Bleaching Live Rock

[newenglandreef]

I've got some LR I want to "restart." What bleach concentration is sufficient to kill everything and how long should I let it soak?

Also, what's the best way to rinse the rock? Do you use RODI to avoid phosphate absorption?

 

[AnthonyP]

tap and bleach is fine. 10% ratio of bleach for 24 to 48 hrs should kill everything. Run a powerhead as well. Then I would drain it, scrub some crud of the rock and refill with tap and run the powerhead for 24 hrs. Then test for ammonia.....You should be good at that point....then dump in some prime to dechlorinate and run for a day or 2...Then the last soak I woud do RO water. Just make sure the chlorine is out of the rock


tap water for a couple days will not harm anything in my opinion...and in my experience has not.

 

[AnthonyP]

ohh the last soak in RO water I would test for phosphate at that point too....then you know where you stand

 

[JayM]

you could skip the bleach completely and just leave it outside to bake in the sun. A 10% bleach solution will take a LONG time to come out of those rocks, IMO.

I've left rock outside in tap or rain water in buckets for a week or 2. Between the cold this time of year, and the near 0 SG, anything that would live in a reef tank will die off.

rinse/change the water, scrub if you have 'stuff' on the rocks, then re-cook in salt water to make it 'live again', about a 4-6 week period, watching for the nitrogen cycle to go from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

the phosphate test is not a bad idea either

 

[newenglandreef]

Thanks Jay! Where do you get dechlorinator? Home Depot?

I've got a bunch I need to do, maybe I'll try half in bleach and half outside--see which one works better/quicker. Problem with outside is that it may freeze organics instead of rotting them.

I was thinking of trying some in high H202 as well. I'm soaking some powerheads in an H202 solution now--doesn't really seem to be doing much.

 

[JayM]

soak your powerheads in a vinegar solution; it will work much better.

you don't need dechlorinator if you don't use bleach. Bleach will kill any life, but isn't necessarily going to dissolve your organics. soaking will dilute orgabics in solution as they come off the rock, but scrubbing will get the crap off, then a rinse, a soak and you're done

 

[newenglandreef]

What ratio vinegar to water?

So I should use bleach or not? I definitely want to kill everything.

 

[JayM]

vinegar is cheap, I probably do close to 30% vinegar, and the stuff dissolves away. Bleach...your call, but it doesn't take much to kill stuff off.