# went camping, got some rocks



## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

So I went camping last weekend and brought back some rock. I'm hoping someone who has done it before can give me directions for bleaching the rock. thanx.

nice piece with a couple medium holes and a small piece with lots of fry holes









couple of very holey small pieces for 10g fry tanks.









another piece with lots of small holes and a couple large holes (whole rock is about 7.5" across)









and the beauty of the bunch. 23.5" long, 16.5" tall and about 5.5-6" deep. There is quite a bit of interconnection that is hidden so fish can pop in and out without it being obvious where they will reappear. I will love this rock if it can be lightened up a bit by bleaching it.


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## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

This is what I have gathered from research on the subject.

1st - clean them with a scrub brush and a hose to get as much of the debris and other stuff off the rock.

2nd - soak the rocks in a water/bleach solution. The amount of bleach used and the amount of time they soak is dependent upon how "white" you want them.

3rd - take them to a power washer and blast the heck out of them.

4th - let them out to dry. People have even baked them in the oven.

If you don't care if they are "white" you can just follow steps 1 and 3 and then add them to your tank. If you do this dose your tank with some dechlor before adding the rocks. So that any residual chlorine/chlormaine that is on the rocks from the water used to clean them won't harm your beneficial bacteria.

Those are some really nice pieces. I need to make a road trip out to texas one of these days and go on a collecting trip with some of the local cichlid keepers.


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

thanx for the reply. I'd love to know how much bleach to use if anyone knows? I tried what I thought was a pretty strong solution on a scrap piece of rock and it didn't do much.


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## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

Try soaking them outside and let the sun blast on them.

What size container are you soaking them in? How many gallons?


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

it's a big blue bucket. I put enough water in it to cover the rock I was doing and added quite a bit of bleach. Didn't measure it cuz I didn't really have a goal for the amount of bleach I was adding. I let it soak for about 2 days and then let it sit in the sun for about 6 or 7 days and got very little if any results. I got back from the camping trip on the 12th and bleached it the next day so it's had a while in the sun.


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## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

I am talking about letting it set under the sun while still soaking in the bleach solution.

Knowing how many gallons of water the blue bucket holds will allow me to better help you with how much bleach to add.

I read a thread of someone who used a ten gallon aquarium added 9 gallons of water and then 16 ounces of bleach.


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

I spent over $300 on Holey rock beacuse it was so cool looking and white, but now its all green and brown. I would skip the bleach and just rinse it really well.


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## FIREFISH (Jun 13, 2007)

Where did you go camping? Thanks

FF


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Doesn't matter how much bleach you add, those rocks won't turn white, which is a good thing. You don't really need a lot of bleach, a cup or so should suffice. If the water feels at all slippery you have lots.


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

Firefish, Canyon lake


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Canyon lake has that rock? Around what part?? I might go there soon, thanks in advance


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

mr yellow shoes, it was near the randolph afb rec area. it was all over.

and BillD, you were wrong. I got some great advice from Roman1218. Pretty much who cares how much, bleach is wicked cheap. So following his advice I dumped a good 50 cents worth of bleach into the water and I now have some very nice looking rock. Actually since my 55 already has about 105lbs in it I think I may actually have too much rock.

I'll get some pics up in the morning when I get off from work. They look great and are getting whiter as they sit in the sun.


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## Intermision (Sep 14, 2007)

That rock is all over the hill country.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Sweet, I went there on friday and got about 40 pounds of it, check it out

http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1004593qn8.jpg


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## parkayandbutter (Jan 15, 2008)

I paid over $800 between ebay and txholeyrocks web site. I have found some down in a few areas in the Austin town area.


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

as promised. new pics after bleaching. I'm quite happy with them. I'll try to post them in the same order that the original pics are in. Let me know what you think. Now I just have to buy another tank to put the rocks in [/img]









don't know why the one stayed so dark, but I kinda like the look of it.









the 7.5" across rock again









and the big one  it's not perfect, but it looks pretty good.


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## zugbug (Dec 12, 2005)

those are some sweet holey rocks.......!!


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

thanx.


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## FIREFISH (Jun 13, 2007)

ictoae, Thanks for the tip. Just got back from over you nic of the woods. Man its all over the place over there. I am in the process of cleaning them now. I will try to post pics later.

FF


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## ictoae (May 17, 2008)

awesome. I'm thinking about driving my truck up there and just loading up with a lifetime supply of holey rock.


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