phosphates in LR

[Hobster]

Randy,

I have several pounds of old, dry, bleached LR. Call it dead rock or base rock.

If it has phosphates locked up inside of it, is there any way to remove it? Will soaking it in ro/di draw it out?. Will a phosphate remover help or not as it is not a water problem?

I really do not know if there is a problem with it,but don't know how to find out if there is.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Bleached by bleach, or just being dry in the air?

A couple of options would include the "cooking" that some folks have been doing, by allowing bacteria to grow on it, and to bleach it with true bleach to remove organics, and then rinse well and possibly run it in fresh or seawater that has GFO in it.

I'd personally pick the latter , but many seem to like the former.

 

[Hobster]

Bleach as in bleach, Chlorox

As it is already dry and dead I would not go for the "cooking" option either. I have one of those outdoor turkey fryers. Would boiling the rock(in water) do anything to draw out impurities?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I wouldn't boil it. That might actually precipitate the phosphate more strongly.