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- Today here at BRStv Reef FAQs
we answer how to bleach-cure dry rock
for a saltwater reef tank.
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Hi, I'm Ryan, your host at BRStv Reef FAQs
is all about quick, straight
to the point answers
to those questions
reefers ask all the time.
Today we answer a pretty common question.
How do I bleach cure live rock to remove
all the undesirable organics,
prior to cycling it for a reef tank?
First there is a difference between curing
and cycling, and they
are commonly confused.
Cycling is primarily about
populating the surface
of the rock with bacteria
which can process and filter
ammonia from the water,
making it stable enough
to house fish.
Curing is a process of
getting undesirable organics
like dead algae, dead
sponges, microfauna, and other
undesirable pollutants off
the surface of the rock,
and getting it ready to
start a salt water reef tank.
There are three main methods:
natural, bleach, and acid curing.
Today is focused on the
bleach cure, and we'll answer
three direct questions today.
What is the bleach cure?
When is it appropriate
to bleach cure rock,
and how to do it.
Bleaching dry rock or a
bleach cure is pretty much
what it sounds like: soaking
the rock in a diluted
solution of water and bleach.
The bleach will oxidize the
organics from the surface
of the rock, and then
rapidly break them down.
By rapidly, in many cases,
I think you can get a
complete cure done in a week,
and makes a longer
natural cure unnecessary.
So, the primary advantage of
bleach is speed, but it's also
going to kill basically every
organism on the rock surface:
algae spores or undesirable bacterias.
A bleach cure is going to
start from ground zero,
which is pretty desirable
to many advanced reefers.
We did a BRStv Investigates
on curing a while back
where we found soaking the
rock for a week in bleach
cleaned it so well that there
was no residual nutrient
spike from one to seven weeks
in the natural cure that
we did immediately after.
Being a person wouldn't have
bothered with that natural cure
after, and would move straight
to some form of rock cycling.
Common question: Is
bleach safe for the tank,
and the answer is used
in this manner, yes.
In fact, if you let the rock
dry completely, the bleach
would simply gas off
and be reef-safe again.
But in our case, we're
going to use a dechlorinator
and some simple test strips to be sure.
Related to safe,
is this a safe project for you personally?
And, I'm sure it's not as
safe as a natural cure where
you just let the rocks soak
for a couple of months,
but it can be done
safely for anyone willing
to put in a bit of research and effort.
So, when is a bleach cure
like this appropriate?
Well, that largely depends
on the type of rock
they're using with four major categories:
actual wet live rock,
dry rock from the ocean,
mined dry rock, and man made dry rock.
I've advice for each
specific type of rock.
If you're able to find
quality wet live rock
and paid the premium
for all the life on it,
I don't think anyone would
bleach the rock and kill
all the life, so I can't
think of a common instance
where I'd recommend someone
bleach cure wet live rock.
If you're using dry rock from
the ocean which is covered
in dead or dried organics,
or using rock from an older
tank which was allowed to
dry out, which is often also
covered in dried organics,
I'd say this instance is a
prime candidate for a bleach cure.
We can dramatically reduce the
organic content on the rock
this way, kill everything
including spores,
dormant bacterias, or other undesirables.
If you're using a dry mined rock like
Marco's Reef Saver Rock, it's
super clean out of the box.
I've never found this kind
of rock to have any organics
on it, so personally, I would
not bother with something
as aggressive as the bleach
cure for that reason.
However, if we're on the
aggressive end of the prevent
pest spectrums, you could
do a short bleach cure just
to ensure no spores or
anything else is on the rock.
Same could be said of the man made rocks,
like real reef rock.
I would not personally
bleach cure these either.
Double so because it might
have an effect on the purple
color that some of these rocks use.
Okay, so all that said, you
decided to bleach cure your
rock, which probably
means that you either have
dry rock from the ocean
or some type of old rock
from another tank which is dried out.
Before we get into this,
there are two warnings
that I'd like to share.
This isn't just safety jargon.
It's legit.
First, bleach is a chemical
which inherently has safety risks.
Many people are familiar
with household bleach safety.
But if you're using it
outside of its intended use,
so there's more to it than
just reading the bottle.
Simply put, this video is
not designed to be the sole
source of information on chemical safety.
Do not do this project if you're unwilling
to do some research on proper safety.
We do have some basic
safety guidelines to share.
First, do not do this indoors.
That means don't do it in your
basement or even garage.
In some circumstances,
bleach can create very toxic
gases that range from unhealthy to deadly.
I always perform this
outdoors in the open air
with a proper ventilator.
Most importantly, for the
portions where your face is
directly above the rock.
You obviously want to use
appropriate arms-lengths gloves,
eye wear and related protective gear,
and appropriate clothing.
To some of you this might
seem like overkill because
bleach is just a household chemical.
But, just like a table saw
which is generally safe,
even when making unique
cuts, it's only when you
respect it and learn
how to use it properly.
Second part of this is,
this isn't an exact science.
This is a hobby.
What most the hobby knows
is based on sharing personal
experiences, so I'd absolutely
read up or watch what
some other personal experiences are,
as well as their approach.
This just isn't a rock solid,
agreed upon bleach to water,
or bleach to rock ratio, but
there is what we commonly see
done, we've done here,
and we'll share that.
So, all that said, here's
the four step process we used here.
Step one is find a container
which can hold your rock.
Bring it outside and fill it with water.
Most cases it'll likely
be something like a
Brute trash can.
Most reefers like to
use purified RODI water,
but in this case, tap water
is probably also fine.
Step two: once you've
filled it with water,
add your bleach.
You obviously want to use
bleach which has no additives
or scents or soaps.
The unofficial, but generally
recommended by most reefers
is to make a solution
of one gallon of bleach
to ten gallons of water.
That was a ratio that we used
in our BRStv Investigates
episode, and it seemed to work well.
Always make sure to add
the bleach to the water,
not water to the bleach.
This will reduce the chances
of splashing concentrated
solution around and undesirable reactions.
And, under no circumstances,
add any other chemicals
to this solution, as bleach
can form some pretty nasty
gases when mixed with other chemicals.
As the ration of one gallon
of bleach to ten gallons
of water, that's more of a
reefing community suggestion
than a precise figure.
I think it's actually
probably less about the
bleach to water ratio,
and more so the bleach
to organics in the rock
ratio, meaning super dirty
rock can benefit from
more oxidants or bleach,
and fairly clean rock potentially less so.
However, you can always add
more later, and the risks
of using slightly higher
ratio are pretty minimal.
Step three: add the rock to the solution
and then wait about a week.
By the end of the week
there's a good chance a vast
majority of the organics
will have broken down,
and the rock is ready.
If not, you can always add more bleach
and wait another week.
Step four: once we clean the
rock, you should just remove
it from the bin and give it a quick rinse.
Technically speaking you
can just let it completely
dry out and it would gas
off all the excess chlorine,
but I think that'd be silly to rely on.
Almost everyone will fill
the container back up
with fresh water, often
RODI this time, and dose
a good amount of
dechlorinator to the tank.
So, pick up a dechlorinator
and dose that to eliminate
the chlorine from the rock.
The Brightwell Erase-CL
or HIKARI's ClorAm-X
are both good options.
Give it a day to work
its magic, and you can
often smell if it worked
because chlorine has
such a strong smell, but
I'd strongly recommend
picking up a pack of chlorine test strips
to be confident that chlorine
has been handled properly.
You can use the left over
test strips to know when
to change your carbon blocks
on your RODI system later.
After that, give the
rock another good rinse,
and if it's free of
undesirable organics and pests,
it's ready to be cycled for the reef tank.
That's about all there is to it.
If you're interested in
seeing that BRStv Investigates
where we test a variety of
curing methods, there it is.
If you want to see the
whole natural cure process,
we have it over here as well.
That little box over here
has everything we've ever
done on rock: curing and
cycling, aquascaping, how much
rock you need, so it's worth checking out.
See you in the next episode of BRStv.
