Bleach vs Acid

bertoni said:
The layer of phosphate-contaminated calcium carbonate might have been too thick for the acid to remove all of it. In theory, that might encourage algal growth on that rock. It's also possible that it's mostly coincidence.
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Hmmmmm. You know I guess I never fully understood the acid bath until now! Makes sense. I only did more of an "acid dip" for maybe 20 seconds. But, yea, definitely makes sense. The rest of my DT really doesnt exhibit signs of excess hair algae either. Thanks!

Ok, well my plan was going to be to, amazingly, go through this whole process again, but more quickly over a few days/weeks. This time I will take a different approach with the acid, just in case the entire "bad layer" was not removed.
 
This post is fun and informative....and very long,. So forgive me if it's been hashed over before but the only thing I've ever used (and that's a looooooong time a reefing) is plain 'ol vinegar. I buy the generic cheapie stuff at Wally World.

Works every time. "cooking rocks", cleaning glass, Straight outta the jug! I even use it in a spray bottle to help get off salt accumulations.
 
Is it safe to send Muriatic acid down the drain (exterior storm drain) with running water or should some other form of disposal be used? (after the acid has been diluted 10:1 ratio).
 
Personally then what would you do? I'm in the city, and the drain hooks into the rest of my sewage system.
 
I will make likely 2-4 5 gallon mixes to go through the rock, but i don't know if one batch keeps working, then i will only have to do one.

other threads say baking soda but talk about it reacting quite strongly and that doesn't seem to great.
 
At a 10:1 ratio and soaking calcium carbonate rock in it, this should most likely neutralize it. I would pour the left over acid mix on a concrete surface like side walk or patio and let it dry. Then hose it off well. I doubt it will have enough strength to whiten concrete much.

Muratic acid mixed at the 10:1 ratio is used to clean concrete with per the label.
 
I would think in most cases, soaking your rock once for 24 hrs. would be enough, but twice may be better if your phosphate or heavy metal (copper) concentrations were high. Once your rock stops bubbling then the acid is most likely neutralized to the point where it is weak. ;)

I would not pour the left over acid in a drain as the sediments could clog it, which happens when tile people and masons dump it in drains after doing their work.
 
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hey guys, i broke every rule as i didn't discover this thread sooner. i did the muriatic acid thing. my rocks were heavily coated with white and purple. they sat for 2 years. first i place all the rocks in two 7 gal buckets. i wore shorts and sandals no gloves, mask, goggles. i poured straight muriatic acid (from Ace) and watched amazed as all my evidences fizzle. i sprayed water into the buckets to rinse. splashing it all over the Lexus behind the buckets. i emptied the buckets of the water. all the rocks rolled out. i continue to line all the rocks on the floor and continue to pour acid on them. neighbors walked by. i hear them says "stinks" repeatedly. i high pressure sprayed the white coatings off. some rock pieces fell off. i flipped the rocks over. poured acid. sprayed. then as a final step, i placed all the rocks back into the buckets. poured what's left of acid i got. topped off with water. carried the buckets inside splashing as i go. i smiled as i felt my work was complete. it has been sitting for about 1 1/2 days now. i'm afraid to look as i may have dissolved all my rocks. good news though is there are no fingerprints to be found.
 
oh yea, question. is the thick white coating on my rocks aiptasia? is that what you guys trying to get rid of with the bleach? hey Aadler, while scrolling down this page your avatar looked like a nice golden rotisserie chicken. ummm.
 
Aiptasia are anemones, and have very distinct tentacles, etc, and don't create a skeleton. I don't know what the crust is, maybe just coralline. After a day and a half, the acid probably has been consumed, but I might check the pH to be sure.
 
So if I'm just trying to kill hair algae do i really need to do the bleach? Can i pull the rock scrub it with a steel brush then do the acid?
 
Bleach works the best for killing living organisms (algae) and also braking down their dead cells. Acid works best for removing the phosphate and heavy metals on your rock and sand surfaces.
 
The acid will kill the hair algae, although I agree that bleach is more commonly used as a strong disinfectant.
 
HighlandReefer said:
Bleach works the best for killing living organisms (algae) and also braking down their dead cells. Acid works best for removing the phosphate and heavy metals on your rock and sand surfaces.
Click to expand...

:bounce2:

Any guess on how long to re-seed after the bleach-acid process?
 
The usual guess is around 6-8 weeks to produce reasonably-functioning live rock, assuming there's enough food for bacterial growth, but the presence of live rock in the system might help reduce that, and it's only a guess.
 
If im doing half my rock at a time after the first batch is done can i put it back in the tank or do i need to cure/reseed it outside of the tank?
 
It can be put back into the tank after a thorough rinsing. It won't provide any filtration for a while, though.
 
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