Rinsing base rock with tap water

[Jacques Cousteau]

Randy,

I have some old dry LR sitting in my garage that I would like to use as base rock in a new setup. The problem is that it was pulled out of an older system and has dried salt/algae/critters all over it.

I know I need to rinse it off before using it, but I wanted to know if I could do it with just tap water. Will whatever in the tapwater get into the rocks and leech at a later date? I am specifically concerned with chlorine and phosphates.

Any opinions will be appreciated. I don't want to have to do this with RO/DI water. It will take too long.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the rock is totally dead, and has dead, dry critters on it, I'd probably soak it in bleach, then thorough rinsing in fresh water prior to adding to a tank. Otherwise, all of those dead critters will decay, cause a big ammonia spike, and ultimately end up fueling algae growth.

If you tap water is loaded with phosphate, that could be an issue. If not, I'd use it. I might us RO/DI for the last rinse.

[Jacques Cousteau]

How much should I dilute the bleach?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The more you dilute it, the longer it will take to degrade the organics. If you are talking about big tubs of rocks, I'd dilute it more than if you are talking about a few small rocks. I suspect it will work fine to at least 1:10 dilution. I don't really know how far the dilution can be pushed.

Anyone else?

[JasonF]

10%, or 1:10 as you said, is what we use to disinfect electronics externaly, up at the hospital. It's as good a number to go with as any.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks, Jason:)