Sodium Hydroxide in bleach…ugh

[Cell]

Thx. Doesn’t say soap though? Then why all the suds?

Because a sudsing agent was added. In the article I posted, they note the splashless has a lower sodium hypochlorite concentration (1-5%). The regular bleach, absent the sudsing agent is 5-6.5%.

 

[Flame2hawk]

I deliver chemicals , specifically about half a million to a million lbs a week of caustic and hypo. We go to the bleach plants, the power plants and to industrial chemical plants with these products daily. . I have yet to see a splashless bleach plant that does not add a surfactant most also add fragrances. This bleach has zero industrial uses as it’s disinfecting qualities are very weak as usually it’s only 1 percent hypo. It’s easy money for Chlorox and costs less to produce per gallon

Wow that just killed me as I think what you are saying is that what was nodded did not sterilize the tank? It does list hypo as 1st ingredient however.

 

[Flame2hawk]

So lets recap:
-2/12 year old 625g FOWLR with approx 550 lbs of rock (100 remains in tank. Rest has been removed to sterilize seperately. Found Walmart bleach which has 7.5% Hypo and 92.5% water. Will use that for the separate rock).
-Added 1 3/4 g’s of the Publix and HDX bleach which contains Hypo as 1st ingredient and Hydro as second. Bleach in tan for approx 27.5 hours so far. SUDS GALORE.


WHAT DO I DO?

* Nothing- continue for 48hrs then remove bleach with Chloe out?
* Drain tank, rinse with treated tap water. Drain, refill with RO saltwater.
* other (pls specify)

Thx…gotta go take out some more suds…..

 

[Flame2hawk]

Because a sudsing agent was added. In the article I posted, they note the splashless has a lower sodium hypochlorite concentration (1-5%). The regular bleach, absent the sudsing agent is 5-6.5%.

Maybe I should just drain and refill with ro water and 7.5% hypo (Walmart great value) for 24 hours then use chlor out…..so confused.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

I would fill it and drain it several times till the suds are gone Just use a garden hose. Then fill with ro/di I would not use any color out type products.

as Far as killing the bad actors. Your soap and bleach have already done that so now just worry about getting it rinsed out very well

 

[Cell]

Sorry, I'm not sure what the best remedy is. I'd consider ditching the 100lbs of rock that remained in the tank and rinse the tank until no more suds appear.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Wow that just killed me as I think what you are saying is that what was nodded did not sterilize the tank? It does list hypo as 1st ingredient however.

No I think your tanks sterile. I would be more worried about finishing the soap out at this point

 

[Troylee]

Drain the tank.. pull the rock that’s in it and throw it in a trash can with muratic acid after it’s fully dry from the bleach and let it cook for a hour or so.. wash the tank out with a hose very good and fill it back up with saltwater and start your cycle over.

 

[Miami Reef]

I agree. Just drain it and start over. Not only to remove the soapy residue, but also to remove the chlorine byproducts. I‘d want a fresh start.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree.

 

[Flame2hawk]

Maybe I should just drain and refill with ro water and 7.5% hypo (Walmart great value) for 24 hours then use chlor out…..so confused.

Drain the tank.. pull the rock that’s in it and throw it in a trash can with muratic acid after it’s fully dry from the bleach and let it cook for a hour or so.. wash the tank out with a hose very good and fill it back up with saltwater and start your cycle over.

Thx! Anyone concerned about the tap water containments (ie etc when hosing it down?

 

[Cell]

Tap water rinsing is not a concern. You can let it fully dry if you want before adding RODI but I wouldn't worry about it in a monster tank like this.

 

[Troylee]

Thx! Anyone concerned about the tap water containments (ie etc when hosing it down?

Nope! I filled my first reef up many years ago with my garden hose haha! Worst that would happen is a algae break out.. if you’re just rinsing it out you’ll be fine.. I’d muratic acid all your rock in the tank and the stuff you pulled! It gives a deep clean and removes phosphates from the rock. Use new sand also.. I’d say rinse it well normally but I’m not sure the extent of what the bleach is done or if it will rinse from the sand.

 

[Cranie]

Most regulat household bleach is around 5 percent hypo, Splashless is normally around 1 percent hypo. dont use splashes for you aquariums , just to whiten clothes

5% IF you're lucky with the short half life Hypo has, Even the 50% we use at work turns to water in 2 months.

 

[exnisstech]

I agree with @Troylee

 

[KrisReef]

Nope! I filled my first reef up many years ago with my garden hose haha! Worst that would happen is a algae break out.. if you’re just rinsing it out you’ll be fine.. I’d muratic acid all your rock in the tank and the stuff you pulled! It gives a deep clean and removes phosphates from the rock. Use new sand also.. I’d say rinse it well normally but I’m not sure the extent of what the bleach is done or if it will rinse from the sand.

I disagree with the extra step of washing the rocks with pool acid. The original problem was biological, the chlorine has killed off that issue. The op seems to handle problems with no messing around tactics, so I would expect him to go back to Walmart and buy 2-2gallon boxes of acid and go nuclear option on the rock and possibly end up melting all the rocks into useless sand-mush. I think if we are going to help him we need to be careful and clear about how to move forward.

The bleached rock should be rinsed off and then either sun dried or treated with DeClor to make it safe for reuse.

I would stop there. If others want to suggest pool acid directions? I’ll let them make their recommendations and ask for acid dilution protocols to guide the op. Be safe!

I’m not always “that guy” but I think we’re all trying our best to support a safe and healthy recovery

 

[Troylee]

I disagree with the extra step of washing the rocks with pool acid. The original problem was biological, the chlorine has killed off that issue. The op seems to handle problems with no messing around tactics, so I would expect him to go back to Walmart and buy 2-2gallon boxes of acid and go nuclear option on the rock and possibly end up melting all the rocks into useless sand-mush. I think if we are going to help him we need to be careful and clear about how to move forward.

The bleached rock should be rinsed off and then either sun dried or treated with DeClor to make it safe for reuse.

I would stop there. If others want to suggest pool acid directions? I’ll let them make their recommendations and ask for acid dilution protocols to guide the op. Be safe!

I’m not always “that guy” but I think we’re all trying our best to support a safe and healthy recovery

I get it but any bleach now has all sorts of warnings and says not for aquarium use! I’d assume he would research the correct way acid bath some rocks! They will not dissolve either lol! I fill a half a trash can with rock and fill water to just above the rocks and pour a gallon in and watch it fizz for a hour or so till it calms down and then pour it out and rinse well with my hose.. I just did 50 pounds and added it to my tank 2 hours later without any issues.. my recommendation for the acid bath is to remove anything that the bleach left in the rocks since it wasn’t the correct bleach to begin with.

 

[KrisReef]

I get it but any bleach now has all sorts of warnings and says not for aquarium use! I’d assume he would research the correct way acid bath some rocks! They will not dissolve either lol! I fill a half a trash can with rock and fill water to just above the rocks and pour a gallon in and watch it fizz for a hour or so till it calms down and then pour it out and rinse well with my hose.. I just did 50 pounds and added it to my tank 2 hours later without any issues.. my recommendation for the acid bath is to remove anything that the bleach left in the rocks since it wasn’t the correct bleach to begin with.

Good start @Troylee
What do you do with the water afterwards? I dump in a box of baking soda and watch it boil. I don’t know if it’s releasing chlorine gas, or oxygen or hydrogen or a mixture of those things but I don’t think I want to breathe it?
I often dump the bucket of pool acid in the toilet to avoid etching the driveway. It might work to take out the neighbors trees growing on the fence line? (Always recycle!)

Do you carefully pour the acid into the water, wear gloves and googles, - this stuff is not safe to have around things like cats and toddlers,

Best to use outside with good ventilation!

I have had it dissolve thin branches of coral so that they crumble. Heavy more solid boulders of aragonite is not to worry about, as you said. It does polish the rock and removes some organic materials from the surfaces, along with the surfaces.

The op needs to be careful to read the label for pool treatment and also the tips for handling corrosive substances, just to be safe.

I wonder if there is a thread on here to provide basic safety information for handling and home storage of the items that we often use in our hobby?
@Randy Holmes-Farley -link(s)

I wonder if any noobz would read them if they were(are) easy to find?

 

[Troylee]

Good start @Troylee
What do you do with the water afterwards? I dump in a box of baking soda and watch it boil. I don’t know if it’s releasing chlorine gas, or oxygen or hydrogen or a mixture of those things but I don’t think I want to breathe it?
I often dump the bucket of pool acid in the toilet to avoid etching the driveway. It might work to take out the neighbors trees growing on the fence line? (Always recycle!)

Do you carefully pour the acid into the water, wear gloves and googles, - this stuff is not safe to have around things like cats and toddlers,

Best to use outside with good ventilation!

I have had it dissolve thin branches of coral so that they crumble. Heavy more solid boulders of aragonite is not to worry about, as you said. It does polish the rock and removes some organic materials from the surfaces, along with the surfaces.

The op needs to be careful to read the label for pool treatment and also the tips for handling corrosive substances, just to be safe.

I wonder if there is a thread on here to provide basic safety information for handling and home storage of the items that we often use in our hobby?
@Randy Holmes-Farley -link(s)

I wonder if any noobz would read them if they were(are) easy to find?

Honestly I don’t wear any Saftey gear it’s not my first rodeo and I dump it in my rocks in my yard lol.. it’s almost neutral by the time I do and I just flush it with my hose.. I live in the desert haha! Bulk reef supply or YouTube or google has plenty of info as does reef 2 reef! Hopefully the op reads this.. sometimes I just take things for granted.. sorry about that! It is the best way to go about things thou… also I hope the op does more research next time then just trusting one person and their guidance.. lesson learned! I hope anyways lol

 

[Flame2hawk]

I disagree with the extra step of washing the rocks with pool acid. The original problem was biological, the chlorine has killed off that issue. The op seems to handle problems with no messing around tactics, so I would expect him to go back to Walmart and buy 2-2gallon boxes of acid and go nuclear option on the rock and possibly end up melting all the rocks into useless sand-mush. I think if we are going to help him we need to be careful and clear about how to move forward.

The bleached rock should be rinsed off and then either sun dried or treated with DeClor to make it safe for reuse.

I would stop there. If others want to suggest pool acid directions? I’ll let them make their recommendations and ask for acid dilution protocols to guide the op. Be safe!

I’m not always “that guy” but I think we’re all trying our best to support a safe and healthy recovery

It was always my intent to use chlor-out after thorough rinsing the rock. I also will run high end carbon for some time before adding fish while using turbo 900. I’m optimistic after first rinse as the detergent suds really dissipated rapidly. My guess is that the concentration of detergent must have been rather low.

So I now have rinsed with and drained again. Next step will be to remove the leftover rock and all the sand (don't know where to dispose the sand?).