View Full Version : Removing stains from rocks?
dragonfish
04-13-2003, 3:50 PM
I was wondering how to remove stains from ick medications on my lace rock. Since dosing the treatment, some of my lace rocks have been stained blue, which i hate. How do I remove these stains effectively ? With bleach? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
How big are the rocks? You might try soaking them in rubbing alcohol if they're not too big. It would be a cheap fix if it works (about 50-70 cents per bottle of generic brands at places like Wal-Mart).
dragonfish
04-13-2003, 6:55 PM
The rocks are fairly big, I have about 3 which i want to clean, the biggest being about 9 inches long and about 3 inches wide. How long do I have to let them sit if i were to soak the rocks in rubbing alcohol? Have you tried this method? I want to do something that would for sure work.
Well, I have not done this myself but it seems like it would work. Ick medication is made of organic compounds. Many organic compounds dissolve in alcohol or ether. I'm assuming you don't have ether around, so I'm suggesting rubbing alcohol. It should leach the medication out of the tiny crevices of the rocks.
In any case, it wouldn't hurt anything to put some alcohol in a large bowl or small bucket and soak a corner of the stained rock in the rubbing alcohol for an hour or two. If it takes it out, great - you have a cheap, easy solution. If it doesn't, well then you can try something else.
In any case, I wouldn't try the bleach until a last resort because I'm not sure how it will react with the medication. It may make matters worse by chemically reacting with the medication and changing colors and/or making the stain permanent. Rubbing alcohol will not cause any permanent damage.
BTW I have a BS degree in chemistry, but that does not necessarily make me an expert in removing ick medication from rocks. ;)
HTH
wetmanNY
04-13-2003, 8:45 PM
Drizzle H2O2 over the rock if the alcohol hasn't worked.
dragonfish
04-14-2003, 1:06 AM
Originally posted by wetmanNY
Drizzle H2O2 over the rock if the alcohol hasn't worked.
I'm not 100% sure, but isn't H2O2 - hydrogen peroxide? Where can i get this stuff from?
TheDuBdoNe
04-14-2003, 1:26 AM
just about any pharmacy section... but im not to sure that would do anything
wetmanNY
04-14-2003, 10:13 AM
Well it sure would be easy for Tia Dragonfish to give it a try and tell us.
I would not go with hydrogen peroxide as a first try for the same reason I would not go with bleach as a first try. They are both oxidizers which may react with the medication, causing an irreversible change in color and/or penetration.
Like I said I would try the rubbing alcohol first since it is cheap, easy, and won't cause any permanent damage. But you can (and will) do whatever you want.
Heady out.
aquatic-store
04-16-2003, 9:30 AM
I was reading another board and they said OXYCLEAN may work.
Http://www.Aquatic-store.com
Co2, Plants, Substrate, Filters, Heaters, UV and more
OxyClean is another oxidizer...
Dragonfish have you tried anything yet?