Prepping live/dead rock for future use

[willray]

I want to kill (bleach and water)any organisms in some dry and live rock so I can store it dry and have it ready until needed. Is R/O preferred or is not necessary?

 

[Turbosnail]

I used tap water to soak it in bleach and rinsed it twice in tap water then used ro water and cloramine(spelling) remover for the last rinse before drying. Once it drys all the bleach should dissipate.

 

[pillowfish]

I just put mine outside in the sun during the summer and let it dry out and plopped it in a box. Now, if there was some GSP or something like that then i may boil it to death first since my feeling is GSP and brown button palys do not die, ever. I have a piece of LR that has been soaking in vinegar for almost a week now after being left out for a month and the PSP is still alive, perhaps I should try the bleach.

 

[willray]

Wondering if the rocks will absorb the pollutants from tap water that the r/o filters out and "lock" into the rock causing trouble later when I go to use it.

 

[AnthonyP]

Don't take this as gospel but I dont think it does matter if it is RO or TAP. I have read a bunch of threads on reef central from randy holmes farley commenting on that bleach/ tap is OK. Then follow up with a 1/10 ratio of muratic acid (if you want to get out all the phosphate bound up crap) soak for a few hours until it bubbles off all of the top layers of the rock and then after the bubbling pour in a ton of baking soda or draino to break down the acidity of the acid. After that take all the rock out and dunk it / swish each piece In RO water and you good.
Sounds so easy right!!!! zip zip done!!!

 

[AnthonyP]

Great Thread

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1914426

 

[JohnK]

I would think that the only thing to worry about would be phosphate getting bound up on the surface of the rock, but the tap water would not have the kind of high level of Phosphate needed to make this an issue. Moreover, you wouldn't need to soak it anywere near long enough to make it an issue.

 

[willray]

Great info and link... thanks folks. One more question though, where can you get muric acid at?

 

[AnthonyP]

Lowes or hd will have it

 

[danzig]

I would think that the only thing to worry about would be phosphate getting bound up on the surface of the rock, but the tap water would not have the kind of high level of Phosphate needed to make this an issue. Moreover, you wouldn't need to soak it anywere near long enough to make it an issue.

I used muriatic acid for mine.

Great info and link... thanks folks. One more question though, where can you get muric acid at?

HD/Lowes. too bad you dont live closer i have half a gallon im never going to use again. Just be safe, DO NOT get it on you and DO NOT breathe in the fumes, keep plenty of baking soda on hand to neutralize the acid after.