Pool bleach to clean rocks???

billy2k1

Member
A friend of mine just gave me like 50 pounds of what used to be "live rock".He told me that he was getting rid of his aquarium,sold all he could and still had this rocks.He mention that he cleaned them with pool bleach and now i don't feel like its a good idea to use them.I am wondering if you people agree with me on not to use them.Can i do something to be able to use them?.I hve some corals living in my aquarium already and after all the hard work i did putting everything toguether i don't think i should risk it at all.
 
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sinner's girl

Guest
why did he use bleach?
I wouldn't put themin your tank yet....I would say cure them....but I don't know what to test for...
 

billy2k1

Member
According to him,he didn't want anybody to get anything bad from them and he used bleach to desinfect them.I think he mess them up trying to do something good...
 
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sinner's girl

Guest
i would set up a bin or something with water, you can use the water you take out during a water change, and test everything in the water...I would think the bleach need to come out...maybe stick it all in the sun? :notsure:
i'd just not use it...unless someone can tell you want to test for. You could always cure it, then stick a damsels in there and see if he lives...but that seem wrong and mean.
 

dogstar

Active Member
You could soak them in a decloraminer like Prime or simular and test. Pentair makes a chlorine test. Maybe others too. Will end up with pretty dead rock IMO. Then re-cure.
 

billy2k1

Member
I think i am going to put them in a 5 gallon bucket full of fresh water with a power head and lots of decloraminer for a cople of days.Does this sound good?
 

emmitt

Member
I wouldn't risk using them. Who knows how long it would take for the bleach to leech out? You will never know if it is all out of the rocks. Better be safe than find a dead tank some day.
 

maeistero

Active Member
wanna sell and ship?
i'll take it off your hands cheap.

it really should be perfectly fine. it'll take a much longer curing/cooking and testing process but it's fine. use the good old search function and read some past threads from experienced reeefers.
 

billy2k1

Member
That's also a good point emmitt.I think i wont use them,thats why i am looking for some advise here,thanks a lot....
 

emmitt

Member
Experienced reefers?? so if we have less posts, we have no experience and dont know anything?
I've read a thousand threads on here to NEVER use bleach to clean a tank so why would it be different with LR. You can use as long a curing process as you want but you will NEVER know if all the bleach has leeched out. Not worth risking your whole tank to save a few $ on possiblt contaminated LR. But hey what do i know, i only have 70 posts.
 

maeistero

Active Member
nothing against low posters or people with less time on their join date. shoot anyone can post up 600 posts in the aquarium lounge. oh and i don't think i called myself an experienced reefer. there are some people that you learn from here. i'm just giving a tip on looking around for them.
all i'm saying is that if you take an hour or so and research many of the mod's replies to "bleach" i would place my trust in them. i would place several specific links, but i don't want to single out any single person and it's pretty simple to click "search" and type "bleach".
i did not tell him to throw it in his tank this afternoon. he has it, it's basically free to keep it sunk and test it for a long time, even though it shouldn't take a long time. i don't even have any pool bleached rock, but it only took me a minute of wondering to find out that i would try to save it for a month or so. imagine what i could find out if i actually searched out the chemical base and difference between regular bleach?
i've heard also of people boiling chlorine off and heating it up on the driveway to speed up the process.
like i said before if you come across some you don't want in all your wisdom, i'll cook it up. i have all the time in the world.
 

emmitt

Member
You can do as many rolleyes as you want but there is a big difference between soaking a filter sock or plastic coral in bleach and soaking a piece of LR in it. Live rock will absorb and hold the bleach unlike a filter sock or piece of plastic coral. Wont be nearly as easy to "rinse off" and you'll never be sure it has all leeched out.
 

maeistero

Active Member
consider it dropped. i would use it in a couple months you would not. done and done.
put it up for sale and i think it may just sell in a day.
 
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phishface

Guest
i think if you soak it in fresh water, w pwrhead, changing the water for 4 or 5 weeks. then a 2 week saltwater soak, it'll be fine. but of course IMO.
 

dischirm

Member
Back in the 70's when I first had saltwater tanks, we would use dead coral skeletons as decor instead of live rock and when they got algae on them, we would soak them in bleach solution overnite and then rinse really well and let them sit in the sun until dry (couple days) then I would put them back in the tank. Bleach evaporates in the air, and it should be just fine to rinse and dry the rocks and reuse them.
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Belach is mainly chlorine. Dechlorinate by soaking and water changes with apower head and ill bet youll see it start coming back to life.When it does, test it for chlorine.Still not sure or if it doesnt start coming back. Set it in the sun. Chlorine evaporates FAST! Cant keep enough of it in my pool! Then still not sure soak it in dechlorinator again with some LR that has been seede and see if it comes back. It will I bet. Heck you can set highly chlorinated water out in the sun and in a day or so it wont have any chlorine in it at all. Lr seems pretty pourouse and so If it soaks it up its gotta let it ou too. Cant just hold it and then all of a sudden release it I wouldn't think. doesnt sound very logical to me. If it comes back and test neg for chlorine Id say its ok. Still not sure? Break a large peice in half if you can and soak and test.
JMO
 

symon

Member
I really think there is some common sense that should come in right about now! I personally have spent to much money on my tank to take a chance! But i also understand the others point, that it really should be able to be washed over some time! I think the idea i saw was great! Put it in a tub with a declorinator for a few weeks, the run it with salt for a few weeks, if it still shows now life the try seeding it with some live rock for a few weeks , testing all the while! Who know might end up with some nice rock !
 

mikeyjer

Active Member
You guys really need to think Chemistry!!! Chlorine dissipates within 48 hours!!! There will be NO bleach leaching out what so ever. I would recure the rock again in a bucket of fresh water. You need to search to see what is within the pool bleach, is there any other chemicals within the pool bleach over the regular bleach. That would be the only issue I worry about, not the bleach itself!!! :happyfish
 

cinobyte

New Member
10 yrs ago bleach was your friend when u wanted to clean dead coral or even rock. I bleached some about 2 months ago and then flushed it about 3 times with water and stress coat (any thing that removes chlorine) then let it dry completely.
Its in my tank now the fish love it and have no ill effect. couple of them have done made the barnicle into homes.
not to mention most people drink chlorine every day just in smaller doses
fyi I have no idea about pool bleach
 
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