How do I properly clean live rock

[mikellini]

Maybe 10% for your average rock, but one guy on reef central did it with pukani and lost 25%, didn't even look like the same rock

[jason604]

Do u guys think only bleach is good enough or maybe like a 30min acid bath as well to minimize mass loss?

[mikellini]

Honestly I would just do a few successive soaks in RODI. 0 tds water is very aggressive at pulling things out of rock, it's a strong solvent

[jason604]

Ok so I did a bleach soak for 24hr then power washed the rocks an they turned out pretty white. Did a 1.5hr soak in muriatic acid and power washed it again. Rocks turned out dirtier than after I bleached it. I did notice some loss of rock mass. About 10% or less I would guess. I have it in a bin with ro water and a hang on back carbon filter. Would it turn white again after a few days ro soak?

[FishyFishy!]

They should come out a bit whiter, but after eating away the surface of the rock, all the residual crap made them a little darker. I personally wouldnt worry about the fact that they arent really white. They (hopefully) will be covered in coraline after a good cycle anyways. If you like the white color, you could do another bleach bath. But afterwards I would do a long RO water soak with prime, and then sun dry for a week or so to make sure the bleach is all gone.

[jason604]

What's the need for prime when I'm using or water?

[FishyFishy!]

If you decided to re-bleach the rocks for color, you should always add a de-chlorinator. But if you are happy with the color, and are done with the acid bath, then you are good to go without the prime.