Curing rock in bleach turned blue?

Q

Quicksilver

Active member
Hey everyone, I'm going to restart another tank and I'm bleaching all my rock beforehand. Most of it has been soaking for a few weeks now and noticed today that some of the rocks are blue. I've searched around and can't find a straight answer and thought I would check with everyone. This is the first time I've tried curing the rock and little puzzled if this rock is safe to use. I've about 10+- pieces soaking and only 2 are blue.

The top two are the same rock just different sides

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That looks like dead sponge to me. Bleach doesn't dissolve it but does kill it. It would be safe to use but you will see a mini cycle as it slowly rots lol
 
Might be dead sponge or algae tissue reacting.

Bleach doesn't remove dead stuff on rocks, it kills them. That's why people usually have algae issues when they start, all the dead matter being eaten by the new bacteria sets up a nutrient issues.

Whenever possible, muriatic acid baths are much more effective as they actually strip the rock rather than just kill
 
If you want completely inert rock, go to the paint department of Menards and pick up a jug of muriatic acid. Cover rock in hot water, preferably outside, and then throw the acid in. 1-2 hours is usually enough. Take the rock out, dump the water, and let the rock dry out. You probably want to read the label if you've never used muriatic acid.
 
Thanks everyone for the info and advice. I was planning on using Lanthanum Chloride (SeaKlear) after rinsing the rock from the bleach but was thinking all the rock would eventually turn white. I'll try the Lanthanum Chloride (SeaKlear) this week and if that doesn't work I'll pick up the muriatic acid.
 
Thanks ff22 for the info, I'll make sure to take the necessary safety precautions. Hopefully the SeaKlear will work but at least I have a backup in case that doesn't.
 
To add to that, it is well known that mixing bleach and muriatic acid is deadly. Not that you will but it is important to get all the residue bleach off the rock before it touches the acid.
 
Thanks for the reminder, I saw that and I'm going to go the LC route. Seems easier to deal with and I already purchased it. Hopefully a few cycles of that works.
 
Fish_wiz2 said:
To add to that, it is well known that mixing bleach and muriatic acid is deadly. Not that you will but it is important to get all the residue bleach off the rock before it touches the acid.
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This is true, they make chlorine gas which can be fatal.

Thats why you always let the rocks sit outside after a bleach soak anyways, to let the chlorine evaporate from it.
 
Lanthanum chloride precipitates phosphates. It can be useful when you have a high biological load in a tank and can't get your PO4 down, sort of like GFO but works a little different. Muriatic acid will dissolve all organic compounds on the rock, period. It's also cheaper than lanthanum chloride.
 
My tank crashed during a move and algae got out of control and would prefer to start with a clean slate. I've always battled phosphates even before the crash and I'm hoping one of the main reasons was the rocks.
I've already soaked the rocks in bleach for 2 weeks, rinsed them, and now have them soaking in lanthanum chloride since I already purchased it.
My plan is to cycle it in LC every other day this week and then soak them in vinegar one last time for a week.
Should I throw in a cycle with muriatic acid? Also, if I use the muriatic acid what's the best way of draining it? From everything I read no one mentions the disposal, can I just run my hose through it and dilute it as it runs into my yard.
 
Quicksilver said:
My tank crashed during a move and algae got out of control and would prefer to start with a clean slate. I've always battled phosphates even before the crash and I'm hoping one of the main reasons was the rocks.
I've already soaked the rocks in bleach for 2 weeks, rinsed them, and now have them soaking in lanthanum chloride since I already purchased it.
My plan is to cycle it in LC every other day this week and then soak them in vinegar one last time for a week.
Should I throw in a cycle with muriatic acid? Also, if I use the muriatic acid what's the best way of draining it? From everything I read no one mentions the disposal, can I just run my hose through it and dilute it as it runs into my yard.
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So all the dead non removed matter on the rocks coul cause the imbalances. Whether it's the source of the specific algae issues you has, I'm not sure. But it does cause some issues.

I just diluted and drained the muriatic acid in a corner of the yard.
 
Quicksilver said:
My tank crashed during a move and algae got out of control and would prefer to start with a clean slate
Click to expand...

Clean slate is what muriatic acid does. One step. It's also probably unrelated to the algae problem you had in your tank. You can start with clean rock and develop an algae problem. Dealing with an algae outbreak is one of the hardest things to do in the hobby, actually. Anything from lights to water chemistry to filtration to feeding could be the problem, often all of them in different amounts. We're just saying you're wasting your time and energy on all the rock treatments.
 
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