Splashless Clorox and gravel

[Mark3]

I made the mistake of trying to use Splashless Clorox to clean some gravel...it just will not rinse out. I have been rinsing it for 9 days, and it still has white cloudy water, looks like dirty bath water.
I am thinking of putting in some muratic acid to see if that will clean it up....???

Please help with what is in this splashless stuff and how can I get it off?

 

[Jon Fishman]

What “gravel”?

May be better off starting fresh vs cost and time of attempted salvation

 

[Mark3]

I hate to just throw it out, but it may wind up in the trash if I can't get it to rinse clean. I have washed sand many times, and never had any problems, it's this splashless stuff that just won't rinse. I have used plain bleach and swimming pool chlorine other times with great results. It's a challenge now

 

[Mark3]

Does anyone know what muratic acid would do ....will this help me or make it worse?

 

[WVNed]

When chlorine bleach is mixed with an acid, chlorine gas is given off. Chlorine gas and water combine to make hydrochloric and hypochlorous acids.


Chlorine gas exposure, even at low levels and short periods of time, almost always irritates the mucous membranes (eyes, throat, and nose), and causes coughing and breathing problems, burning and watery eyes, and a runny nose. Higher levels of exposure can cause chest pain, more severe breathing difficulties, vomiting, pneumonia, and fluid in the lungs. Very high levels can cause death.


Chlorine can be absorbed through the skin, resulting in pain, inflammation, swelling, and blistering. Hydrochloric acid also causes burns to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, mouth, and lungs.

 

[Tom Stevens]

I would not mix muriatic acid and bleach together. It may start a chemical reaction producing harmful substances.

 

[amps]

What's the cost of new gravel vs the cost of your time trying to fix it? Also consider the risk of failing and what livestock you might lose.

 

[MnFish1]

I made the mistake of trying to use Splashless Clorox to clean some gravel...it just will not rinse out. I have been rinsing it for 9 days, and it still has white cloudy water, looks like dirty bath water.
I am thinking of putting in some muratic acid to see if that will clean it up....???

Please help with what is in this splashless stuff and how can I get it off?

It has detergent in it. Do not use muriatic acid I would toss whatever you put in the splashless bleach

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Anything porous in anyway that had splashless bleach applied needs to be trashed. That stuff is sooooo hard to make things rid of it.

But whatever you do, do not mix bleach and muriatic acid.

 

[Mark3]

Life lesson learned....Do NOT Use splashless bleach to clean rock or sand. Crap, that was a nice batch of sand to go to waste.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Life lesson learned....Do NOT Use splashless bleach to clean rock or sand. Crap, that was a nice batch of sand to go to waste.

We live and learn. I lost almost 50 filter socks when the wife used the wrong bleach. Stuff happens. Luckily it got noticed and did not end up in a tank with livestock.

 

[Mark3]

ya, I don't think I would trust this gravel now, no matter how long I rinse it.

 

[Mark3]

Guess I can use it as decorative sand out in the flower garden....or a nice clean sandbox for someone's cat.....or ....?

 

[LadyMac]

I would toss it. But I don’t trust having chemicals like that outside in a garden.

 

[Dan_P]

I made the mistake of trying to use Splashless Clorox to clean some gravel...it just will not rinse out. I have been rinsing it for 9 days, and it still has white cloudy water, looks like dirty bath water.
I am thinking of putting in some muratic acid to see if that will clean it up....???

Please help with what is in this splashless stuff and how can I get it off?

I wonder if the cloudiness is from the aragonite sand which I presume is what you are referring to as gravel. Check with @brandon429 about removing dust and cloudiness from aragonite sand if that is really what you are referring to.

 

[MnFish1]

I wonder if the cloudiness is from the aragonite sand which I presume is what you are referring to as gravel. Check with @brandon429 about removing dust and cloudiness from aragonite sand if that is really what you are referring to.

You might be right - unfortunately - the 'consensus' from multiple threads and here is that you cant 'for sure' clean splash-less bleach out of things easily. No matter what you do - its unfortunate to have to toss something

 

[brandon429]

hey I scoped this thread earlier and that sand option didn't dawn on me, we really do have several threads where initially non rinsed sand was cloudy/persistent for weeks after depending on flow etc. That's a neat call, it could be an issue

so, lets grab a handful of sand and scoop it out. that act alone leaves behind a tracing cloud if applicable in the main tank, and, the sample can be put into a cup to check for bleach smell/obvious if applic and for sand clouding that you can stir up with a spoon etc

I use that bleach around the house no experience in tank, not sure of its dwell time but its notable ha agreed

 

[Dan_P]

You might be right - unfortunately - the 'consensus' from multiple threads and here is that you cant 'for sure' clean splash-less bleach out of things easily. No matter what you do - its unfortunate to have to toss something

I don’t know what analytical data the “consensus” is based on.

 

[MnFish1]

"I don’t know what analytical data the “consensus” is based on."

You can search for it on the site. There are multiple threads about people using this product - and what the product contains. First - its bleach - then its a bunch of detergents (because the concentration of bleach is low) - so - its like you said - 'Hey - I rinsed my sand in dawn dishwashing liquid - what should I do?;' To me - with enough rinsing it 'should' be ok. But with a porous surface like rock - (the question usually is related to rock sterilization) - which is better tossing the rock - or rinsing and risking a problem . In this situation - with sand, I would say - get rid of it - or keep rinsing - and then after you think you're done rinsing, do it again 50 more times. There is no way to know - thats the problem.

 

[Mark3]

YES, it is aragonite sand....it had been in another beautiful tank for years. It had some aptasia and algae in it, so I put it in a bleach bath and then rinsed. It is in a brute can soaking in water, but the water looks milky, no mater how much I rinse and rinse and rinse. I have been rinsing it for 9 days....everything should be rinsed off it by now. no hint of bleach smell to it. Any ideas of how I might save this sand?