Muriatic Acid Bath - Live Rock "Rebirth"

[PSU4ME]

The other day I picked up 292 pounds of rock from a fellow reefers tank. He said his maintenance had slipped and the rock could use a good cleaning. So I bought the rock with the thought of cleaning it using the muriatic acid “method” and I thought I would share my experience with you all.
Disclaimer – This is an “acid bath” and is not to be taken lightly. I will highlight what I did but if you decide to try this yourself please do your own research as there are many threads out there with way better explanations than I will provide here. Please, Please read up on this and be very careful!!!
Quick Overview: Muriatic acid mixed with water turns into hydrochloric acid and this will eat away the top, crap infested layer of our live rock thus giving it a clean “rebirth”. I’ll use a 30% concentration muriatic acid at a 10:1 gallon ratio with water. I’ll also use baking soda to neutralize the acid once the reaction stops. And then a final rinse to wash away all the nasty stuff.
Step 1: SAFETY……..SAFETY……..SAFETY

Gloves…..eye protection and a respirator are a must – this stuff smoke when the bottle is opened!
Next is the rock pile:

 

[PSU4ME]

Next up: Acid (high octane)

The reaction (Obviously I didn’t leave enough room for the reaction in the tubs!)

Neutralize the overflow with baking soda:

Reaction over – load up tubs with more baking soda:

 

[PSU4ME]

After a quick rinse with the hose here is the output:





Overall I am very happy with the outcome. I notice that different rock acts differently and the Marco style rock takes a beating…….but cleans up like new. I’m leaving it soak overnight and then I will give it another rinse and another overnight soak. Then it will air dry in the sun and then I’ll store it.
I don’t need the rock but I figured I’d buy it for a project and eventually some use for it will present itself. So many cool shapes in there with shelf rock so I’m very happy.
I will be doing a smaller second treatment on some choice rocks. I did a batch that was too big so I’d like to clean a few rocks further which should be pretty easy.
Hopefully this was helpful to you guys and as always, fire away with any questions and I’ll try to help!

 

[DaveK]

This method does work, but muriatic acid can be very dangerous to work with. As pointed out but the op, it will also eat away at the LR. Because of these factors, it's often better to use another method.

If you have the time, you can "cook" the LR. This process is similar to curing it outside the tank, but you leave it there, in the dark for a couple of months, until the nitrate readings of the water it's in are 0.

If you need to kill everything on the rock, bleach is often a better choice, and it will not cut into the LR. Bleach will kill everything on the rock, and then a couple of changes FW and the rock can be used.

 

[Bearjohnson]

Looks yummy!

 

[nivek]

Extreme man!

 

[PSU4ME]

As Dave pointed out, this should be a last resort type thing. Bleach does wonders but i've read that mojanos and aiptsaia have come back from bleach baths (could have been done improperly) so Muriatic acid baths are the last resort.

It works great but don't underestimate the risk associated with it!

 

[ddelozier]

last resort is right...thats right nasty stuff you are playing there. Calcium Carbonate(live rock/coral skeletons) are very basic(high ph). Acid is by definition very low PH....acid+Base=reaction. It can release noxious fumes, lots and lots of CO2, and A ton of HEAT. You are lucky it didnt melt through the plastic. I dont know that id ever resort to such drastic measures. A)Dangerous B)partial loss of live rock C)crazy dangerous. Oh it will strip the live rock bare, but at what cost. If you soak it too long, you can loose half the rock. Letting the rock dry completely, and 10 days soaking in 10/1 mix of Fw and Bleach will clense the rock without the danger/loss of rock. You are lucky it didnt blow up in your face ya certifiable loonatic....i knew i liked you for good reasons, but hey thats very extreme. If you didnt need it immediatly, there are slower/safer ways of cleaning live rock.

I prefer Powerwashing, + Bleach soak. It takes a few days, and a few more changing out the FW to clean out the bleach, but its not as crazy.

 

[Bearjohnson]

last resort is right...thats right nasty stuff you are playing there. Calcium Carbonate(live rock/coral skeletons) are very basic(high ph). Acid is by definition very low PH....acid+Base=reaction. It can release noxious fumes, lots and lots of CO2, and A ton of HEAT. You are lucky it didnt melt through the plastic. I dont know that id ever resort to such drastic measures. A)Dangerous B)partial loss of live rock C)crazy dangerous. Oh it will strip the live rock bare, but at what cost. If you soak it too long, you can loose half the rock. Letting the rock dry completely, and 10 days soaking in 10/1 mix of Fw and Bleach will clense the rock without the danger/loss of rock. You are lucky it didnt blow up in your face ya certifiable loonatic....i knew i liked you for good reasons, but hey thats very extreme. If you didnt need it immediatly, there are slower/safer ways of cleaning live rock.

I prefer Powerwashing, + Bleach soak. It takes a few days, and a few more changing out the FW to clean out the bleach, but its not as crazy.

ILMAO - YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME

 

[BigAl07]

Great thread Bryan. I've done this only on a much (I mean MUCH) smaller scale. A side benefit from my work was the sidewalk was etched and looked VERY clean afterwards LOL!

 

[PSU4ME]

Thanks.......it is a little crazy but when you actually do it I didn't feel it was that bad.

Fumes yes but I didn't see or notice any heat generation.

Also, I chose to do this as I wanted to try it and see if it was viable which i think it was. The Fiji and shelf rock was barely damaged but the marco rock took it pretty hard (lots of edges now) Not sure what that means but I would not recommend this for Marco rock.......bleach or just buy it new!

Bleach is good but it takes time, I'd prefer the acid and I've heard that it isn't "always' effective depending on what you're trying to rid the rock of.

My wife thinks I'm a lunatic for doing it but all and all it was pretty controlled (minus the overfilling the tubs with water!)

 

[goma]

Wow!!

 

[SantaMonica]

Nice rocks you ended up with

Also, don't forget the "natural" option of cleaning: Strong filtering. This will keep all the tremendous amounts of life alive in the rock. If you have the opportunity to put the rock by itself into a tank (with lighting to keep the periphyton alive), setting up some strong natural filtration will slowly pull all the P out of it, while saving all the life. Then, you can add your other livestock. Will take 3 to 6 months though.

 

[jkef2010]

I know this thread has aged a little but can some one message me the steps to a bleach bath for LR Please.

 

[ddelozier]

Take the rock you need cleaned and put it in a storage tote or rubbmade trash can. Add enough bleach and water 10/1 ratio, to cover and submerge the rock. Let it soak for 5-7 days(outside, bleach fumes aren't fun). Drain the liquid out.

Take the rock to a car wash. Power wash the rock to remove any loose dirt, dead organics, etc. let the rock sit out to dry. Longer the better, but 2 weeks is what I do if it's hot, longer if it's under 70 outside.

When bleach smell is gone, soak the rock in RO/DI + prime dechlorinator for a week.

Dry and store or add to a new tank for cycling.


Sent from my iPhone using misspelled wrods!

 

[PSU4ME]

Just want to clarify that it is 10/1 water to bleach.......not the other way around.......cause that would be a lot of bleach!

 

[ddelozier]

Sorry for the confusion. 10/1 = 10 parts water to 1 part bleach.


Sent from my iPhone using misspelled wrods!