# Question on soaking rocks with bleach



## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

You're about 10x more than done

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## Gafi (Aug 5, 2011)

really? Ive heard of people having them in there for days changing the water daily


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Gafi,

I use bleach periodically when treating equipment or hardscape for my tanks. After treatment I give everything a good scrubbing, dose with about 10X the normal amount of Prime and let soak for several hours or overnight. Lastly I take it out, dry it off, and 'sniff' - if I smell even a hint of bleach I re-dose with Prime and soak again. I tend to err on the safe side.


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## Kyrol (Feb 24, 2012)

If it's a solid surface your just wasting prime. I bleach and sell used equipment all the time, soak it for an hour or 2 in hot bleach water then spray off with a hose. Let air dry then spray one more time. Pay attention to o-ring seats and tight spaces the maineland filters with the spraybars are a pita. 

Soaking stuff for hours to rise the chemicals off is one of the dumbest things you can do (solid surface) because the bleach will just disperse into the water. Then it sets into little air gaps that hold water and drys with a chance of residue. You can bleach a random filter and have it back in your tank in an hour without prime.


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## Gafi (Aug 5, 2011)

Kyrol said:


> If it's a solid surface your just wasting prime. I bleach and sell used equipment all the time, soak it for an hour or 2 in hot bleach water then spray off with a hose. Let air dry then spray one more time. Pay attention to o-ring seats and tight spaces the maineland filters with the spraybars are a pita.
> 
> Soaking stuff for hours to rise the chemicals off is one of the dumbest things you can do (solid surface) because the bleach will just disperse into the water. Then it sets into little air gaps that hold water and drys with a chance of residue. You can bleach a random filter and have it back in your tank in an hour without prime.


While I appreciate your input, this post has nothing to do with my original question of the rocks. Just want to make sure I dont kill anything


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

I've taken mold abatement classes for my last job. We were taught 20 to 1 for 15 min. for mold, then clear rinse.

When I clean equipment I sock in hot water for a 5min. to loosen the dirt, scrub, then soak in 20 to 1 bleach for 15-30min. then clean rinse, then let it sit in Prime & clean water for at least 30min. I normal treat water with prime at 3 drops per gal., I double that for bleach removal.

Those times are usually based more on getting coffee than anything. I don't know that those long soaks really do anything extra.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Bleach is a very simple thing but often not understood. To put your mind at ease, I suggest doing some reading on chlorine. 
You will find it is a chemical that reacts very easily with many things. That is what makes it good for cleaning and disinfecting things. About the hardest thing to kill is a snail who has his lid closed. The goverment agencies that deal with cleaning water recommend at least 12 hours contact time for drinking water. For wood and rocks for the tank, less time may certainly work as we don't really expect you to leave a live snail setting on things. I let it soak while I sleep. Eight hours is nice. 
Clearing the chlorine out is where most people get off track because they don't read or think very far about chlorine. Most of us know that when we drink water treated with chlorine, we often smell it. When we go near a pool or spa we often smell chlorine. Why? 
It is because chlorine is by nature, a gas. 
It takes effort to keep it from becoming a gas and blowing away. Your Momma will have major trouble pouring a gas into the laundry so they tie the chlorine to a tiny amount of a salt so they can mix it as a liquid. Look on the jug and it lists sodium  hypochlorite. The chlorine blows away and it leaves a tiny amount of this salt. You can get more salt licking the back of your hand! 
Just letting the stuff soak and then dry will do it but if you feel like it, Prime works almost immediately so a 10 minute soak will do whatever it needs to do. 

The idea of bleach residue staying on wood is just ignoring the facts. Chlorine reacts with wood. How can chlorine stays on wood without reacting until one or the other is gone? Only when one is paranoid and wants to ignore the facts. Any residue will be the harmless salt. 

Easy way? Soak, rinse, dry and use it!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Kyrol,

I agree that long duration soaks are not needed for hard surfaces; unfortunately the driftwood and stones that I treat are porous and actually absorb the bleach solution. That is why I treat for longer durations to neutralize the bleach that was absorbed. Like I said, I tend to err on the safe side but I was a chemistry major so what do I know.


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## Gafi (Aug 5, 2011)

hahaha of course, my luck, its been raining here solid for 2 days and is supposed to continue for 2 more....would leaving them out in the basement with a dehumidifier work?


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## Bandit1200 (Dec 11, 2010)

just put them outside in the rain...


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## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

I really don't even worry about soaking rocks. Just scrub good under hot water. No problems this far. It's just a rock

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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

jeremyTR said:


> I really don't even worry about soaking rocks. Just scrub good under hot water. No problems this far. It's just a rock
> 
> Sent from my HTC Evo 4G


 
But what if it's a rock with oil that you don't see? Read any stories about folks who lost all their fish and can't figure out why? 

In this hobby it is often not the problems you see that hurt you. It's the things you don't see that jump up and bite you. I don't know that I've ever gotten sick due to dirty silverware but I want it washed anyway.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Unless the rock is porous, I don't bother to soak them in Prime. After bleaching, I simply put them in water, add Prime, and make sure all areas of the rock get covered. Prime works instantly so there's no need to soak a rock in it. Contact is enough.

So put it in a bucket of water. Pour some prime in it. Swish it around to be sure the prime got all around it. Take the rock out and put it in your tank. Enjoy. I've been doing it that way for years. :smile:


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## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

Complexity said:


> Unless the rock is porous, I don't bother to soak them in Prime. After bleaching, I simply put them in water, add Prime, and make sure all areas of the rock get covered. Prime works instantly so there's no need to soak a rock in it. Contact is enough.
> 
> So put it in a bucket of water. Pour some prime in it. Swish it around to be sure the prime got all around it. Take the rock out and put it in your tank. Enjoy. I've been doing it that way for years. :smile:


+1 like i said......hes already more than 10x done

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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Prime is a fine way to get the chlorine out if one wants to go that way. I often put mass numbers of wood projects in to soak and it is just easy to let them set and then when I get back around to them, I take them out of the tub to dry. Either Prime or time to dry will do it. Since most of us will have more Prime in the tank water than there is chlorine, there might be enough already there but that would be risky. 
The folly to me is when folks are afraid to use chlorine to clean things. It ignores the fact that most of us have chlorine or chloramine already in the water and we deal with it. It's just a matter of how matter of PPM and that's just adding water!!!


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

Why not just use hydrogen peroxide? Dirt cheap powerful oxidizer that is rendered completely safe simply by drying out the rocks.


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