Bleaching Rock ?'s

[Evansimp]

Hey guys! So I broke down a tank a little while ago and wanted to kill the rock and make it dry rock. I put in a bucket of bleach and water, about 75% water, 25% bleach, and let it sit in there for about 24 hours. Took it out, let it dry in the sun for a few days, soaked it in water for a day... And I'm wondering when it's safe to use in a tank... Still has a weird smell to it... Any tips or suggestions?!

 

[melosu58]

The bleach has to air dry. If it has any holes in it then it might take longer than a week or so. I really dont advocate using bleach on rock.

 

[Phranque]

Shouldn't have soaked it in bleach..... just letting it sit out & dry for a week or two will turn it into dead rock. Now that bleach has soaked into the pores of the rock, it's going to require multiple rinses to get it clean.

 

[Evansimp]

Thanks guys! Learned my lesson haha! So just keep rinsing?!

 

[Phranque]

Yep. I'd rinse it a few times until there are no detectible smells of bleach, then have someone else check it as well..... your nose can become desensitized to a light bleach odor pretty easily. If you really want to be safe, after rinsing a few times, let it sit in water overnight and go to a pool supply store and picked up a small pack of chlorine test strips. If there's still bleach in the rocks, some should leach back out into the water & be detectible.... if so, rinse & repeat.

 

[Evansimp]

Yep. I'd rinse it a few times until there are no detectible smells of bleach, then have someone else check it as well..... your nose can become desensitized to a light bleach odor pretty easily. If you really want to be safe, after rinsing a few times, let it sit in water overnight and go to a pool supply store and picked up a small pack of chlorine test strips. If there's still bleach in the rocks, some should leach back out into the water & be detectible.... if so, rinse & repeat.

Good to know! Thank you!

 

[Evansimp]

Just asked some people if they smelt bleach on the risk and they said no, so that a good sign! Still gonna rinse though!!