Muriatic Acid for Dry Rock

[paulthomas]

Has anyone used a muriatic acid and water solution to clean dry rock before? What's a safe, but effective, ratio to use?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[paulthomas]

Or how about vinegar and water?

 

[Greg Hiller]

Muriatic acid (concentrated hydrochloric acid HCl) would be pointless to use on any calcium carbonate based rock. This will dissolve the rock and in a matter of minutes would be neutralized by the rock itself before even dissolving much of it.

If you want to clean rock of proteinaceous deposits you should use dilute bleach. 5-10% solution in some tap water in a big bucket. Soak it for a week, maybe two, rinse it many times with tap water, then put it in the sun, or in a warm spot for all the water and bleach smell to disipate. When no more bleach smell is left, it's ready for use in nearly any tank.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Vinager (dilute acetic acid) would also be pointless to use for the same reason as HCl.

 

[stingythingy45]

The only time I've read of anybody using Muriatic acid on rocks is when the rock was exposed to copper.

 

[stevenp]

I soaked a bunch of rock in bleach water as Greg suggested. It worked very well, but be forewarned it can take a LONG time for the bleach to evaporate. I left mine on our cast iron radiators (another trick suggested by Greg) for a several months before I was confident that the bleach had completely evaporated.

 

[paulthomas]

Muriatic acid (concentrated hydrochloric acid HCl) would be pointless to use on any calcium carbonate based rock. This will dissolve the rock and in a matter of minutes would be neutralized by the rock itself before even dissolving much of it.

If you want to clean rock of proteinaceous deposits you should use dilute bleach. 5-10% solution in some tap water in a big bucket. Soak it for a week, maybe two, rinse it many times with tap water, then put it in the sun, or in a warm spot for all the water and bleach smell to disipate. When no more bleach smell is left, it's ready for use in nearly any tank.

Thanks Greg, that makes sense.

I've been soaking the MR for a good two weeks now in RO water. It's a lovely aroma. I was told to use RO so that the rock didn't absrob crap from tap water. My tap is pretty high in TDS, which is typically above 200.

The only time I've read of anybody using Muriatic acid on rocks is when the rock was exposed to copper.

Thankfully I haven't done anything that stoopid, yet.

I soaked a bunch of rock in bleach water as Greg suggested. It worked very well, but be forewarned it can take a LONG time for the bleach to evaporate. I left mine on our cast iron radiators (another trick suggested by Greg) for a several months before I was confident that the bleach had completely evaporated.

Thanks Steven. I suppose if I leave the rocks in the sun for a few weeks (I've got the time), that'll speed up the process of eliminating the bleach. I'll give it a try. I should ask a buddy of mine. He was in Clorox's R&D dept. decades ago.

 

[stingythingy45]

The guy that I read about on another site had integrated a bronze elbow into his plumbing.Talk about a mess.....
He couldn't bring himself to throw away that much LR.So he used acid to dip the rock and eventually made a decent recovery out of the whole ordeal.

 

[Shenlung]

The guy that I read about on another site had integrated a bronze elbow into his plumbing.Talk about a mess.....

....so you're saying that I shouldn't make my entire return setup out of copper piping for aesthetics?

How's the RO water soak working for ya paul? I have a couple pieces of LR that's been sitting in a bucket dry for a month or so I'd like to put into my sump, so I'm kind of curious to see how this works for ya.

 

[paulthomas]

The guy that I read about on another site had integrated a bronze elbow into his plumbing.Talk about a mess.....
He couldn't bring himself to throw away that much LR.So he used acid to dip the rock and eventually made a decent recovery out of the whole ordeal.

That sucks. But then, that's good.

How's the RO water soak working for ya paul? I have a couple pieces of LR that's been sitting in a bucket dry for a month or so I'd like to put into my sump, so I'm kind of curious to see how this works for ya.

It stinks pretty bad, but is otherwise working well. The rock looks pretty clean on the surface. Of course there's probably lots of gunk within the rock still. I was thinking about going to a car wash bay and using the high pressure gun on the tub of rock there. I would run the "water only" for at least $3.50 worth. But then there still may be soap, wax, etc. in the line. Has anyone ever tried that?

 

[Scott]

But then there still may be soap, wax, etc. in the line. Has anyone ever tried that?

But they'd shine! Then add some neon blue under lighting and some massive subwoofers.

Yo homie pimp dat!

(what, not helpful? )

 

[ReeferMedic]

Muriatic acid (concentrated hydrochloric acid HCl) would be pointless to use on any calcium carbonate based rock. This will dissolve the rock and in a matter of minutes would be neutralized by the rock itself before even dissolving much of it.

If you want to clean rock of proteinaceous deposits you should use dilute bleach. 5-10% solution in some tap water in a big bucket. Soak it for a week, maybe two, rinse it many times with tap water, then put it in the sun, or in a warm spot for all the water and bleach smell to disipate. When no more bleach smell is left, it's ready for use in nearly any tank.

I'll also add that you can use de-chlorinator, and can get it at just about any lfs. The de-chlorinator will cut the time down drastically that it takes for the bleach to dissipate and it's not all that expensive. I use it when I regenerate my purigen with bleach. The chlorine smell is almost immediately gone after adding de-chlorinator, but I usually wait for 24 hours.

 

[Greg Hiller]

FWIW, declorinator is sodium thiosulfate if you want to pick it up from a supply house.

 

[paulthomas]

But they'd shine! Then add some neon blue under lighting and some massive subwoofers.

Yo homie pimp dat!

(what, not helpful? )

You fo'got the dubs playuh.

Shine, pimp, homie... you is gangsta!

I'll also add that you can use de-chlorinator, and can get it at just about any lfs. The de-chlorinator will cut the time down drastically that it takes for the bleach to dissipate and it's not all that expensive. I use it when I regenerate my purigen with bleach. The chlorine smell is almost immediately gone after adding de-chlorinator, but I usually wait for 24 hours.

Thanks Don. I didn't think of that.

FWIW, declorinator is sodium thiosulfate if you want to pick it up from a supply house.

Thanks again Greg.

 

[ReeferMedic]

FWIW, declorinator is sodium thiosulfate if you want to pick it up from a supply house.

Thanks Greg, I always wondered what de-chlorinator was made up of.

 

[ReeferMedic]

I just googled sodium thiosulfate and it's also an antidote to cyanide poisoning.

 

[paulthomas]

I just googled sodium thiosulfate and it's also an antidote to cyanide poisoning.

I'll be sure to keep a bottle next to the cyanide.

Call me crazy, but this looks like a pretty good alternative to over-priced aquarium dechlorinator.

http://secure.sciencecompany.com/Sodium-Thiosulfate-Pentahydrate-500g-P6376C670.aspx

Sodium Thiosulfate as Pond/Aquarium Dechlorinator
Chloramine vs. Chlorine...

The following stock solution of Sodium Thiosulfate does not treat for Chloramine, only Chlorine. Chloramine is a chemical compound composed of chlorine and ammonia and more and more utilities are converting to its use. Check with your municipal water company to learn which chemical they are using. If Chloramine is the disinfectant, please research other knowledgeable sources to learn your best solution for water treatment.

To begin...

Obtain a clean one gallon jug. A photography supply store will likely have good brown jugs. They are used to store darkroom chemicals. Dissolve the 500 grams of Sodium Thiosulfate in a large pitcher of lukewarm tap water. Stir until all the crystals are dissolved. Then transfer the solution with a funnel to the gallon jug. Top off the jug to make a full gallon of stock solution.

Add 2 drops of the stock solution per 1 gallon of the water to be treated.
One gallon can treat 37,850 gallons or more.Over-dosage is virtually impossible.

Ok, who wants to split a 5 gallon bucket?

 

[paulthomas]

If you want to clean rock of proteinaceous deposits you should use dilute bleach. 5-10% solution in some tap water in a big bucket. Soak it for a week, maybe two, rinse it many times with tap water, then put it in the sun, or in a warm spot for all the water and bleach smell to disipate. When no more bleach smell is left, it's ready for use in nearly any tank.

I'm gonna try this Greg. I just can't fathom pouring 2.5-5 gallons of Clorox into my fifty plus gallons of RO rock water.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Exposure of your rock to a bit of tap water (that is suitable for human consumption) I really don't think is going to do any serious harm to it. I use this approch all the time with no problems.

 

[paulthomas]

Too late.