Qickest Way To Clean Limestone
#1
Posted 26 July 2014 - 04:28 PM
Hey all.
Currently in the process of setting up my new 300L, but what my Mum failed to tell me was that her limestone is COVERED in green algae.
Whats the quickest way to make them whiter?
I have done a quick dip in diluted bleach and have put them outside where the wind can dry them and the rain can wash out any bleach residue.
I took to them with high pressure water and have also steamed them with the karcher. They are improving but are still green.
Should i just let them air out and dry brush the dead algae off?
#2
Posted 26 July 2014 - 05:47 PM
#3
Posted 26 July 2014 - 05:50 PM
white spray paint......
tried boiling in a big pot? its how i clean my plastic plants
#4
Posted 26 July 2014 - 06:13 PM
Soak in the bleach solution for a day. Let them dry in the weather afterwards.
#5
Posted 26 July 2014 - 06:45 PM
If you want to risk putting them in your tank after you bleached it, go ahead. Just remember that limestone is porous!
So there is a risk that the bleach has now been "sucked in" into the rock.
I for one would not have that bleach anywhere near my tanks.
I would leave in the rain for a few months and then put it in a tub with cycled water and a sponge filter & then test the water over a couple of weeks.
Bleach + Aquarium = Fish deaths REAL QUICK!
- malawiman85, DinPerth, Michael the fish fanatic and 1 other like this
#6
Posted 26 July 2014 - 07:00 PM
The chlorine evaporates off. You just have to make sure it's well dried and well rinsed. I did this with holy rock, then left in the sun and rain for a couple weeks. There were no ill effects and it looked fine, too.
You can try peroxide, but IMO it does not get the same results.
- jezzabella114 likes this
#7
Posted 26 July 2014 - 07:40 PM
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#9
Posted 26 July 2014 - 09:54 PM
clean bucket with hot water and a clean scrubbing brush and keep scrubbing until your happy...maybe a bit of salt but definetly no harsh chemicals...this is just my opinion.
get use to the look of a bit of algae on the rocks ...its natural not dirty.
#10
Posted 26 July 2014 - 10:06 PM
#13
Posted 26 July 2014 - 10:41 PM
Edited by jezzabella114, 26 July 2014 - 10:41 PM.
#15
Posted 29 July 2014 - 09:46 AM
white spray paint......
tried boiling in a big pot? its how i clean my plastic plants
Would definitely avoid boiling rock !!!!!
I have heard a horror story of a bloke over east who did this with marine live rock, ended up poisoning his whole family and very nearly killed them. (he did boil it inside tho)
- fuggers likes this
#16
Posted 29 July 2014 - 11:43 AM
Whao that's hectic haha!
I let my fish do the cleaning haha stuff that lol
#17
Posted 29 July 2014 - 12:03 PM
I have bleached heaps of limestone. Just soak in some dechlorinator after & leave outside for several days. Make sure chlorine smell is gone before use. Bleach is used in aquariums quite regularly including for recharging some medias such as purigen.
- jezzabella114 likes this
#18
Posted 29 July 2014 - 12:41 PM
I really don't understand why anyone would use bleach on a porous rock. The easiest way to clean limestone is with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution. This simply strips off the outer, contaminated layer leaving a clean limestone surface. Once the rock under treatment is removed from the acid solution, any remaining acid traces are neutralised by the limestone, and all that is necessary is a quick flush with tapwater.
Why do some people have to make life so damn complicated?
Syd.
- Fox likes this
#19
Posted 29 July 2014 - 06:47 PM
Would definitely avoid boiling rock !!!!!
I have heard a horror story of a bloke over east who did this with marine live rock, ended up poisoning his whole family and very nearly killed them. (he did boil it inside tho)
difference is its not live rock and it was already mentioned that it was steamed and bleached
#20
Posted 29 July 2014 - 07:06 PM
Sy, they make it complicated, do they? Bleach is a lot easier to source than hydrochloric acid and seems perfectly reasonable to me.
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