Bleach vs Acid
- Thread starter bheron
- Start date
Leaving the untreated live rock in the tank will allow various animals to move to the treated rock, but the hair algae will be able to spread, too. I was successful at killing hair algae off, so I don't consider it much of a problem, but others haven't been so lucky. The hair algae might have a harder time growing once all the rock has been treated, though.
kdirk
Member
Thats what I'm hoping, the water in my tank has been nitrate and phosphate free for 5 months. Its got to be leaching out of the rock and dsb, so I'm going to do this to the rock, and slowly remove my sand till i have about 1-3". Is there a common use for sodium thiosulfate so i can try to find it locally? Thanks
Hi All, I picked up a tank from a local reefer and it was covered with majano anemone.
I just did all the rock from my tank.
I put it in a 10:1 bleach mix for about 16 hrs.
then mixed a 10:1 acid in one tote
and baking soda and water in another tote
and a tote of fresh water.
After removing the rock from the bleach and rinsing well
I put it into the acid until it stopped foaming, about 20 min. or so.
then rinsed in fresh water and then rinsed in the backing soda water.
Then I mixed another batch of acid dip and repeated.
For the most part the rock is clean. It's darker than it was after I remover it from the bleach though...
Thanks for this thread and all the info in it.
I just did all the rock from my tank.
I put it in a 10:1 bleach mix for about 16 hrs.
then mixed a 10:1 acid in one tote
and baking soda and water in another tote
and a tote of fresh water.
After removing the rock from the bleach and rinsing well
I put it into the acid until it stopped foaming, about 20 min. or so.
then rinsed in fresh water and then rinsed in the backing soda water.
Then I mixed another batch of acid dip and repeated.
For the most part the rock is clean. It's darker than it was after I remover it from the bleach though...
Thanks for this thread and all the info in it.
GatorPharmD
New member
Going through this thread has been an exponential learning experience for me as I prepare to set up a brand new tank. One of my concerns is the introduction of unwanted critters/fungi/algae in the piece(s) of live rock needed to seed the dry rock after the bleach and acid treatments. I would love to hear experiences of individuals who completed the seeding with minimal live rock or without it.
Thank you for all the information.
Thank you for all the information.
My tank has been up for about 4 months. I seeded it with with two small rocks. The rocks I seeded with were from unestablished tanks. I also used MicrobeLift.
The tank is healthy and seems to have decent micro fauna. I have bristle worms, micro brittle stars and TONS of pods.
To me this proves that you don't need much life to seed a tank.
Every coral I have added has been dipped (Kent Tech-D) and was quarantined for at least a week. I have no unwanted pests. I couldn't be happier.
I am planning on adding Cheato to my refugium. I will quarantine this too as the first batch of Cheato I was given had hydroids!
For reference, my tank is a Tech 70 w/ 30G sump.
The tank is healthy and seems to have decent micro fauna. I have bristle worms, micro brittle stars and TONS of pods.
To me this proves that you don't need much life to seed a tank.
Every coral I have added has been dipped (Kent Tech-D) and was quarantined for at least a week. I have no unwanted pests. I couldn't be happier.
I am planning on adding Cheato to my refugium. I will quarantine this too as the first batch of Cheato I was given had hydroids!
For reference, my tank is a Tech 70 w/ 30G sump.
HighlandReefer
Team RC
There are bacteria in the air that will re-populate your tank without introduction of live rock. Once you put your dry rock in your tank, you will need to provide a food supply to get the bacterial populations going. One can add a little fish food for this purpose. IMHO, providing a carbon source will help considerably to increase the rate of growth and reproduction of the bacteria that populate your tank from the air. Vodka and/or vinegar would be a good choice for this IMHO.
GatorPharmD
New member
Thank you.
dirk_brijs
Active member
So after having read all this?
I only have a serious Phosphate problem
So soaking in Vinegar would get rid of that problem?
then just rinse well to get acid neutralised or baking soda right?
Dont need the bleach bathing I guess?
I only have a serious Phosphate problem
So soaking in Vinegar would get rid of that problem?
then just rinse well to get acid neutralised or baking soda right?
Dont need the bleach bathing I guess?
The bleach bath won't do much for phosphate in live rock. Are you sure that the live rock is contaminated? If not, then the acid bath won't do anything.
A rinsing will clean up the rock. Baking soda isn't really necessary: the live rock will neutralize acid the same way the vinegar will.
A rinsing will clean up the rock. Baking soda isn't really necessary: the live rock will neutralize acid the same way the vinegar will.
bheron
Active member
Hi all, just finished doing everyone for the 2nd time (will explain more detail later) but thought I'd post this ASAP......
Probably common sense here (which I sometimes lack) but PLEASE do your acid dips in a well venilated area, and NOT near your display tank if there's anything alive in it. I lost 5 of my 9 fish and barely saved the others b/c I was lazy and my acid bath in my fish room, next to my tank.
This is what I'm assuming happend: the vapors from the acid must've been absorbed by the system by means of oxygen exchange. I didnt even have a chance to measure but I'm assuming I had a PH spike. Within a few mins all fish were either dead or dying. All inverts made it ok. I did a 50% WC very quickly (100 gallons), maybe more, and was able to save the rest of the fish.
I just feel horrible about this and thought I'd pass it on as a warning.
Probably common sense here (which I sometimes lack) but PLEASE do your acid dips in a well venilated area, and NOT near your display tank if there's anything alive in it. I lost 5 of my 9 fish and barely saved the others b/c I was lazy and my acid bath in my fish room, next to my tank.
This is what I'm assuming happend: the vapors from the acid must've been absorbed by the system by means of oxygen exchange. I didnt even have a chance to measure but I'm assuming I had a PH spike. Within a few mins all fish were either dead or dying. All inverts made it ok. I did a 50% WC very quickly (100 gallons), maybe more, and was able to save the rest of the fish.
I just feel horrible about this and thought I'd pass it on as a warning.
