Splashless Clorox and gravel

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The polymer that increases viscosity in splashless bleach (sodium polyacrylate) will tend to bind to aragonite. I’m not sure what Reef tank impact it would have once bound, but it might have one.

 

[MnFish1]

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?

Keep rinsing it - Not at all sure that the 'cloudiness' is from the bleach solution. Would never risk it in my tank after using that product though - no matter how much I rinsed it - every time there was a problem I would wonder hmmmm... could it be the bleach lol.. I would get new sand - and btw - neither me - nor anyone else here can say with any certainty the right answer. The more you rinse - the less likely the problem - but for 100$ - I would replace it.

 

[Mark3]

when I say rinse,... I use a power jet nozzel and rinse it over and over give it a tumbling boiling motion till the can is full, and then dump that water out and rinse again.

The polymer that increases viscosity in splashless bleach (sodium polyacrylate) will tend to bind to aragonite. I’m not sure what Reef tank impact it would have once bound, but it might have one.

when you say bind to aragonite....is there any way of washing it off? I was thinking of an acid wash, but that was said to be bad. is there no reversing this mistake?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do not know exactly how readily it can be washed off.

 

[MTBake]

I would toss it. Start over and treat this as a learning experience. I'm not a fan of that splashless bleach at all. The regular stuff works fine when needed. And it's cheaper.

 

[Mark3]

I'm not going to put it in my tank if I can't get it to have 100% clear clean rinse water run off. I use white sugar sand right off the beach... I like it because it has all kinds of little shells and a natural look. But I was going to try this aragonite just for a different look. Beach sand rinses clean and clear without much work.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm not going to put it in my tank if I can't get it to have 100% clear clean rinse water run off. I use white sugar sand right off the beach... I like it because it has all kinds of little shells and a natural look. But I was going to try this aragonite just for a different look. Beach sand rinses clean and clear without much work.

Not to beat a dead horse - its not that its not rinsing clean. Its the chemicals in the bleach that are the problem - they are invisible.