acid bath and the after math

[Masonjames]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

All the acid bath does is cook off the outer layer. There is much more to old dry LR than the outer layer. If it were my tank and all my money going into it I'd want to make sure I had clean, non phosphate leaching rock. The only way to do that would be to put it into water and test it frequently. Once it tests clear (may be as soon as a week or two) then get it into saltwater. Put it straight in and you may find yourself battling algae issues. Then again you may not, most dry live rock is a roll of the dice.

Just my 2 cents.

Take a look at the crystal lattice structure of calcite. You can see where the calcium group sticks out from the surface. Po4 will attach to c++ at this point. It is bound at the surface.

[Masonjames]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I would only disagree with this part. I soaked rock in acid many years ago, and after 12 hours, removed all my clean rock. I then added a large box of baking soda and ended up with something resembling my kid's volcano science project
For the cost of baking soda vs the impact to dumping acid into the sewer system, I'd do this as a required "just in case" step.

True enough and good point. May be good form to follow up with. Personally I have never witnessed any real further reaction beyond a relatively short period of time with or without the addition of a nuetrilizing agent, however if your dumping in a place where leaching into water systems is a possibility then I would agree that users should be taking further steps to ensure the acid has in fact been completely nuetralized. However dumping in such a location should also be avoided.