builderguy
New member
So to be clear...you add baking soda to the acid bath until the pH tests in the proper range?
oh and why not use a strong Kalk Solution for this....that's pH 12.0?
In terms of neutralizing acid, baking soda is as good or better than limewater. While the pH of limewater may be 12, you can add solid baking soda without adding a lot of water volume, and a gallon of limewater is only as good for neutralization as maybe 4 teaspoons of baking soda. You also will not overshoot the pH with baking soda.
In terms of neutralizing acid, baking soda is as good or better than limewater. While the pH of limewater may be 12, you can add solid baking soda without adding a lot of water volume, and a gallon of limewater is only as good for neutralization as maybe 4 teaspoons of baking soda. You also will not overshoot the pH with baking soda.
builderguy
New member
Thanks Randy
:thumbsup:
Good luck.
Good luck.
billyWhite
New member
I, too, joined the rock bleaching/acid party and I have a few questions. I apologize if any of these have been previously answered.
1. I'm satisfied with the bleaching - I did two rounds 1/10 solution overnight, and while things aren't completely white and sterile looking, I'm ready to move onto acid. Besides rinsing and letting it dry, do I NEED to dechlorinate or let the rocks dry out for weeks before going to the acid? Or is that step necessary only if I was going bleach-only? I'm hoping I can just let it dry out and move on with the process.
2. I asked the lady at the pool store about Muratic Acid/Hydrochloric Acid, and she gave me what she told me was the same stuff only in solid form for safety reasons. I assumed it was chemically the same stuff, but now, looking at the ingredients, it's 93% Sodium Bisulfate. Is this an acceptable substitute? And if so, how much of this dry stuff would you recommend me add to the water for my solution?
Thanks everyone for your help!
1. I'm satisfied with the bleaching - I did two rounds 1/10 solution overnight, and while things aren't completely white and sterile looking, I'm ready to move onto acid. Besides rinsing and letting it dry, do I NEED to dechlorinate or let the rocks dry out for weeks before going to the acid? Or is that step necessary only if I was going bleach-only? I'm hoping I can just let it dry out and move on with the process.
2. I asked the lady at the pool store about Muratic Acid/Hydrochloric Acid, and she gave me what she told me was the same stuff only in solid form for safety reasons. I assumed it was chemically the same stuff, but now, looking at the ingredients, it's 93% Sodium Bisulfate. Is this an acceptable substitute? And if so, how much of this dry stuff would you recommend me add to the water for my solution?
Thanks everyone for your help!
therealfatman
In Memoriam
Eventually you need to get rid of any residual chlorine, however it does not need to be done before an acid treatment. I would not use the sodium bisulfate. It is a totally different chemical.
Muriatic acid is normally available at ACE Hardwarer HD and Lowes or any place that sells many concrete products. White vinegar is a good second choice but it would be more expensive to use and would take longer soaks. It would be easier and safer to handle though.
Sani-flush is a toilet bowl cleaner that is called a bubbling bowl cleaner. It is a bubbling bowl cleaner as it is about half sodium sulfate and half a mix of fragrences, a surfactant, sodium carbonate and water. The live rock would bubble, but I know of no one having used sodium sulfate for surface removal of calcium carbonate from live rock. I would save it to use as toilet bowl cleaner.
Muriatic acid is normally available at ACE Hardwarer HD and Lowes or any place that sells many concrete products. White vinegar is a good second choice but it would be more expensive to use and would take longer soaks. It would be easier and safer to handle though.
Sani-flush is a toilet bowl cleaner that is called a bubbling bowl cleaner. It is a bubbling bowl cleaner as it is about half sodium sulfate and half a mix of fragrences, a surfactant, sodium carbonate and water. The live rock would bubble, but I know of no one having used sodium sulfate for surface removal of calcium carbonate from live rock. I would save it to use as toilet bowl cleaner.
Last edited:
eros
New member
I have a question for you guys. I got some free rock that just had a ridiculous amount of hair algae on it. It was free so I took it and figured I would cook it until the algae disappeared. I put it in a tub with a heater and powerhead and let it cook. Months went by and the algae didn't get any better. So I took the rock out of the buckets to dry it out. Now it's dry but there is still a lot of white dried algae on the rocks. How can I get this off? I had a tub with 5 gals of vinegar that I used to clean pumps and skimmers so I tossed all the rock in there today. It's bubbling a lot. I'm hoping it will dissolve some of the left over algae. Is this the best way to accomplish this or would something else work better?
HighlandReefer
Team RC
Vinegar is the safest way to help rid phosphate and heavy metals. It may work on the organic matter as well. I would use bleach to brake the organic matter down myself and repeat until the organic matter is gone. Soak the rock in clean water with chlorine remover get rid of the bleach. Then soak it in the vinegar to get rid of the phosphate and heavy metals. The organic matter can contain phosphate and heavy metals as well. Soak the rock after treating with vinegar in clean water to get rid of the vinegar or this will cause bacterial blooms.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
I edited my post above. It's been a long day.
