Bleached Live Rock - Test Kits?

Ive got about ~75lbs of live rock to nuke for a few reasons. I decided to take a few of the smallest pieces, and run otty's method of nuking:

From Otty:
1. Soak rock in 50/50 Bleach and water solution for 3 days.
2. Soak rock for next 3 days in RO water if possible but tap is ok
3. Soak rock in RO/DI water and Baking soda for 3 days to neutralize the bleach. For a 30g trash can I use 4 lbs. of Baking soda.
4. Let rock sit outside in sun for 2 weeks turning the rock to make sure all water is out of holes. If cold out side I have put in my garage with a fan on the rock for about 1.5 weeks and still turn rock every day.

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After the process is there a test kit I can get for testing the potential for bleach still in the system? I am testing for ammonia, and so far thats 0. I tested other params with the other kits I have, and things seem ok. PO4 is even 0.

if there is no test kit for bleach, should i just assume based on the 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 po4 that im alright to go ahead and start using the rock?

i received a 14gal biocube donation, and just got through some very intense vinegar baths. the previous owner let layer upon layer of corraline and various other things cake up on the glass. over a 4 year period with 0 scrapping. so this rock is going into a new setup, and i just wanna insure i have no bleach leaching into the water before i go through cycling it and putting livestock in.

the only bleach test kits i found were for pools. would that work? i imagine it would...

i do fishless cycling, so i wont be harming any fish.

thanks in advance

 

well, ill do another water change, and i guess ill just wait a week for the params to drop to 0. starting cycle with dead shrimp. after cycle, ill put some crabs/snails and see if they make it.

 

Yes, there are chlorine test kits for aquariums. If your LFS doesn't have one in stock, they should be able to order it for you. I'd try that before I risked the life of an animal.

BTW, the one for pools might not be very reliable- it tests for a high level of chlorine to kill algae and bacteria in pools and may read "0" at lower levels that could still be lethal to aquarium inhabitants.

 

thanks. ill go get one

 

If you did it to Otty,s specks your rock will be safe. i have used his steps in the past several times with out any problems at all. and from what i have read bleach has an effectiveness of only about 30 days till it starts to neutralize on its on. i use it as part of a sodash injection system on my water softener and was told it only lasts a month till it isn't effective any longer.
if you have any doubt just soaker them in some ro with dechlorinater.

 

You can use vinegar to neutralize bleach

 

I wouldn't concern myself too much with this. If you did everything according to Otty's recommendation, I'm sure your rocks are just fine.

I let mine sit in bleach for ages, did a few very thorough water rinses, and then allowed them to dry in the sun for a week. I then rinsed them thoroughly 3 times, and put them to use.

No issues on my end.

 

everything turned out fine. following ottys method. now, i have a new set of rock to do this to. the rest of the 70lbs of live rock that was given to me by someone that shut down a tank that had serious PO4 issues.

i need to "cook" the PO4 out. so im following another method i found for actually heating up the water and continually doing water changes till the PO4 has stopped leeching out of the rock.

the rock i just tested ottys method on was for a 14gal biocube, so not much rock. was more of an experiment before i went through the process of cooking 70lbs of rock and then going through ottys process on it

thanks for everyones feedback