Bleaching Dry Rock... still smells!

[cpark645]

Hi R2R,

I recently acquired some dry rock locally on craigslist, he had them drying out in his backyard... not sure how long it was out for, but they definitely had a strong odor.

Brought the rock home last week, immediately put it in a brute with bleach, 1:10 ratio. Left it in for 72 hours, drained the bleach water and put in 10x normal dose of prime with new water.

Just took it out of the prime and noticed it still smells a little bit. Definitely less than before, but still noticeable. Should I bleach again? Perhaps just go with some muriatic acid?

 

[NY_Caveman]

I would recommend bleaching again. I bleached my dried rock for two weeks and they began much whiter than what you are starting with. I never used acid (concerned with small kids) but your rocks are pretty dirty, so maybe. Acid will eat away some of the rock. A solid power washing and brushing may also work well before bleaching again. I assume you will cure them after so obviously you want to get them as clean as you can before starting that process.

 

[mcarroll]

I recently acquired some dry rock locally on craigslist, he had them drying out in his backyard.

I wonder why he was drying them out instead of selling them live? Bizarre.

If you could re-sell this rock and find some actual live rock, that would be BY FAR the better way to go.

concerned with small kids

Bleach + organics is a great way to generate poison gas. Not sure how much safer that is for kids.

Maybe even less safe than an acid bath since kids might assume the acid is dangerous and stay away, but might consider the bleach "normal" or safe. NOT!! (I think BRS gave bleach the same bye.)

Chlorination byproducts, their toxicodynamics and removal from drinking water covers most of the informational bases, but there's only an abstract. Check out Related articles.

This is why chlorine is not a cleaning product – it's a disinfectant for clean surfaces.

Keep in mind this Review is in relation to water that is already relatively clean, heading for human consumption. In highly polluted water like in a rock curing tub the effects would be magnified.

Pressure washing and traditional curing (among other ideas) would be much preferred.

Probably takes longer, but Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank anyway, right?

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Uhm just start cycling. If it smells like there’s something decaying it will help start the cycling process, everything rots. If you can cycle the rock in the brute trash can then just move the rock into the tank It should be good to go.

 

[cpark645]

I would recommend bleaching again. I bleached my dried rock for two weeks and they began much whiter than what you are starting with. I never used acid (concerned with small kids) but your rocks are pretty dirty, so maybe. Acid will eat away some of the rock. A solid power washing and brushing may also work well before bleaching again. I assume you will cure them after so obviously you want to get them as clean as you can before starting that process.

I think you're right, and will be bleaching for another 3-4 days. Those pictures are from before I bleached, it did become a bit more white but it's still got a lot of dark spots on it. I think the 2nd bleach run should do the trick.

I wonder why he was drying them out instead of selling them live? Bizarre.

If you could re-sell this rock and find some actual live rock, that would be BY FAR the better way to go.

Probably because it's easier. I'd like to keep these though, because I like the shapes. I don't really agree that live rock is always by far the better way to go though, due to price and risk of hitch hikers.

Uhm just start cycling. If it smells like there’s something decaying it will help start the cycling process, everything rots. If you can cycle the rock in the brute trash can then just move the rock into the tank It should be good to go.

Yeah, this is another option, but I'm thinking that starting off with as clean of a slate as possible is better than potentially dealing with phosphate leeching out for months after I set up the tank.

 

[mcarroll]

Probably because it's easier. I'd like to keep these though, because I like the shapes. I don't really agree that live rock is always by far the better way to go though, due to price and risk of hitch hikers.

I hear you on the shapes – you're feeling dedicated to it. That's cool as long as you are prepared for what you're in for.

You aren't alone in that thinking about live rock, but unfortunately the hobby is turning full circle when anyone says that king of thing....

Back in the 60's and 70's nobody used live rock. The limits of those systems were well known. Corals were purchased as temporary decorations. Skeletons (our "dead rock") were bleached weekly to keep the tank looking presentable. Tanks often had more than one "set" of skeletons so one could be on display while the other was being bleached. Not something I'd look at repeating...

When folks began taking live rock seriously and using it en masse, the difference was obvious and enormous.

Books of the 80's and 90's allude to this or give direct instruction on it – dead rock was to be avoided, and algae problems were to be expected if dead rock was used.

Everyone used to use live rock and the cost was considered worth it. (Still is.)

Guess what experience folks using dead rock have today? Exactly what was warned in 1997, or any other instance you can name.

Other concerns about pests and live rock are hypothetical or trivial by comparison. There will be pest algae on dead rock, you can count on it. Algae will be able to grow quickly to plague proportions if fueled with a large bio-load like most new tanks are.

Just as a case in point.... There was another case in my dino thread recently where someone had a mixed live/dead rock tank....dino's wouldn't even touch the live rock, but the dead rock was blanketed.

Live rock isn't a party gimmick, it's a rock that's loaded with life. Just what a reef needs to succeed.

(And I still don't understand why someone would kill their live rock in the front yard instead of selling it live if they didn't want it? As you said, cost should rule – why cut the value of their rock by 90%? Maybe they were having problems and "killing it" was their approach? Maybe they just didn't know.)

 

[cpark645]

I hear you on the shapes – you're feeling dedicated to it. That's cool as long as you are prepared for what you're in for.

You aren't alone in that thinking about live rock, but unfortunately the hobby is turning full circle when anyone says that king of thing....

Back in the 60's and 70's nobody used live rock. The limits of those systems were well known. Corals were purchased as temporary decorations. Skeletons (our "dead rock") were bleached weekly to keep the tank looking presentable. Tanks often had more than one "set" of skeletons so one could be on display while the other was being bleached. Not something I'd look at repeating...

When folks began taking live rock seriously and using it en masse, the difference was obvious and enormous.

Books of the 80's and 90's allude to this or give direct instruction on it – dead rock was to be avoided, and algae problems were to be expected if dead rock was used.

Everyone used to use live rock and the cost was considered worth it. (Still is.)

Guess what experience folks using dead rock have today? Exactly what was warned in 1997, or any other instance you can name.

Other concerns about pests and live rock are hypothetical or trivial by comparison. There will be pest algae on dead rock, you can count on it. Algae will be able to grow quickly to plague proportions if fueled with a large bio-load like most new tanks are.

Just as a case in point.... There was another case in my dino thread recently where someone had a mixed live/dead rock tank....dino's wouldn't even touch the live rock, but the dead rock was blanketed.

Live rock isn't a party gimmick, it's a rock that's loaded with life. Just what a reef needs to succeed.

(And I still don't understand why someone would kill their live rock in the front yard instead of selling it live if they didn't want it? As you said, cost should rule – why cut the value of their rock by 90%? Maybe they were having problems and "killing it" was their approach? Maybe they just didn't know.)

I used dead dry rock on a tank before and I didn’t have any abnormal amount of algae, just what I’d expect from any new tank.. I did have a low bio load though.

 

[cpark645]

Oh I also plan on adding a good amount of liverock from my old system into my fuge, which should provide the biodiversity I need to get things going.

 

[cpark645]

So after another week of bleaching and a week of prime... no more smell!

But... some of the rocks still look quite dark.

I'm a little worried if these are safe to use. Any opinions?

 

[NY_Caveman]

So after another week of bleaching and a week of prime... no more smell!

But... some of the rocks still look quite dark.

I'm a little worried if these are safe to use. Any opinions?

Bleach should make them safe. I would cure for a long time after. They are filled with organic debris it appears. Some great shapes in there!

 

[mcarroll]

What's the post-bleaching plan, BTW?

 

[Gareth elliott]

If have a phosphate test, could always put in a container of water and after x days test what leached

 

[cpark645]

I'm currently letting the rocks dry out in the sun to make sure the bleach is all gone.. then I'm planning on curing with some tank water from my current system with some GFO/carbon and a powerhead.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

So after another week of bleaching and a week of prime... no more smell!

But... some of the rocks still look quite dark.

I'm a little worried if these are safe to use. Any opinions?

Should be totally fine, as far as dead rock goes. Sucks the precious owner killed it all, looks like it was some good live rock. Ok now fill up that Brute with salt water, add heater and powerhead and put the rock in. Get a bottle of BM7, BioSpira, Tim's, or Fritz bacteria booster and add it in with the rock. Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Do water changes when the water gets nasty, old tank water is fine as long as its not loaded with no3 and po4. Once the rock is cured and cycled ie no ammonia or nitrite start testing for po4. Doing water changes as needed until po4 is nearly gone. Then is will be safe to add to your tank, this may take serval weeks to months. The longer the better.

 

[fernalfer]

Quick question what product do you guys use to decloroize your rock to rid the remaining bleach?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Quick question what product do you guys use to decloroize your rock to rid the remaining bleach?

I use nothing, after bleach i let it air dry a few days before it goes in saltwater to begin cycling it.
Could use prime or any other dechlorinator but isnt needed, bleach readily dissipates on its own.

 

[lakai]

Drop those in some muriatic acid.

 

[fernalfer]

Drop those in some muriatic acid.

oh they are definetly going in some muriatic acid next. I was anal and put the bleached rock back in a tub of tap water and dosed some Prime. I will now take out let air dry the into the acid i go.

 

[cpark645]

I ended up bleaching a second time, use prime and let dry out in the sun for a week. Then I let it cure in salt water for about 4 months and now...

Not much sign of algae and I’ve got coralline growing within a month. Bleaching works!

 

[fernalfer]

I ended up bleaching a second time, use prime and let dry out in the sun for a week. Then I let it cure in salt water for about 4 months and now...

Not much sign of algae and I’ve got coralline growing within a month. Bleaching works!

great aquascape by the way.