Muriatic Acid or Vinegar Bath for BRS Reef Saver Rock. Your thoughts?

Zacco

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Hey all. Just purchased about 80 pounds of dry reef saver rock from BRS. I was going to give it a 15 minute Muriatic Acid Bath but i am having second thoughts since the dry rock looks so clean and has absolutely no odor emitting from it. BRS states that it is pre-cleaned. So Now i am comtemplating on skipping the Muriatic Acid Bath and just doing a 50/50 vinegar to water solution bath for about 4 hours, fresh water flush, then start the curing process. What are eveyones thoughts? I will be monitoring the phosphate leeching through the curing process with a Hanna Checker.
 

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vic67

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I never even rinsed my BRS rock. I just put it in the tank and let it cycle with the new sand I had.
 
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Zacco

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I never even rinsed my BRS rock. I just put it in the tank and let it cycle with the new sand I had.

What type of rock was the BRS Rock? Pukani, Reef Saver, Fiji? Any problems with phosphate leeching and algae blooms?
 

vic67

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It was mostly Reef Saver with a little Pukani mixed in. I never tested for phosphates but I didn't have any algae blooms either.
 

NanaReefer

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I used both reef saver and Pukani, only thing I did was the normal 2wk cooking in a rubber maid bin. Then added to my tank & cycled. No phosphate leaching at all, no unwanted algae growth. Great rock!
 

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I acid bathed both my reef saver rock and dry pukani. Gotta be careful with the pukani since it is so light to begin with.
 
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Zacco

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Thanks for the input guys. I think im just gonna give it a high strenght vinegar bath and then cure for 4 to 6 weeks. Like i said this stuff looks super clean already. I'll post the vinegar bath process this weekend. Plus post my phosphate readings during the curing stage.
 
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Zacco

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Just a little update. So I did the vinegar bath today on the rock. I used 10 gallons of distilled white vinegar at full strenght (5% dilute) for 5 hours. You can see the brown scum in the foam.
 

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Zacco

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This was the end result of the bath after 5 hours. Just to think that if I did'nt do the bath all of this crud would of been in my curing tub prolonging the whole cook and cure stage. So glad i did it.
 

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Zacco

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Flushed all the rock with clean water and now it sits in a pretty clean bath of heated salt water. I will let this sit for a week and then take a phosphate reading on the water to see if the rock is leeching any phosphates. I did'nt want to add any ammonia or bacteria culture yet untill i see where my phosphates stand.
 

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redfishbluefish

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Honestly, I never understood why you would want to dissolve some of your rock. All that "scum" is rock that the acid has dissolved. It's nothing bad...just your "liquified" rock. You now have less rock then when you started. I wish someone could show me where acid dipping rock actually does something....other then dissolve some of the rock.
 
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Zacco

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Honestly, I never understood why you would want to dissolve some of your rock. All that "scum" is rock that the acid has dissolved. It's nothing bad...just your "liquified" rock. You now have less rock then when you started. I wish someone could show me where acid dipping rock actually does something....other then dissolve some of the rock.

All that "scum" is dirt, dried organic matter bound or stuck to the outer layer and in the pores of the rock. And yes, some calcium. If the acid was dissolving only pure clean calcium the water would be milky white. Not the case here. The water was muddy brown and you could see the dirt, bits of dried sea weed and sponge stuck to the side of the container. I basically loosened all the dirt and dried organic matter that was stuck in the pores of the rock. The rock was already pre-washed according to BRS so the acid did alot more to clean the outer surfaces and pores of the rock. Debate this if you want but i know im starting the curing process with alot cleaner rock.
 
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Zacco

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As for disolving the rock away. Vinegar is not a strong enough acid to have a impact on the mass of the rock. Ever use baking soda and vinegar to clean pipes or a garbage disposal? Basicly doing the same thing here. Cleaned out the pores (pipes) in the rock.
 
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