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anyone here done an acid bath for LR?
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acid bath for LR
- Thread starter snowmansnow
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I did it a few months ago. Bleach first, then acid!
100% clean Rock!
Used a big tub outside. I followed a good post on RC. I'll see if I can find it!
100% clean Rock!
Used a big tub outside. I followed a good post on RC. I'll see if I can find it!
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Thanks! Just don't want to melt my face off
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Couldn't find it by found this by RHF...
The only methods to remove phosphate that is bound into CaCO3 is to quickly dissolve away the outer layer of rock using acid, or to slowly allow the phosphate to come off into water that has low phosphate levels.
If choosing the latter, note that you will not remove other undesirable stuff (like organics) and you will need to keep the phosphate very low in the water, either through very frequent changes, or by using something like GFO or lanthanum to take it out of solution as it dissolves off the rock.
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Randy Holmes-Farley
Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef
Bleach will kill organic matter.
The only methods to remove phosphate that is bound into CaCO3 is to quickly dissolve away the outer layer of rock using acid, or to slowly allow the phosphate to come off into water that has low phosphate levels.
If choosing the latter, note that you will not remove other undesirable stuff (like organics) and you will need to keep the phosphate very low in the water, either through very frequent changes, or by using something like GFO or lanthanum to take it out of solution as it dissolves off the rock.
__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley
Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef
Bleach will kill organic matter.
I just did it a few weeks ago too. I used a 30 gallon plastic tub and had it to the top of the rock with water. Then I poured a gallon of muriatic acid in and gave it 15 min. Obviously do it outside and I also recommend wearing gloves. Then I pulled it out, rinsed it off and let it sun dry.
Ditto but I dumped the bucket of water/acid on my driveway where it was dirty
Eye protection a plus. Most posts suggest a 10:1 ratio and GOOD ventilation. Breathing the chemical is very dangerous!
After I dumped the mix, I hosed it all down, filled up the bucket with water again & added a powerhead. Did this several times then brought it inside and did it again with RO water.
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I just did a deep clean with water and a scrub brush. Hosed it off really good and let it sun back for weeks. But I purchased Figi live rock and let it die. If I did marco or brs pukani rock I would do the acid bath.
I also neutralized some of the acid with baking soda before dumping it. And i second the eye protection!Camellia;1032203 wrote: Ditto but I dumped the bucket of water/acid on my driveway where it was dirty
Most posts suggest a 10:1 ratio and GOOD ventilation. Breathing the chemical is very dangerous!
After I dumped the mix, I hosed it all down, filled up the bucket with water again & added a powerhead. Did this several times then brought it inside and did it again with RO water.
I bleached all of my rock (~125 lbs) prior to setting up my tank, as well as soaked it in a muriatic acid bath. Borrowed a 150g rubbermaid container from a member that lives near me, filled it about 1/2 to 2/3 full with water, added 1 gallon of bleach, and let it sit for a day or two with a large Koralia pump to circulate the water in order to kill any living tissue. Dumped the water, filled to 1/2 to 2/3 again, added a gallon of muriatic acid, and let it sit for about an hour. After an hour, the tub looked like a frothy cesspool of nastiness. With long gloves, safety goggles, and a large trash bag for an apron, I reached in and carefully sloshed each of the rocks around in the acid bath. After sloshing around, I pulled each rock out and submerged it in two separate rubbermaid containers of RODI water to rinse. I then laid the rocks out to air dry for a couple of weeks, but probably would have been fine after a few days. Did a really good job of cleaning the rock, IMO.
Exactly, I forgot to mention I left the rock on the driveway in the sun for several days before bringing it inside!
I did all my rock a few years ago in a 100g rubbermaid tub.
Bleached it first at 10% bleach to water for 24 hours. Soaked in fresh water for 24 hours. Soaked it in 10 gallons of muratic acid for 24 hours. Soak in fresh water for 72 hours. Dry in the sun for 48 hours.
Worked great.
Bleached it first at 10% bleach to water for 24 hours. Soaked in fresh water for 24 hours. Soaked it in 10 gallons of muratic acid for 24 hours. Soak in fresh water for 72 hours. Dry in the sun for 48 hours.
Worked great.
Definitely do it in your driveway. You'll get lots of froth. I forget the ratio I did, but in about 15 minutes it ate away about 1/8" of surface. As a plus, the acid bath opens up the pores in the rock even more, which is pretty cool.
I didn't want to deal with the risks of an acid bath and just soaked in 50/50 bleach water for a couple days then rinsed and dried it out in the sun. Then I soaked in RO water, cleaned and let it soak for a few more days. As a precaution I re dried it and rinsed once more in RO water. It was clean as a whistle and I didn't experience any issues. The whole process was easy to deal with.
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I did the acid bath, and honestly it wasn't a big deal. Now I don't have to worry about my pukani leaching po4 into my tank for years
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+1
Glad to hear that cute little face is ok
Glad to hear that cute little face is ok
