Curing Live Rock: Oxygen Bleach vs Chlorine Bleach

58e970b2-3f88-4897-87ba-5 · Mar 25, 2021

I want to cure some live rock and have oxygen bleach available. Does anyone know if this will work or should I be using chlorine bleach?

End goal is to remove organic material from the rock. I am planning to soak in vinegar or muriatic acid after to remove phosphates. After that will do a number of large rinses in ro/di water.

Rubberfrog · Mar 25, 2021

If it is truly live rock, you will kill all the bacteria and biodiversity in it by using bleach. Just let it soak in a barrel of salt water with a recirculation pump and a heater for a few weeks to a month.

58e970b2-3f88-4897-87ba-5 · Mar 25, 2021

Rubberfrog said:
If it is truly live rock, you will kill all the bacteria and biodiversity in it by using bleach. Just let it soak in a barrel of salt water with a recirculation pump and a heater for a few weeks to a month.

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I should have added more info about the rock and maybe called it something better. Any ideas on what a better thing to call this rock is?

The rock came dry a few months ago (LFS said it was collected from other tanks. It was white and dry) and is currently in a tank and has cycled. So it is populated by bacteria, algae, and a few pods.

I am having some phosphate problems in the tank and considering pulling a little bit to see if curing it will help.
I am thinking to go slow and pull a piece at a time to cure it. Then put it back and wait a bit for bacteria to re-establish before moving to the next one.
There are no fish in the system, just a couple pieces of coral.

Rubberfrog · Mar 25, 2021

Gotcha now. I prefer to cure it the same, whether live or dry. Either way, the dead stuff will rot away naturally, fueling bacterial growth. Change the water in barrel when it starts to smell bad/look murky, etc.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 25, 2021

I know regular hypochlorite bleach will strip organics. I've put whole dead corals into bleach and pulled out clean white skeletons a while later. I'm not sure that other types will do so, but they may.