Bleaching rock, starting over

[TheShepherdTrio]

We recently broke our 210 gallon reef tank and are starting over. We completely redid the tank, replumbed everything, added a new sump, algae scrubbers, etc. We stripped the old rock structures out and bleached them, rinsed with dechlorinated water, and let sit in the sun for a few days. As I was putting them back in the tank to redo the rockscape I could still get a decent whiff of bleach on some of the rocks.

So what next? Rinse in dechlorinated rock longer? Let bake in the sun more? Both? Was hoping to get everything finished this weekend so we could start filling up with water but looks likes it’s going to be a little bit longer.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

We recently broke our 210 gallon reef tank and are starting over. We completely redid the tank, replumbed everything, added a new sump, algae scrubbers, etc. We stripped the old rock structures out and bleached them, rinsed with dechlorinated water, and let sit in the sun for a few days. As I was putting them back in the tank to redo the rockscape I could still get a decent whiff of bleach on some of the rocks.

So what next? Rinse in dechlorinated rock longer? Let bake in the sun more? Both? Was hoping to get everything finished this weekend so we could start filling up with water but looks likes it’s going to be a little bit longer.

The smell does not mean there's still actual bleach still present. If you're really worried, add some dechlorinator to the tank as you fill it. Otherwise, put in the rocks and get started! Good luck with the new build!

 

[Subsea]

The smell does not mean there's still actual bleach still present. If you're really worried, add some dechlorinator to the tank as you fill it. Otherwise, put in the rocks and get started! Good luck with the new build!

Kudos to this post.

From experience, I have learned how very sensative the sense of smell is.

I operated a Jaubert plenum with a deep sand bed for 20 years before moving on to a shallow sand bed with reverse flow ug filter. During 20 years operating a dsb, I noted that dark anarobic zone moved up & down. Once when lightly stirring sand, I smelled H2S, with no ill effects to tank inhabitants.

This is what OSHA says about hydrogen sulfide and our sense of smell:

OSHA has defined the level of ppm exposure that correlates with health decline. The information is as follows:

• 0.00011-0.00033ppm is the typical background concentration of this gas. Therefore, it does not pose a significant risk to those in the area.
• 0.01-1.5ppm is the level at which a rotten egg smell be noticed by those with a sensitive nose.
• 2-5ppm The rotten egg smell is much more noticeable at this level. Not only that, but symptoms of nausea, watering eyes, headaches, and loss of sleep become apparent. Bronchial constriction has been noted in victims with asthma.
• 20ppm brings on fatigue, appetite loss, headaches, irritability, memory problems, and dizziness.
• 50-100ppm after one hour of exposure this level of saturation often results in what's called a gas eye (conjunctivitis), digestive issues, and appetite loss.
• 100ppm is the threshold of saturation that causes coughing, eye irritation, olfactory fatigue after 2-15 minutes, altered breathing, drowsiness after 15-30 minutes, throat irritation after an hour, and an over gradual increase in severity after several hours of exposure. In serious cases, death may even occur after 48 hours.
• 100-150ppm often results in the victim's loss of smell.
• 200-300ppm exposure causes pulmonary edema, a condition resulting in excess fluid residing in the lungs. This can occur as quickly as an hour with this level of hydrogen sulfide exposure.
• 500-700ppm reaches a critical point in which the exposed victim will collapse around 5 minutes, serious eye damage will occur after 30 minutes, and death follows closely after 30-60 minutes.
• 700-1000ppm exposure usually causes an immediate collapse after 1-2 breaths, the victim's breathing will stop, and their death will follow a few short minutes later.
• 1000-2000ppm causes death almost instantly.

Now

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What does hydrogen sulfide have to do with a bleachy smell?

 

[Subsea]

What does hydrogen sulfide have to do with a bleachy smell?

I said “sense of smell”, emphasizing the sensitivity of the nose

SUPPORTING your post not to worry on the smell.

@EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Is there a problem here?

 

[The_Paradox]

What kind of bleach? Some contain chloramine which will not boil off the same way chlorine does.

 

[TheShepherdTrio]

What kind of bleach? Some contain chloramine which will not boil off the same way chlorine does.

Just regular plain bleach, nothing fancy.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What kind of bleach? Some contain chloramine which will not boil off the same way chlorine does.

Bleach does not contain chloramine. It *may* contain surfactants, but the plain bleach does not.

 

[The_Paradox]

Bleach does not contain chloramine. It *may* contain surfactants, but the plain bleach does not.

Just be careful. Bleach is an ambiguous term and several products marketed as bleach contain various other whitening agents from chloramine to halazone.