Remove po4 from base rock

[Triggreef]

Is there some kind of way to remove high levels of po4 from aragonite / calcium carbonate other then letting it naturally dissipate? Maybe some way to soak it and wash it away?

Or something that could transform it into something else that could be washed away?

With the goal being to be able to use the rock in a reef again.

 

[Radman73]

When I got my pukani, I performed a muriatic acid wash followed by a bleach bath. It took a decent amount of muriatic acid, but not much in the way of bleach. I'm not positive if/how this will take care of phosphate issues other than the acid will melt away the outermost layers of rock, ostensibly where most of the phosphate would be bound. Read up on it, not for the faint of heart or those who don't follow safety guidelines.

Alternatively, run your rock in a tub and dose lanthanum chloride, a phosphate binding agent used in swimming pools. It will help bind whatever the rock leeches to the surrounding water. Prob takes more time, definitely safer.

Are you sure the rock has bound phosphates?

 

[Larry L]

I've read a number of posts about people treating their rock with one of the lanthanum chloride based phosphate removal products, no idea how long it takes though. The idea is that the lanthanum chloride takes the phosphate out of solution, which causes phosphate in the rock to leach out until they reach equilibrium with the water, and the cycle continues until you've got the phosphates down to where you want them.