Stinky Dead Rock

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
I just got several dead rocks from someone who got out of saltwater. All pieces are completely dry and have been stored in her garage. When they are dry, they have no smell but when they are wet, the smell of cigarettes and stinky house is overwhelming. I have read so many different ways of cleaning dead rock that I am confused and of course nobody on the internet has the issue of cigarette-smelling rocks! Please advise. Thank you

 

[Cory]

If it were me. I'd put a bunch of carbon in a tote and a powerhead and let it circulate until smell is gone. I'd do it outside or in the garage.

 

[FrontosaDude]

Yeah that should help clear up the smell, if not you could always bleach it...be warned if you do the bleaching method it'll be at least a month before you can add that rock to any tank though

 

[Anonymous]

The lady I got the rock from said she is a smoker and to soak the rocks in freshwater and bleach for an hour then rinse them off well and soak in plain water for an hour and they should be ready to go in the tank. I feel like I would end up with dead Clownfish...

 

[FrontosaDude]

Yes, you have the first part of the method right but DO NOT soak in plain water for only an hour! What you want to do is soak in the bleach solution for a few days, then soak it in freshwater until the chlorine smell is gone, usually about 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer depending on how often you change the water (I would change the water out every 2 days). Also, don't forget to dump a lot of prime in the soak tub every time you change the water, it'll help speed up the process. Then set the rock out in the sun for a week to dry out completely and you should be good to go.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah...SHE said 1 hour in bleach/water and 1 hour in freshwater and it would be ready to go back in the tank safely! I am likely going to get some different rock. Live this time. Got my feelers out but the 2 people I found are way out south past Olympia and the other Fed Way (not too bad)

 

[FrontosaDude]

You can still use that rock you have, it'll turn live if you already have any live rock in your tank, or if you add a few small pieces of live...to be honest the bleach method isn't as time consuming as it sounds and it's safe, I've had to do it before with some rock I got from someone that had bleached it to kill off all the aptasia. And if you don't have a ton of it then it would be very easy. Google bleaching live rock, some people use vinegar and baking soda to neutralize the bleach, I've just had great success with using only prime.