Is bleach safe to use.

[Octogenarian]

Hi All,
I would just like to ask how safe is it to use bleach to clean algae from white rock? Are some types of rock more absorbent than others? If so would it be more difficult to remove all traces of the bleach?
Thanks for any help.
Oct.

 

[Tacocat]

Hello,
If you just want to get rid of algae on rocks you don't need the nuclear option of bleach. Just scrub off the algae with a rough sponge and then dunk it in boiled water for 20-30 minutes and the rock should be clean. If there's any stubborn bits left over from the scrubbing it'll get killed by the boiling and it won't come back to life.

 

[Octogenarian]

Thanks for that Tacocat, trouble is we purchased 3 pieces of this white rock which is porous. We have tried scrubbing with a brush & also taking it outside and jet washing it but most of it wont come off. I must admit I've not tried boiling water, this will be the next port of call.
Thanks again,

Oct.

 

[Tacocat]

Wait hold on a second don't do that yet I may have misled you

 

[Octogenarian]

It's OK I cant do anything until tomorrow.

 

[Tacocat]

I completely forgot the golden rule of never boil rocks they may explode. Please ignore the previous piece of advice regarding boiling, as I only did that before with a piece of slate which doesn't explode

 

[GaryE]

Yes, the risk of rock shards flying around is real.

I wouldn't bleach a porous rock. I might consider peroxiding it. But white porous rocks slime up again almost as soon as you clean them.

 

[lottabubbles]

I bleach my rocks and plastic plants all the time. don't go crazy on the bleach. I rinse them in hot water for about 4 days and then put in a big cap of prime or some kind of anti chlorine and give them the final rinse and all is good to go. never had any fish problems doing it that way. been using it for the last 57 years.

 

[Fishfunn]

I use bleach all the time to clean plants, tanks, and other hard objects. For plants, I use 1:20 parts disinfecting bleach/water. Make sure you rinse well and maybe soak objects in water with dechlorinator. I never used bleach on porous rock, but years ago people used to disinfect contaminated saltwater tanks with corals with bleach.

If you bleach the porous rock, I would neutralize the rock in a heavily dechlorianted solution for maybe 24 hours.

 

[Octogenarian]

Thanks for all the replies, I think the rock will have to go.