Bleaching Live rock

[jezzeaepi]

Hello Boomer,

I have about 80 pounds of live rock and its infested with cirolanid isopods. I have been trying to starve them to death for 4 months now and I now know that starving them to death is impossible. My only option left is to bleach all the rocks and kill them. How do I do this poroperly?

Right now all the rocks are in a 40g acrlyic tank with no skimmer. Can I just pour a cap full of bleach in and wait a week?

Peace Jesse

 

[Boomer]

Well, me put all LR in bath tub, some of it at a time is fine. Get a spray bottle and fill it with 100 % bleach. Spray each piece with hot water for a good rinse. Then spray each piece well, so it is dripping with bleach and rotate pieces as you spray them, make sure wife is not around. Place the pieces in them emptied buckets to sit until all the bleaching is done, make sure wife is not around. Then remove the pieces from the buckets and place in tub. Rinse out the empty buckets with hot water and fill them with warm water and add 10x the dosage of Amquel. Spray all the pieces WELL with shower head, turning them as you do it with 100 % hot water, make sure wife is not around. Put the pieces in the buckets to sit in the Amquel water and move them up and down so all the pores are well treated. When done add std dosage to the tank of Amquel and then add the rock back in. Try to vent the bathroom or where ever with a fan and opened window to remove chlorine fumes, otherwise your eyes will hurt and make sure wife is not around.

I did this or versions of this once a month for 20 years and never lost an animal. Your LR will be 100 % dead rock And 100 % clean rock.

 

[NC2WA]

Boomer,

Just curious, what is your Plan B in case wife is around?

 

[Scooterman]

Boomer what does the Amquel do to the rock that just rinsing with water won't do & you say dose in your tank, reef or not?

 

[Boomer]

Rinsing may not take out and probably will not take out, all the bleach in the rock, so Amquel is used to neutralize any. The Amquel for the tank is just a safety thing in case you missed some. You are also rinsing the rock with tap water which is going to have Chlorine or Chloramine in it. Yes, reef or not.

NC2WA

I'll I have think one up :lol: See I have no wife, so that is just for you guys

 

[nyfireman3097]

Hey Boomer im curingabunch of marco rock in a 75 right now. I have all tests showing 0 but PO4 which is .98 (Hanna) Would bleaching the rocks like this then putting them back into a fresh saltwater curing tank help get rid of the PO4. ive been doing alot of WC's and the PO4 is barely going down

 

[Boomer]

Yes, it would help, as all the pores would be well cleaned out from any organics containing PO4, that ends up as PO4 in the water column. BUT, you still need to address the issue, where is the PO4 coming from or you will end up right back where you were. Just remember, if you use bleach on those curring rocks all life forms will be 100 % dead.

 

[nyfireman3097]

the rock is in a 75g tank with no light nothing but a few powerheads and a euri reef skimmer. The PO4 could only be from the rock itself. Thre are no critters fish nothing

 

[Boomer]

The question at hand is do you really want to kill all the micro, bacteria, etc., in the LR ??

 

[nyfireman3097]

Well I am gonna think about it Only because I have my new tank coming april 22nd. Theres only one peice of LR in the tank the rest is marcorock

 

[jezzeaepi]

Thanks boomer that was just what I was looking for.

A few quick questions for clarification.

How long do I leave the rocks soaking in the bleach solution?
Then how long in the amquel solution?
Then how long till they are safe?


Peace,
Jesse

 

[jezzeaepi]

Anyone? Trying to do this project tomorrow or the next day

 

[Boomer]

How long do I leave the rocks soaking in the bleach solution?

Just for the time until you are ready to rinse them. After you have sprayed them well, just put them in buckets till you are done with the all bleachig and ready to rise them. If it is just two pieces, say in one bucket, then 5 min. 100 % bleach is very, very powerful stuff. Just the bleach fumes moving through the LR, if say a section did not get wetted with bleach, will still kill all in the LR. If you have enough room in the bath tub for all the pieces, like I use to, then just spray them all there, sit for 5 min and they rinse them all there and then put them in the Amquel buckets for 5 min


Then how long in the amquel solution?

After you have filled the last bucket with the LR pieces then just start with the first bucket, then to the second bucket and the rinsing off of the Amquel. If only one bucket then say 5 min in Amquel


Then how long till they are safe?

As soon as you are done with the rinsing off of the Amquel, and have dosed the tank with the Amquel.

 

[Scooterman]

This is good information, at times I can see where it will be useful.

Thanks Boomer

 

[Boomer]

You bet

 

[OldFishMan]

Hello;

I probably have them -- I looked at my rocks one night with a red light --- led works good in the place of the bulb in a small mag light.

I got worms and more worms, things crawling around everywhere and my Coral Banded Shrimp eating what it can catch. I stopped looking.

IMHO

Before I killed my rock and tank with bleach --- I would try hyposalinity first --- It will kill most everything in the tank but worms and algae.


Here is a link with some information for those who need to know:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php


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"It has to be right, I read it somewhere!"

"OFM"


Enjoy!

OFM

 

[jeffmit]

Thank you for pointing this helpful thread out, I will review these tips to get my rocks ready before putting them in my tank.

 

[mfinn]

Thank you for pointing this helpful thread out, I will review these tips to get my rocks ready before putting them in my tank.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/bleaching-lr-66831/

 

[jeffmit]

Yes, mfinn. I will use these tips to bleach my coral (that is already dead) to clean it before putting it into my new tank.

 

[gREEF Stricken]

so the hyposalinity trick will NOT kill bacteria?? or just not worms?

GS

Yes, mfinn. I will use these tips to bleach my coral (that is already dead) to clean it before putting it into my new tank.