Dead rock?

[jaschall]

Ok I have around 150 pounds of dead rock. It used to be in my 3 year established tank that was up and running tell July this year. What happened was while on a 10 vacation my tank blew a seam and completely drained. I lost 95% of my livestock. My rock and corals were cooked from my lights. All my rock has been outside since then. Was wondering what the best method would be to clean it before I reuse it. So far I have broken off all dead coral and power washed it. I have read around and people have recommend bleaching it or acid bath. I am not up for the acid being I don't want to mess with that type of chemical. So I'm leaning toward bleaching it. Has anyone ever done this here, or have any other recommendations. Thanks for any help.

 

[skinz78]

I've taken it in the past, boiled in hot RO/DI water, then scrubbed with a toothbrush in a bucket of fresh RO/DI. After that proceed to rinse once or twice in RO/DI and start the cycle in the tank.

 

[Pappy]

I just cleaned all the rock I got by soaking in 30% white vinegar solution. And rodi for 2 days with power heads. Then pressure washed and rinsed with rodi again. I'm still cycling tank so not sure how it has worked yet but hoping for the best!

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I would bleach it. I would use cold water (hot water makes the bleach ineffective) and let soak in a tub. Add a little more bleach here and there over the course that you are soaking it. Once you are done soaking it, empty all the water and rinse the rocks (to get gunk out). Then, refill the tub with water and add sodium thiosulfate (cheap dechlorinator). Let soak for at least 24 hours.

 

[jaschall]

So how long should I soak in bleach. And can you give me a run down on the sodium thiosulfate, where to buy and how much product to use. Thanks

 

[jaschall]

Bump

 

[skinz78]

I wouldn't bleach at all.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

So how long should I soak in bleach. And can you give me a run down on the sodium thiosulfate, where to buy and how much product to use. Thanks

I soak in a solution of about 10% bleach and add some more bleach every few hours over the course of 24 hours. Then, I rinse off the rock extremely well using a hose. Then, I soak in sodium thiosulfate (it depends on how much water I am using). I don't use much sodium thiosulfate, since it is pretty effective. I also test the water for chlorine and chloramines at the 24 hour mark. If the test reads that I still have chlorine, I add more sodium thiosulfate. Sodium thiosulfate can be found pretty easily online and it's cheap. A small container goes a long way.