How much mass do u guys think u lost?
Thanks
VR

I only left my rock in for 5 minutes or so. I don't know what the magic number is, but I know I can always put it in again if I needed to.

It was bubbling like crazy and I wasn't sure what was all going on under there so I dumped the baking soda in between the 5 - 10 minute mark.

As far as losing mass, I didn't notice any. I am sure you lose some, but I don't think it's significant.

Today was the only above freezing day I think we may have for a while. I was in a bit of a rush. I think I might just toss it in a bin and let it cycle in the dark for a while in the basement.

To be honest I didn't even think about the loss of mass. If I had to answer I'd have to say not much.

Where did you get the acid?

You can get it at Home Depot. In the tile section.

Or Canadian Tire.

Cool thanks guys:biggrin:

Not looking to hijack the thread but could you please explain the purpose behind this process ? Is it necessary or does it simply speed up the cycle time ? I'm setting up a 90 gallon and ordering about 60lbs from Eli and wondering if I can simply let it cycle in the new take over a few months with seed rock or should I be doing this process prior ?

thanks,
Nick.

Acid dipping is necessary due to the left over organics in the rock which will cause a phosphate spike even long after the tank has been cycled. lots of people run into algae problem with there newly set up tank and ultimately give up after months of battling green hair algae (gha) with no success not knowing that it would've been prevented simply by curing your rock prior to placing them in to your tank. There are a few ways of curing your rock and one of them is to acid dip them then run them in a bin with saltwater, heater and pump for a month or two before placing them in your tank or some will skip the acid dipping part and just do the latter but thats all personal preference. There are a hundred ways to skin the cat but if you are getting dry rock especially pukani, you will need to do this.

If I took the rock out of the acid too soon is it essentially a waste of time?

Between the bleach and then acid I can see that a lot of crap came off the rocks, however there is still discoloration on the rocks.

Second, the rocks still have a bleach smell to them. They have been out of water for 2 days, but are wet still. I have a feeling they absorbed some of the bleach.

any idea how to make sure I get all of it out? I assume it will give me some issue if I try and cycle the rock with the bleach smell.