How much bleach should I use to clean the rocks?

[miogpsrocks]

How much bleach should I use to clean the coral rocks that I found in my backyard?

Does it matter if I use too much? Its just about sanitizing it right?

Thanks

 

[Braves95]

I used a 1:1 ratio, then soaked the rocks in prime and left in the driveway for 2weeks just to be sure. When I stopped smelling bleach on the rocks I put them in my tank

 

[CStrickland]

You're the poster that dipped them in acid the other day, right?
I don't think you need to bleach them at all

 

[miogpsrocks]

You're the poster that dipped them in acid the other day, right?
I don't think you need to bleach them at all

Yeah, that is me.

Why don't I need to bleach? Does the bleach eat away the rock like the acid does?

 

[CStrickland]

Bleach is for if there's a bunch of dead stuff on there, or pests in the rock, to start fresh. If there was any backyard stuff living on there I would think the acid took care of it, I can't think of anything that would've survived that, and if it did then bleach probs wouldn't kill it. I think you're good to go. If you want it extra clean you could hit it with a pressure washer to get any crud out of the nooks, but I think that's overkill.

 

[toothybugs]

Completely agreed. Strick nailed it - the acid will do the same job bleach will but also strip off the outer layer of rock via dissolving it.

 

[reefer1970]

The bleach may whiten it more than the acid. Soak it in a garbage can full of freshwater to remove the bleach or acid from the pores of the rock. A closed lid will prevent an algae bloom. A second bath in RODI would be a good idea if you're not going to dry it before placing in your tank

 

[miogpsrocks]

The bleach may whiten it more than the acid. Soak it in a garbage can full of freshwater to remove the bleach or acid from the pores of the rock. A closed lid will prevent an algae bloom. A second bath in RODI would be a good idea if you're not going to dry it before placing in your tank

How long should I soak it in bleach? A few hours, days,weeks,etc..?

 

[reefer1970]

More bleach less time. All bleach 5 minutes, some added to water in a trash can- an hour or so. I laid my rock on the driveway, sprayed it with full bleach, added it to a can of water to soak and get the bleach more distributed on the rock for an hour or so then dumped out the water and refilled it a couple of times. I believe if you then dry it in the garage, any chlorine, etc will also evaporate.

 

[mfinn]

How long should I soak it in bleach? A few hours, days,weeks,etc..?

I soak rock in a bleach solution of 2 cups per 5 gallons of freshwater overnight.

Then rinse well and soak in a strong dechlorinator solution overnight.

Air dry for a couple days.

 

[marvelousone]

So if I understand right. If you do the acid then you don't have to do the bleach. I did acid for 15 minutes now soaking in bleach water over night.

 

[CStrickland]

I soak rock in a bleach solution of 2 cups per 5 gallons of freshwater overnight.
Then rinse well and soak in a strong dechlorinator solution overnight.
Air dry for a couple days.

What for?

 

[toothybugs]

So if I understand right. If you do the acid then you don't have to do the bleach.

Correct. If you understand the process of what you're doing and why you are doing it, there is no need to go with bleach after acid. Acid after bleach, sure (just be sure the bleach has been neutralized or washed away - it's not hard), but bleach after acid is a waste of bleach unless you want really white rocks for some silly reason. White rocks take longer to color up anyway.

Bleach kills things on the surface of the rock. Acid eats the surface of the rock and everything on said surface goes bye-bye. Bleaching after acid is just bleaching a dead, lifeless, inorganic surface. Acid after bleaching is removing the surface with the dead stuff on it. Both processes kill any organism living in or on the rock.

Afterward, for either process, just let the rock air dry. I don't know why, with a good drying period, a dechlorinator would be needed. Bleach will break down on its own (it's pretty unstable, actually - every bottle has a stabilizer in it (NaOH) that we ruin when we dilute bleach in water) and acid will neutralize itself by eating the rock.

 

[mfinn]

What for?

to clean off any dead matter.

 

[mfinn]

So if I understand right. If you do the acid then you don't have to do the bleach. I did acid for 15 minutes now soaking in bleach water over night.

I have found that bleach will remove much more matter such as button polyps and algaes than muriatic acid.
The acid goes after the rock where the bleach doesn't.
I do both and have done this process 6-8 times.

I bleach the rock first to strip it of any surface matter, then do a acid bath.
The acid bath is suppose to remove phosphate from the surface of the rock.

I do know that drying will remove any bleach, but I still like to use the dechlorinator solution.
It isn't going to hurt.

 

[mfinn]

Acid eats the surface of the rock and everything on said surface goes bye-bye.

I've tried to remove organic matter with acid before.
It dissolves the rock before it eats the organic matter.

I tried a couple times to remove large colonies of button polyps from nice rock.
Soaking them in tubs with a strong acid solution ( 2-3 cups of acid to 5 gallons of water) overnight. In the morning I found only the mush of the button polyps, but no rock left.

 

[CStrickland]

That's really interesting about the polyps!
I was picturing something closer to mined rock, as they came out of OP's backyard.

 

[eb2292]

Man, I guess I was pretty anal about bleaching one of my rocks. 1:1 bleach to water for 48 hours. Dumped it, bleached again. Rinsed. Soaked in RO water for a week or until the bleach smell was gone, changing it out every other day.

 

[mfinn]

I was picturing something closer to mined rock, as they came out of OP's backyard.

Yeah something way different than my experiences.

Not sure how much I'd trust something found in my back yard even if I lived in a area where it was common.

 

[mfinn]

Man, I guess I was pretty anal about bleaching one of my rocks. 1:1 bleach to water for 48 hours. Dumped it, bleached again. Rinsed. Soaked in RO water for a week or until the bleach smell was gone, changing it out every other day.

Everybody has their way of doing things.


Whatever works for you is the perfect way.