How to clean rock...help needed ) pics post 5

[Aquaman]

So I finally drug about a hundred lbs of rock home that had been in the 180 I bought . There is a lot of nice pieces and wish to clean it up. I have a few that are a bit on the greenish side ,, and wonder if bleaching is a good idea . The only this that concerns me is the loss of coulor as some of them have different coulored organisms ( for lack of a better word ) some are very small intricate worm type critters . I don't want to loose the colour. They actually are not as bad as some as far as algae go. Some are good looking as they are but should I do a quick bleach dip?
I will be keeping a few and putting some up here in the classifieds once I get them cleaned up and photos taken.....could be a while .
Thanks in advance for any info guys.
bill

to clarify ..the rock has been sitting in buckets for over a year.

[beN]

3m Scrub pad..the kind that you use on dishes..maybe that might help.
id steer away from cleaners at all costs..

[budahrox]

Go down to the hardware store & buy a big ole jug of Elbow Grease
& Git er done Old Fella!!!!!

[O.C.D Fishies]

Maybe use a baby brush they are fairly soft or a soft toothbrush. They might get off the easy stuff and not damage any of the other stuff you are trying to keep.

[Aquaman]

Go down to the hardware store & buy a big ole jug of Elbow Grease
& Git er done Old Fella!!!!!

OH MY !!! with all the comedian's out of work its kinda funny that your looking for a job
How the heck are you anyways old one .We gotta hook up for a laugh or somthing here soon.

OH pics ....this is almost tooo easy ( click and drag ...)







^^ the worm lookin things are hard coral ..at first I thought ..UHHGG! but to my surprise




Preety tough to clean with a scrub brush I would think.......
will let you know how it goes

[Smiladon]

If you find out a good way, be sure to let me know as I might have to clean my limestones as well.

Maybe a PP (Potassium Permanganate) dip might work? On the other hand it could potentially make the whole rock look uuuugly because its an oxidizing agent.

[Aquaman]

Well I have had coral in my tanks till they became ugly as sin .I just took them and let em sit for a few days in a mildly bleached tub of water and they came out lily white .. I rinsed them well and sat them in the sun for a few days. Returned them to the tank and never had a problem. That was a fresh water tank and there were clown loaches and a few easy to kill fish and no losses.
That was fresh water .....I wish to reuse thesse for salt water (well a few sellect ones at least ).
Most are okay and cleaned up well .My biggest concern would be something alive in there and then selling it to someone and giving them problems.
Is a quick dip for them unadvisable?
Sorry for the long post

[Aquaman]

ummm.would real hot water and lots of salt work ....or vinager ? I spent an hour scrubbing 2 small pieces that included using sharp objects scrubbers and Dawns toothbrush ......looks better but not really that less green .

[cichlid]

boiling rocks, there is a ditch near my house I get rocks from, we just boil them.

[Aquaman]

yea boiling will kill a lot but dont think the coral would hold up as well as a rock would . I have had big pots on my stove doing the same Do you live in Richmond ...( ditches )..I see lots out there ..oh! just looked ...same with abby.