not sure if this is the right forum for this, but I have 400 lbs of rock pulled from my old reef and aggressive tanks, setting up my new 300 gallon reef now, and not sure what I have to do to my rock. Ive heard of soaking in muriatic acid and water, but not sure exactly if that's the best procedure or how to do this. If anyone can help me or steer me towards any info on this I would appreciate it, thanks
how to clean dead rock
- Thread starter woodguy
- Start date
Relojdepeso
Member
if its dry clean it with a brush and add to new tank and let the cycle.do its thisng
TimeConsumer
Active member
The muriatic acid technique is used to dissolve off the top layer of the rock. This is used for certain dry rock like Pukani which has an outer layer rich with phosphorous. You may or may not have this issue. An easy way to determine would be to soak a few pieces (or all) in RODI water and measure the phosphate levels of the water after a few days. If there's none, move along. If there's a lot, either do an acid bath or soak all rocks in RODI (or saltwater, might as well cycle it while you're at it) while running lots of GFO/similar products until phosphates are removed.
reefgeezer
Active member
Good info. Does anyone know what the mask is for?
woodnaquanut
Active member
Since the mask is a dust/particle mask, I'm guessing it's used to make the guy look like a bandito! It does NOTHING to help with the very aggressive HCl fumes.
Use a respirator with proper filters.
i currently have mine soaking in 78 degree saltwater, treating with SeaKlear 2x daily (1 capful).
Tested the bins on sunday readings were 0.15, 0.15 and 0.12. I'm in no rush, as the tank will eventually go where the christmas tree is, so I have at least a month, probably 5 weeks to do what i need to do.
Right now, I'm unsure, if i should just leave the saltwater in the bins, or change it out....and i'm leaning toward leaving in the bins as...well...I'm out of salt
Tested the bins on sunday readings were 0.15, 0.15 and 0.12. I'm in no rush, as the tank will eventually go where the christmas tree is, so I have at least a month, probably 5 weeks to do what i need to do.
Right now, I'm unsure, if i should just leave the saltwater in the bins, or change it out....and i'm leaning toward leaving in the bins as...well...I'm out of salt
thejuggernaut
Member
Bleach soak first. It dissolves all the dead organics off the rocks in order to allow the acid to dissolve the top layer of cruddy rock off. Plus, the acid breaks down the residual bleach so that it will off gas as chlorine gas. That sounds bad cause its toxic, but if you do it outside the small amount of fumes won't hurt. Just don't stick your head in the container you're doing it in.
I used the 33 gallon brutes. Put rock in it to the tab (4" from the top). Then filled half way up with water (about 10 gallons). Dropped two gallons of bleach, then added enough water to cover up the rock. Let it sit over night. Drained it off. Sprayed them with water hose to get all the loose stuff off. Then did the same with the Muriatic acid. After about 10 minutes it stopped bubbling once the acid was all used up. I drained it off, sprayed them down. Put a few boxes of baking soda in a 5 gallon bucket, then dunked each rock. The baking soda probably was a little overkill, but I figured what the heck. I'm already doing it and it was a few bucks.
I used the 33 gallon brutes. Put rock in it to the tab (4" from the top). Then filled half way up with water (about 10 gallons). Dropped two gallons of bleach, then added enough water to cover up the rock. Let it sit over night. Drained it off. Sprayed them with water hose to get all the loose stuff off. Then did the same with the Muriatic acid. After about 10 minutes it stopped bubbling once the acid was all used up. I drained it off, sprayed them down. Put a few boxes of baking soda in a 5 gallon bucket, then dunked each rock. The baking soda probably was a little overkill, but I figured what the heck. I'm already doing it and it was a few bucks.
after going through this process, did you then cure the rock before you added it to your system, or did you add it right away
