I will be giving some live (but really very dead) rock an acid bath today.
The rock originally came from an established system, was transported to a new location, and then left in stagnant water for over a week. I can only imagine how much die-off has occurred.
I've read several posts about giving rock an acid bath. Essentially, the acid eats away the outer most layer of rock. Therefore, it will remove whatever has grown on the rock. I've also read that this will prevent the rock from leaching phosphates. Hopefully, when I'm done, I should have nice and clean white limestone rock (much like the dry base rock you can find).
<u><span style="color: red;">PLEASE READ:</span></u> Muriatic acid is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCI). It is a highly corrosive acid. It is used commonly as a reactive chemical solution and is a strong acid that is completely solvent in aqueous solution. When it comes into contact with water it forms hydrochloric acid. It's important to wear protective gear when performing this procedure. I will be wearing plastic gloves, eye protection, and a respirator. When the muriatic acid is mixed with water, it releases some nasty fumes. It's best to do this in a very well ventilated area that has a slight breeze. It's best to stand upwind from the water container so that the wind blows away from you. <span style="color: red;">Always pour the muriatic acid into the water. Never add water to acid.</span>
The process:
1) scrub rock with a brush to knock off any lose sediment.
2) Put rock in a tub/bucket and fill with water until the rocks are completely covered by water. It's important to track how much water is added because it will determine how much acid to add.
3) Add acid: Buy muriatic acid from a pool supply store or your local home improvement store. Read the ingredients and determine how much HCI there is. We are shooting for a 3% hydrochloric solution. If I added 10 gallons of water and the muriatic acid contains 30% HCI, then I would need to add 1 gallon of the muriatic acid.
4) The mixed solution will start to bubble and disolve the rock. Once all of the bubbling has ceased, the reaction is over. Many people like to add baking soda to the solution at this point to ensure that the acid has been neutralized.
5) Drain the solution, rinse the rock, and let the rock soak in regular water.
6) Remove the rock and let it dry completely. I plan to let it dry in my garage with a heater on it. I'm thinking this will speed the dry time.
Timing: I'll start the acid bath late this afternoon. It should be done by nightfall. I'll remove, rinse, and soak in normal water overnight. If the drying goes well, I should be able to add the rock to my tank Sunday night or Monday.
Once this process is complete, I should have perfectly good dry rock. The benefits of this process is avoiding a very long curing time and the avoidance of a cycle when the rock is eventually place into the tank.
I will take pictures and document. I did a search the other day and could not find anyone that had done this in the ARC (or atleast recently). If you have any experience/advice, I'm open to comments.
The rock originally came from an established system, was transported to a new location, and then left in stagnant water for over a week. I can only imagine how much die-off has occurred.
I've read several posts about giving rock an acid bath. Essentially, the acid eats away the outer most layer of rock. Therefore, it will remove whatever has grown on the rock. I've also read that this will prevent the rock from leaching phosphates. Hopefully, when I'm done, I should have nice and clean white limestone rock (much like the dry base rock you can find).
<u><span style="color: red;">PLEASE READ:</span></u> Muriatic acid is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCI). It is a highly corrosive acid. It is used commonly as a reactive chemical solution and is a strong acid that is completely solvent in aqueous solution. When it comes into contact with water it forms hydrochloric acid. It's important to wear protective gear when performing this procedure. I will be wearing plastic gloves, eye protection, and a respirator. When the muriatic acid is mixed with water, it releases some nasty fumes. It's best to do this in a very well ventilated area that has a slight breeze. It's best to stand upwind from the water container so that the wind blows away from you. <span style="color: red;">Always pour the muriatic acid into the water. Never add water to acid.</span>
The process:
1) scrub rock with a brush to knock off any lose sediment.
2) Put rock in a tub/bucket and fill with water until the rocks are completely covered by water. It's important to track how much water is added because it will determine how much acid to add.
3) Add acid: Buy muriatic acid from a pool supply store or your local home improvement store. Read the ingredients and determine how much HCI there is. We are shooting for a 3% hydrochloric solution. If I added 10 gallons of water and the muriatic acid contains 30% HCI, then I would need to add 1 gallon of the muriatic acid.
4) The mixed solution will start to bubble and disolve the rock. Once all of the bubbling has ceased, the reaction is over. Many people like to add baking soda to the solution at this point to ensure that the acid has been neutralized.
5) Drain the solution, rinse the rock, and let the rock soak in regular water.
6) Remove the rock and let it dry completely. I plan to let it dry in my garage with a heater on it. I'm thinking this will speed the dry time.
Timing: I'll start the acid bath late this afternoon. It should be done by nightfall. I'll remove, rinse, and soak in normal water overnight. If the drying goes well, I should be able to add the rock to my tank Sunday night or Monday.
Once this process is complete, I should have perfectly good dry rock. The benefits of this process is avoiding a very long curing time and the avoidance of a cycle when the rock is eventually place into the tank.
I will take pictures and document. I did a search the other day and could not find anyone that had done this in the ARC (or atleast recently). If you have any experience/advice, I'm open to comments.
