Bleaching Rock

[xabo]

I believe my rock is leaching phosphates and some pieces have red turf algae that I can't seem to eradicate. I plan to bleach the rock for at least a week. I have 3 Tangs in the tank. Do you think the fish will be alright without the rock for that long?

 

[Dburr1014]

I believe my rock is leaching phosphates and some pieces have red turf algae that I can't seem to eradicate. I plan to bleach the rock for at least a week. I have 3 Tangs in the tank. Do you think the fish will be alright without the rock for that long?

Say what now?

Why do you think it's leeching po4?
Red turf? Sure it's not coralline? Picture says a thousand words.
Is this the only rock you have???!
3 tangs and one rock???!
I'm sure more questions are coming.

 

[xabo]

About 200 lbs. of rock.....phosphate will not stay down no matter what I do, i.e. GFO, LC etc. Sure it's not coralline as I've used a drill and wire brush to clean it before.

 

[xabo]

 

[Dburr1014]

About 200 lbs. of rock.....phosphate will not stay down no matter what I do, i.e. GFO, LC etc. Sure it's not coralline as I've used a drill and wire brush to clean it before.

Ooohhh, so when you say rock, it's not one rock, it's all of it.

Your ammonia will spike if you remove all of it and the whole tank will re-cycle when it goes back in.

Does it need light to grow? Perhaps take out some and put it in a brute for a month.
Do this again and again until it's gone??

I don't know, again, a picture says a thousand words.

I'm going to say you are better off getting a ID on this first.
Then go from there.

 

[xabo]

Ooohhh, so when you say rock, it's not one rock, it's all of it.

Your ammonia will spike if you remove all of it and the whole tank will re-cycle when it goes back in.

Does it need light to grow? Perhaps take out some and put it in a brute for a month.
Do this again and again until it's gone??

I don't know, again, a picture says a thousand words.

Yes it needs light to grow. My concern is with the algae spreading to the cleaned rock if I do it in sections.

 

[Dburr1014]

Yes it needs light to grow. My concern is with the algae spreading to the cleaned rock if I do it in sections.

You may need to go with chemicals if you can get a proper ID.
I'm not very good in IDing algae.

 

[xabo]

Been dosing Micrbacter Clean and Razor with no success.

I have one of these in the sump I got from a fellow reefer who had it in his tank for the past 5-6 years.
Hoping the bacteria will assist in keeping the fish alive until I complete the process.

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[landlubber]

that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
if you're going as far as removing your entire tank of rock another laborious option would be to start introducing doses of lanthanium chloride to your operating display. it will be slower going but it pulls phosphate very well. something to consider

 

[xabo]

I've been dosing LC for at least 6 months and phosphates will lower to 0.08 but will quickly rise as high as 0.6 if I don't monitor it.

 

[Dburr1014]

I've been dosing LC for at least 6 months and phosphates will lower to 0.08 but will quickly rise as high as 0.6 if I don't monitor it.

It's a very long process to get it lowered.