Bleach vs Acid
- Thread starter bheron
- Start date
BreadmanMike
New member
Hey guys/gals,
I just bleached some rock and soaked it in a bottle of Prime overnight, but it still smells of bleach. Should I rinse it again and get another bottle of Prime or is letting it dry out good enough?
I just bleached some rock and soaked it in a bottle of Prime overnight, but it still smells of bleach. Should I rinse it again and get another bottle of Prime or is letting it dry out good enough?
rbrown0129
New member
Has anyone used Garf Grunge to reseed?
BreadmanMike
New member
Garf isn't what they used to be. There's been a few negative threads on them in the Vendor Experience forum lately.
rbrown0129
New member
Thanks...I'll check it out.
bheron
Active member
Just a final update on this thread to post what I eventually did. I'm very happy with the outcome:
- I did this in stages so as to always keep some actual live rock in the tank for seeding purposes.
- I did it in two batches (a total of about 250 pounds).
- First, I soaked the rock in a tub of water and bleach. About a 3-1 ratio was plenty. Luckliy my local costco was selling it for 3 large bottles for like $15! I say a 3-1 ratio b/c after a few days I smelled less and less bleach and no bubbles. My 2nd batch was more bleach, like 2.5-1 and the yellowish water and smell never really left. 3-1 is enough. I let it soak for at least a week altho it didnt need that long.
- Then, I removed all the rock, swishing it as I took it out. The result was a thick layer of sediment in the bottom of the tub. I'm guessing this was just rock/calcerous material and not dead life. The bleach killed anything alive and pretty much dissolved it.
- Next, I rinsed the tub and started all over. Yep - did a 2nd round of soaking in the tub, just for kicks. No idea if it did anything or helped. Did another round of swishing as I took it out.
- Then I filled the tub with a mixture of water and acid. Used Muriatic Acid from the pool store at a 10-1 ratio. The ratio seemed good.
- With gloves and goggles on, one by one I dipped each piece of rock in the solution. A TON of fizzing and bubbles. For some reason the bubbles were a rust color. I didnt notice if the rock looked any different or cleaner but it was fun
Also, the main reason I did this was in an effort to remove an outer layer of phosphate that might be on the rock. The end result was a layer of crud, rust colored gook in the bottom of the bucket. So maybe it helped. Also, I think this helped to dissolve some or all of the residual from the bleach (see next step).
- After rinsing in RODI water I let the rock sit outside for a few days in the open air and sunlight. It smelled like the YMCA swimming pool. I was trying to dissolve the extra chlorine left over from the bleach. It defintely worked.
- After 3-5 days I brought the rock inside and soaked it in a tub of RODI. Wanted to see if there was any leftover chlorine from the bleach, so i bought a chlorine test kit. the test showed no chlorine.
So I was left with a nice batch of very clean, white, light rock. It was very chalky to the touch. I spent alot of time aquascaping the new rock using PVC pipe. Once ready I dumped it into the tank with the existing, dirty, live rock and let it sit for about 2 months. The goal was to "seed" the new base rock. It was bright white under the lights when I first put it in. Eventually it started to "color" up - ie: get duller, a little brown.
Once I felt the new rock was seeded, I repeated the whole process with the rest of the rock (save for about 10lbs just in case).
After aquascaping I put it in the tank and I now have a tank ful of shiny new rock It was really white at first but is now starting to fade. No issues with the fish I have in the tank or with high waste levels. I'm making sure to do frequent basting of the rock to help kepe it clean.
Overall, while it took a long time I'm very happy with the approach and would recommend it to anyone.
PS - I also took some pics along the way that I'll upload in the next few days.
- I did this in stages so as to always keep some actual live rock in the tank for seeding purposes.
- I did it in two batches (a total of about 250 pounds).
- First, I soaked the rock in a tub of water and bleach. About a 3-1 ratio was plenty. Luckliy my local costco was selling it for 3 large bottles for like $15! I say a 3-1 ratio b/c after a few days I smelled less and less bleach and no bubbles. My 2nd batch was more bleach, like 2.5-1 and the yellowish water and smell never really left. 3-1 is enough. I let it soak for at least a week altho it didnt need that long.
- Then, I removed all the rock, swishing it as I took it out. The result was a thick layer of sediment in the bottom of the tub. I'm guessing this was just rock/calcerous material and not dead life. The bleach killed anything alive and pretty much dissolved it.
- Next, I rinsed the tub and started all over. Yep - did a 2nd round of soaking in the tub, just for kicks. No idea if it did anything or helped. Did another round of swishing as I took it out.
- Then I filled the tub with a mixture of water and acid. Used Muriatic Acid from the pool store at a 10-1 ratio. The ratio seemed good.
- With gloves and goggles on, one by one I dipped each piece of rock in the solution. A TON of fizzing and bubbles. For some reason the bubbles were a rust color. I didnt notice if the rock looked any different or cleaner but it was fun
Also, the main reason I did this was in an effort to remove an outer layer of phosphate that might be on the rock. The end result was a layer of crud, rust colored gook in the bottom of the bucket. So maybe it helped. Also, I think this helped to dissolve some or all of the residual from the bleach (see next step).- After rinsing in RODI water I let the rock sit outside for a few days in the open air and sunlight. It smelled like the YMCA swimming pool. I was trying to dissolve the extra chlorine left over from the bleach. It defintely worked.
- After 3-5 days I brought the rock inside and soaked it in a tub of RODI. Wanted to see if there was any leftover chlorine from the bleach, so i bought a chlorine test kit. the test showed no chlorine.
So I was left with a nice batch of very clean, white, light rock. It was very chalky to the touch. I spent alot of time aquascaping the new rock using PVC pipe. Once ready I dumped it into the tank with the existing, dirty, live rock and let it sit for about 2 months. The goal was to "seed" the new base rock. It was bright white under the lights when I first put it in. Eventually it started to "color" up - ie: get duller, a little brown.
Once I felt the new rock was seeded, I repeated the whole process with the rest of the rock (save for about 10lbs just in case).
After aquascaping I put it in the tank and I now have a tank ful of shiny new rock
It was really white at first but is now starting to fade. No issues with the fish I have in the tank or with high waste levels. I'm making sure to do frequent basting of the rock to help kepe it clean.Overall, while it took a long time I'm very happy with the approach and would recommend it to anyone.
PS - I also took some pics along the way that I'll upload in the next few days.
Sounds good.
Thanks for posting all the details!
Thanks for posting all the details!
holdyourlight
New member
I just got done with the bleach and acid
There is still a brown residue all over my rocks that comes off when i use a toothbrush
i followed the directions to a tee..soaked in bleach for 2 days and then 2 acid baths
there is no way i am doing any more acid and bleach it is a pain especially the acid, nasty stuff
should i just scrub all the rock with a brush and rinse/soak it again in rodi to get the rest of the brown crap off?
also can't believe how "weak" some of the rocks are now, some are crumbling in my hands
There is still a brown residue all over my rocks that comes off when i use a toothbrush
i followed the directions to a tee..soaked in bleach for 2 days and then 2 acid baths
there is no way i am doing any more acid and bleach it is a pain especially the acid, nasty stuff
should i just scrub all the rock with a brush and rinse/soak it again in rodi to get the rest of the brown crap off?
also can't believe how "weak" some of the rocks are now, some are crumbling in my hands
holdyourlight
New member
brown gunk only comes off when scrubbed:sad1:
they've been rinsed many times throughout the process and water alone wont get the stuff off
holdyourlight
New member
i'll try to get some pics up tonight
holdyourlight
New member
so the bleach and acid did not work for me
i let the rock soak in bleach in 10:1 for 24 hours and then 5:1 for 24 hours
rinsed a few times
i then did an hour acid bath, in 10:1 and then another hour
i rinsed twice and let sit in buckets of RODI for another day
now i am rinsing again and want to start cycling but.....
i have a rinsing station set up of 5 buckets filled with RODI water and still by the time the rock hits the 5th bucket the water is still turning brown
i let the rock soak in bleach in 10:1 for 24 hours and then 5:1 for 24 hours
rinsed a few times
i then did an hour acid bath, in 10:1 and then another hour
i rinsed twice and let sit in buckets of RODI for another day
now i am rinsing again and want to start cycling but.....
i have a rinsing station set up of 5 buckets filled with RODI water and still by the time the rock hits the 5th bucket the water is still turning brown
