Scented bleach on live rock

[MnFish1]

Been there , done that. It ain’t no joke. Took a week to recuperate from it And that was after I had flushed the acid before I added bleach

I thought muriatic acid was more used to get rid of phosphate that might have bound to the rock? I'm just not sure what it would do here.

 

[shred5]

I thought muriatic acid was more used to get rid of phosphate that might have bound to the rock? I'm just not sure what it would do here.

It would at least remove some of the surface rock were some of the contaminates would be.

 

[MnFish1]

Been there , done that. It ain’t no joke. Took a week to recuperate from it And that was after I had flushed the acid before I added bleach

I did it too.... I cant remember how - but I mixed bleach with something else in the sink maybe some ammonia containing thing - the first thing I remember not being able to see - then I landed on the floor. The breathing took several days to recover

 

[MnFish1]

It would at least remove some of the surface rock were some of the contaminates would be.

Yes - I thought of that - but then unfortunately - the soap is still in the water and now the rock below the rock thats been eaten away is now also contaminated (again depending on how porous the rock is). Were you the one in the other recent thread (that used the splashless bleach)? I cant remember... Anyway - I think the final decision there was 'not to use it' as you said above. I posted what I did to be helpful (about the rinsing) - but like you there is no way I would personally use or recommend using rock exposed to that product (which is unfortunate for the OP)

 

[shred5]

Yes - I thought of that - but then unfortunately - the soap is still in the water and now the rock below the rock thats been eaten away is now also contaminated (again depending on how porous the rock is). Were you the one in the other recent thread (that used the splashless bleach)? I cant remember... Anyway - I think the final decision there was 'not to use it' as you said above. I posted what I did to be helpful (about the rinsing) - but like you there is no way I would personally use or recommend using rock exposed to that product (which is unfortunate for the OP)

Not in the other thread.

My girlfriend actually bought the bleach and I just never looked at the bottle.
I started pouring it and was why is this so thick? I threw away the rock.

I do not bleach or use vinegar baths very often. Only if the rock is really bad with lots of dead stuff.

Yea I do not think you could ever remove it all...

 

[mtfish]

I don't think coral rock would survive a week long bath in Muriatic Acid. The acid literally disolves away layers of rock. I have read that people have lost 20% of their rock weight in 20 minutes soaking in Muriatic Acid. Most instructional videos I have seen indicate 10-15 minutes tops.



If you've never worked with Acid before please do a LOT of reading and planning BEFORE you buy any Acid. You have to plan for protecting yourself and your property from it. Plan for how you are going to neutralize and dispose of it. The time to do that planning is NOW, not when you have a brute can full of rock and acid in your backyard... And whatever you do, NEVER do an acid bath in your home!

I did not make my self very clear. Acid bath for short duration to etch the outer surface. Regular water after that. Not trying to make calcium soup, lol!

 

[MnFish1]

To the OP - I looked at some other threads - There are a mixture of answers - most say rinse multiple times if its 'non porous' - but do not use if its 'porous rock'. Some say citric acid or vinegar can neutralize detergents with multiple treatments. Sorry for the multiple posts - but I wanted to help you avoid throwing your rock away (or making a sculpture. As @shred5 suggested - will you ever feel secure if you put up the tank and have problems? Im sure others will have other ideas - good luck again with your decision.

 

[Dripdroppin]

Wow thanks so much for all the input guys. I haven’t actually paid my dad for the rock yet and I’m almost positive the bleach contained soap or detergent so I’m gonna ask him if I can return it to his pond and not be out any money because I have too much invested in my livestock to risk it. Thanks again everybody

 

[MnFish1]

Wow thanks so much for all the input guys. I haven’t actually paid my dad for the rock yet and I’m almost positive the bleach contained soap or detergent so I’m gonna ask him if I can return it to his pond and not be out any money because I have too much invested in my livestock to risk it. Thanks again everybody

Just out of curiosity - it is like 'live rock' type rock (i.e. from the ocean - or is it solid rock like granite, etc) only because you mentioned putting it in a pond?

 

[Paul B]

I rarely say something is bad, but I do have some experience with scented bleach. It is bad, very bad. I used to treat my NSW with regular Clorox before using it in my tank. That was in the days, long ago when I thought parasites were bad.

One day I used "New Fresh Scent Clorox". I aerated the water for a few days as I always did than used some Chlorine remover then I dumped about 15 gallons of that into my 100 gallon tank. In less than 5 seconds the fish started to jump out. The ones that didn't jump out, died in minutes. I lost almost all my fish but the corals survived although they all exuded slime. Some of the fish I saved I still have and that was about 20 years ago but I lost a 10 year old mandarin and an 18 year old cusk eel among others.

 

[Dripdroppin]

Just out of curiosity - it is like 'live rock' type rock (i.e. from the ocean - or is it solid rock like granite, etc) only because you mentioned putting it in a pond?

let some old live rock of the Fiji variety i would guess. My dad just placed it around the outside of his pond for aesthetics.

 

[MnFish1]

let some old live rock of the Fiji variety i would guess. My dad just placed it around the outside of his pond for aesthetics.

Ah - ok. I thought maybe it was more 'solid' rock like quartz, granite etc (which would be easier to get rid of the detergents than the porous live rock). The pond part threw me. If you were my kid I would let you bring it back

 

[SeaDweller]

I rarely say something is bad, but I do have some experience with scented bleach. It is bad, very bad. I used to treat my NSW with regular Clorox before using it in my tank. That was in the days, long ago when I thought parasites were bad.

One day I used "New Fresh Scent Clorox". I aerated the water for a few days as I always did than used some Chlorine remover then I dumped about 15 gallons of that into my 100 gallon tank. In less than 5 seconds the fish started to jump out. The ones that didn't jump out, died in minutes. I lost almost all my fish but the corals survived although they all exuded slime. Some of the fish I saved I still have and that was about 20 years ago but I lost a 10 year old mandarin and an 18 year old cusk eel among others.

This guy right here is super old school and nothing really fazes Paul B. If he’s saying scented bleach is bad, I wouldn’t think about using the rock again.

 

[Proteus Meep]

Just get new rock...it's just not worth the time and effort and uncertainty it will bring to the health of your tank and yourself

 

[Dripdroppin]

Actually I think I’m going to use the rock. I’m just gonna make sure to run some carbon and gfo the first few years of the tank. After creating this thread I used fish’s advice that multiple small rinses are better than a large one so I placed my water hose at the bottom of the brute can and did pretty much a 48 hour continual rinse. I’ve since been running a lot of carbon in a reactor with the rock and I think I’m gonna finish with an acid bath. This is going to be about half my rock with my already established live rock I think will help with dilution

 

[Dripdroppin]

I’m also going to be running the tank fallow because of what I believe to be velvet from the last tank providing more time for carbon to hopefully soak up any detergents and allowing me to slowly add cheaper livestock and watch their reactions before adding the rest

 

[shred5]

You do not even know if carbon removes these chemicals. The chemicals have to be in the water first for the carbon to remove them..
Not like carbon has a way of directly removing it from the rock.
No way I would risk the life of these animals.

Went through this same on RC where this kid got some chemicals in his aquarium and it nuked everything. He thought he could wash out his tank and what ever. Set it back up and could still not keep anything alive. That was just a tank, imagine what could bind to rock.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Actually, I do (chemistry background). GAC will remove detergents from water - very effectively, I might add. That assumes, however, that the detergent will effectively desorb from the rock. The other possible item in the "lemon scented bleach" is limonene. This will also be effectively removed from water by GAC. One note - limonene is one consituent of of at least one popular coral dip on the market. I wouldn't want to dump it in my tank, but it appears not to be directly and immediately toxic to corals.

Given what you've noted is the history of this rock (outside around a pond for a couple of years), I'd be a lot more concerned about organic buildup from terrestrial critter waste, and I'd also be concerned about the rock's true identity as originally being actual old coral skeletons. If it is no-ifs-ands-buts-or-maybes Fiji rock from the ocean, then I would most certainly give it an acid bath followed by at least a few weeks in circulating RODI, with a complete water change every few days.

That should at least make it safe to use, though you may well have the standard problem of "the uglies" until it cures for a few months in your tank.

 

[shred5]

Actually, I do (chemistry background). GAC will remove detergents from water - very effectively, I might add. That assumes, however, that the detergent will effectively desorb from the rock. The other possible item in the "lemon scented bleach" is limonene. This will also be effectively removed from water by GAC. One note - limonene is one consituent of of at least one popular coral dip on the market. I wouldn't want to dump it in my tank, but it appears not to be directly and immediately toxic to corals.

Given what you've noted is the history of this rock (outside around a pond for a couple of years), I'd be a lot more concerned about organic buildup from terrestrial critter waste, and I'd also be concerned about the rock's true identity as originally being actual old coral skeletons. If it is no-ifs-ands-buts-or-maybes Fiji rock from the ocean, then I would most certainly give it an acid bath followed by at least a few weeks in circulating RODI, with a complete water change every few days.

That should at least make it safe to use, though you may well have the standard problem of "the uglies" until it cures for a few months in your tank.

Removes it from the water not the rock. So it has to be in the water first correct? That weans the whole time it is leaching from the rock it could kill stuff in the tank. How long will the rock leach this stuff?
Do you know the exact chemicals in the bleach he used? What was the scent used in that particular bleach? How sensitive are invertebrates to it?

Are you positive it will be safe to use? Would you do it in your reef?

Carbon also removes copper from the water but you cant use rock that was in copper or even a aquarium.

 

[Dripdroppin]

Actually, I do (chemistry background). GAC will remove detergents from water - very effectively, I might add. That assumes, however, that the detergent will effectively desorb from the rock. The other possible item in the "lemon scented bleach" is limonene. This will also be effectively removed from water by GAC. One note - limonene is one consituent of of at least one popular coral dip on the market. I wouldn't want to dump it in my tank, but it appears not to be directly and immediately toxic to corals.

Given what you've noted is the history of this rock (outside around a pond for a couple of years), I'd be a lot more concerned about organic buildup from terrestrial critter waste, and I'd also be concerned about the rock's true identity as originally being actual old coral skeletons. If it is no-ifs-ands-buts-or-maybes Fiji rock from the ocean, then I would most certainly give it an acid bath followed by at least a few weeks in circulating RODI, with a complete water change every few days.

That should at least make it safe to use, though you may well have the standard problem of "the uglies" until it cures for a few months in your tank.

Wow that makes me feel a lot better. I’m also fairly positive I didn’t put any of the “splash less” kind in there even though I surely put some detergents. Another thing that influenced my decision is these are some rather large base type rocks that aren’t particularly porous compared to my pukani Atleast. I’ve been rinsing them like a mad man so I’m going to continue rinsing and running carbon while I prepare for the acid bath and then it’s going to be a few more weeks of rinsing before I put hem in my tank