Is this finally safe to go in?

[legrunt]

I've had this dry rock soaking in a bleach solution for a few days, then in fresh water RO/DI with dechlorinator for a week, and then another bucket of pure RO/DI water for another 5 days, and after that, has been drying out for another few days.

This is what it looks like on the outside.

Nicely bleached white look.

But when I flip it over,

Is this a cause for concern? Is that dark color organic matter? I would have thought the bleach would have taken care of that... Or can some rock just be that dark? And the amount of vermetid shells are freakish, but can I assume they are all dead and won't harbour any nasty surprises?

 

[legrunt]

Forgot to add, after the bleach, I powerwashed it in the garden...

 

[legrunt]

Bump...

 

[MelReefer]

Bump

 

[alex7miles]

I presume it doesnt still smell of bleach? I would imagine it is fine. The dark stuff does look like dried up algae. Can it be rubbed of?

 

[legrunt]

Nope, no bleach smell at all, and nope, the dark stuff doesn't rub off... I powerwashed it all over...

 

[alex7miles]

I would say yes its safe. Everything on the rock will be dead. My only concern is if for some reason bleach was still stuck inside the rock. I suppose you will never know for sure, hahaha. Take it you are putting it in an established tank?

 

[cvrle1]

Put it in RODI water, leave for 3-4 days and then test for Phosphate. If there are none leaching, it is good to go in. If you dont test for PO4, only thing you can do is guess if it is ready. And to make sure all bleach is gone, use a chlorine test strip and see what it says. Good and cheap way to check it is all in fact gone

 

[legrunt]

I would say yes its safe. Everything on the rock will be dead. My only concern is if for some reason bleach was still stuck inside the rock. I suppose you will never know for sure, hahaha. Take it you are putting it in an established tank?

Yes, established tank

Put it in RODI water, leave for 3-4 days and then test for Phosphate. If there are none leaching, it is good to go in. If you dont test for PO4, only thing you can do is guess if it is ready. And to make sure all bleach is gone, use a chlorine test strip and see what it says. Good and cheap way to check it is all in fact gone

Do the reef test kits work with RODI water? It doesn't have to be saltwater?

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Looks great,

 

[nezw0001]

I'd let it soak and check for phosphates. Dry rock can leach a lot of phosphates.

 

[cvrle1]

Do the reef test kits work with RODI water? It doesn't have to be saltwater?

PO4 can be tested just with fresh water. I actually had same question about this several months ago, and was told it doesnt need salt to get proper reading. Just make sure you use RODI. I actually compared my fresh vs salt water reading, and they were pretty much the same (off by 0.02 or something negligible like that). I use Hanna ULR phosphorus checker.