Need Help badly

[lmlwsp]

Alright, well my wife poured some bleach into a container containing some old live rock that I removed from a tank. She tought this would clean off all the algea growing on it. She was right about that. Is there any way to still use this rock? What do I need to do? I hate to throw out perfectly good rock. I have washed down and let it dry in the sun and have it in a new container soaking in water with a powerhead in it. Please help.

 

[uberlink]

Sorry to hear that. I'd be pretty hesitant to use it, myself. Live rock is so porous, and I'd be really afraid that the bleach would gradually leach out into your tank. If you were going to use it, then I'd soak it for at least a month or two in tank water (maybe pour your weekly water-change water into it) in the hope that it would gradually leach out. But again, I don't think I'd use it.

 

[cain420]

i would cure it for a few months... doing 100 % waterchanges every week and keep powerheads blowing on it..

 

[lmlwsp]

That is what I was affraid of. There was one nice rock I really want to use in my new tank.

 

[lmlwsp]

Originally Posted by cain420
i would cure it for a few months... doing 100 % waterchanges every week and keep powerheads blowing on it..

Can I use regular tap water right now ?

 

[cain420]

i would use ro water.. dont need the salt i dont think, but i could be wrong in that aspect.. Using tap water might help the rock to accumulate the dissolved metals

 

[maxalmon]

anyway to get ride of the wife.....

LOL..... I had the same thing happen to me, used windex to clean the top of the tank, came home to dead fish, with the explanation of "I took the hoods off and wiped all the salt off and then cleaned everything with windex".....

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by lmlwsp
Alright, well my wife poured some bleach into a container containing some old live rock that I removed from a tank. She tought this would clean off all the algea growing on it. She was right about that. Is there any way to still use this rock? What do I need to do? I hate to throw out perfectly good rock. I have washed down and let it dry in the sun and have it in a new container soaking in water with a powerhead in it. Please help.

you will need to wash (soak) the Lr into a vinigar bath to remove any residue from the bleach although bleach will evaperate its inert ingredients will still leave a harful residue. i for future references if you must use something besides water to clean your tank or equipment use white vinigar and rinse well in fw before using in your systems.as for reusing it and becomming live again yes it can be if its cleaned well enough .same way dead rock is turned to live in time the life from other LR in your tank will slowly spead and reinhabit the once dead rock.shame though i know.what a way to learn things the hard way.

 

[lmlwsp]

Thanks for all the help and tips. I washed off the rock with freshwater yesterday afternoon and let it try and then placed it a rubbermaid container filled with freshwater with two powerheads. Repeated that again today. Tomorrow I will give it a good vinigar bath and repeat above steps again but with RO water and let that sit the rest of the week with some water changes.