Using Vinegar?

I'm currently in the process of sterilizing/cleaning some rocks and I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to soak them in diluted vinegar. I'm worried it would cause future PH problems. Would it be okay?



Thanks,
Alex.

 

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? The acid from the diluted vinegar would be quickly neutralized and wouldn't actually do anything beneficial.

 

I think bleach would be much more beneficial and will remove most bound organics. A stronger acid, such as muriatic acid can also be used to remove bound phosphate and metals. If you search the web, there should be very detailed instructions for both methods.

 

My 2 cents. Vinegar soak would be harmless. But as previously posted, what are you trying to accomplish?

 

Since LR (or even base rock) is pretty much composed of calcium carbonate, soaking it in anything acidic (vinegar, muriatic acid, etc) will dissolve the rock until whatever acid you're using is neutralized.

I'd go with a good pressure washing, or at least use a pressure nozzle on your hose. If you really want sterilization, you can boil the rock in a pressure cooker or use a dilute bleach solution (be sure to neutralize the bleach with chlorine neutralizer afterwards).

 

Boiling rock may not be too good of an idea. Lots of stuff in our tanks can contain pretty toxic compounds. The vapors could be pretty harmful. Bleach has been used for literally decades without issue. I'm not sure power washing would actually remove bound organics well, especially from the pore (at least without destroying the rock).

Here is a story of someone who boiled rock to get rid of zoanthids; an especially bad idea, but zoanthids are not the only thing toxic in our tanks... Bleach would have worked much better for him as well...
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/n...adliest-poison-in-an-aquarium-store-near-you/