Cleaning Base Rock

So I've come across a ton of rock that's been sitting in boat storage sheds where I work at a marina. Some of it is pretty nice looking stuff. I picked throught the nicer looking pieces, very pourous, and lightweight for their size. I'd say I have somewhere around 100-120 lbs.

I want to use this for my 75g I'm building and I want to know how i go about cleaning it. I'm thinking blasting it off with a hose, scrubbing it, and soaking it in a tub with bleach for a couple days. Then rinsing it and soaking it a few more times, then letting it dry out for a few days.

Am I close? Or is there something else I should or shouldn't be doing?

 

Sounds like your dead on to me.

 

Sounds good to me. Just make sure you rinse it very well after the bleach. Nice find!

 

Awesome. This will definitly save me a ton of money!
No guidlines as to how long to let it soak in bleach for?

 

Yea there are piles (tons) of rock. I ran it past my boss, he gave the ok so i backed my truck right into the shed and loaded up!

 

I would soak for a couple of days. then soak and rinse 3-4 times in freshwater w/ a PH w/no bleach and let it dry

I would try and check to see what kinda rock it is. You wouldnt want to put something in there that could cause you problems.

 

Gosh, awesome!!! That will save you so much money. Nice boss, too!

About the soaking time, I don't really know, but I did a Google search on cleaning aquarium accessories a few weeks ago and I think most of the stuff said to soak the item in a bleach solution (bleach and water) for several hours.

 

anytime i bleach i do 3 days then 3 days in freshwater soak then 3 days in baking soda/water solution to neutralize then sundry

 

I thought about that, and it may be a stupid question, but how would I go about checking what kind of rock it is?
It looks just like Florida base rock I see for sale. Looks like the stuff most of my LFS's sell for $6/lb. Has lots of fossilized corals in it. And FWIW I do work on an island off Key Largo if that means anything.

 

Yea I will soak it in clean water and rinse it very well several times after the bleach. Any idea on how much bleach to use? Is it possible to use too much bleach?