Old Rock

[HowardJ02]

I have a bunch of old rock from past tanks that I've taken out and put in totes.
I'm wanting to clean some so I can bust it up and make rubble for frags because I hate the look of frag plugs.
Just want to make sure I do it properly as to not contaminate my tank.

•1 gallon of muriatic acid per 10 gallons water
•Soak for 30-40 minutes
•Dilute with baking soda
•Rinse
•1 gallon of bleach with 10 gallons of water
•Rinse
•Dry for a few days

Does this look correct?

Is this a one day operation or should I let it sit in plain water for a couple days?

Using be acid and bleach is kind of scary..

When I set the rock out to dry, will 40 degree weather in my garage work or should I bring the rock inside?

 

[brandon429]

I see no reason to bleach afterwards. Scoring the outer rock layer with acid will remove organics just the same, and the claimed phosphate inclusions as long as they only bound to that outer layer.

 

[HowardJ02]

I see no reason to bleach afterwards. Scoring the outer rock layer with acid will remove organics just the same, and the claimed phosphate inclusions as long as they only bound to that outer layer.

So just MA for ~1/2 hour and then rinse?

 

[brandon429]

Yes and I'd still do a thirty min test run on a smaller rock first

Sometimes the light airy stuff dissolves fast

 

[HowardJ02]

Yes and I'd still do a thirty min test run on a smaller rock first

Sometimes the light airy stuff dissolves fast

I'll give it a shot! Thanks, man!

 

[HowardJ02]

Hey if I take a smaller, old piece of tonga rock and just rinse it off really well in RO water only, do you think it would have a negative effect on my system?

 

[brandon429]

No I don't think it w harm anything. If the rock has nice animals/coralline on it use sw as rinse

 

[HowardJ02]

No I don't think it w harm anything. If the rock has nice animals/coralline on it use sw as rinse

It has been sitting in a tote for a few years- nothing on it.

 

[HowardJ02]

Kinda weird.. but do you think you could bake rock in the oven for a bit to dry it out after bleaching? Haha

It's supposed to rain the next two days so it won't dry outside.

 

[don_chuwish]

Do NOT bake, boil, broil or microwave your rocks. Scary things end up in the air.

 

[HowardJ02]

Well I gave some of the rock a 30 minute muriatic acid soak. I think I put too much in because it ate off more of the rock then I wanted.

It's soaking in bleach and water now until I can get somewhere tomorrow to get dechlorinator.

Before and after. dang.

 

[HowardJ02]

I got some Prime today to use for a dechlorinator.

I checked the chlorine level with just water and it was sky high.
Added prime and it was zero.
Let it sit for 10 minutes and dumped the water out. Filled it back up with water and checked chlorine again. High, but not as high as before. I filled it up with water and dumped twice. Then filled it up and added prime again. Now it's just sitting.

I'm planning on letting it sit overnight in the Prime water. What if I rinse it again tomorrow and it still measures chlorine? Keep rinsing and dose Prime again?

 

[HowardJ02]

Well I dumped out what the rock was sitting in overnight. Filled it back up with fresh water and got this reading:

Getting closer.. will let it sit in Prime water again until tomorrow.

 

[HowardJ02]

Alright guys... 2 days soaking in Prime water.
Still measuring a little chlorine after a rinse. Looks to me like it's under .5, but I can definitely still see a yellow tinge.

I laid it all out to air dry in the sun. What do I do?

 

[HowardJ02]

Was all of this even worth it??
Can I not just clean off the rock really well with a scrub brush and a rinse? Then I could add a small live rock to seed the tank.

I'm kind of discouraged after the muriatic acid ate quite a bit of the rock.
I have a lot more old rock that I could use.
I don't have the patience at all the wait months to "cure" old live rock. I mean, the die off would start the nitrogen cycle in the tank right?

Has anyone just scrubbed and rinsed old rock to use in a new tank?

 

[Fish_BowLisha]

Well I dumped out what the rock was sitting in overnight. Filled it back up with fresh water and got this reading:

Getting closer.. will let it sit in Prime water again until tomorrow.

That's a neat looking little measuring thingy lol Who makes it?

 

[HowardJ02]

That's a neat looking little measuring thingy lol Who makes it?

HTH - it's actually a test kit for my pool. Can pick it up at Walmart for about 10 bucks. Comes with pH too.

 

[Fish_BowLisha]

Cool. Thanks. I don't know why I didn't think of checking pool supply stores for measuring parameters. I've been using liquid tests for pH but it would be nice to be able to just pay once and be done

 

[Fish_BowLisha]

I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you about the rest class in return... I've always done the cycling in a separate tank/bin and done the waiting game. I'm too Leary about the acid business lol