acid bath and the after math

[Coral Hoarder]

okay so i just did an acid bath 30%acid 70% water and i took my rock out put it in buckets with water i tested ph and ph is 8.4 or more is it now safe to put in my tank and start cycle ? or is there some thing more i need to do

[jason604]

what i did was put in baking soda after my acid bath to neutralize it then i hose them down and soaked in RO water for 1 day with a hang on back filter with carbon. I then took it out and sundried the rocks for another 1-2 days then back in ro water it went then back out in sun then into a bin with saltwater and a pump and a lid for 3 months. Hope that helps scott.

[Scythanith]

Definitely requires a nice long RO soak and you may as well check for leaching phosphates while you're at it.

[Masonjames]

No soaking required. Just rinse really well and it's tank ready.

If you want to soak however, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

[Ryancw]

Originally Posted by Masonjames

No soaking required. Just rinse really well and it's tank ready.

If you want to soak however, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

lol, WUT?

[Masonjames]

Originally Posted by Ryancw

lol, WUT?

Why do you need to soak after the acid bath? What's the purpose?

Rinse it well and it is ready for the tank.

[canadianbudz604]

I did the 70% acid 30% water and it did not clean the rock the way I thought it even turned some of them dark dark brown?!? What did I do wrong

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by canadianbudz604

I did the 70% acid 30% water and it did not clean the rock the way I thought it even turned some of them dark dark brown?!? What did I do wrong

What acid did you use ?
And you say you used 70 acid to 30 water ?
Hydrochloric acid dissolves inorganic stuff, so it strips all the minerals

[Coral Hoarder]

I found 3 and 7 acid to water to be way to strong 2 8 or 1 9 works just as well and doesn't eat all the rock I did 1 and 9 my second attempt and it worked better more rock less organics

Bottles I used said hydrochloric muriatic

[WarDog]

I got my rock from Eli, not sure if OP is using live rock or dry rock... but here's what I did.

Removed as much dry dead matter as I could reach with tweezers.
Bathe in 1 part bleach to 10 parts tap water for 24 hrs with a powerhead.
Bathe in 1 part Muriatic acid (pool section at Cdn Tire) to 10 parts tap water for 4 hours, or until chemical reaction (bubbles) stops.
Sprinkled lots of Arm & Hammer baking soda (to neutralize acid), I let that sit for 1 hour. Stirred a few times.
Hosed down rocks and left them out to dry, few hours.
They all came out sparkling white with just minor spots of brown.
They did sit dry, in a box, inside for about 3 months before I was ready to aquascape.
Began cycle, tested PO4 at 0.03 for a month.
After a month PO4 dropped to 0.
Don't want to jinx myself, but I think there won't be any problem with leeching PO4 in the future. If there is I am ready for it.
I credit my success (so far) with the bleach/acid baths and the use of the dry rock. I'm not sure how much long term PO4 values would be if it were previously live rock.