Boiling Rocks/Gravel

[Becca]

Ok. I thought I read somewhere that one should always be careful when introducing new items into their aquariums. Any foreign objects could upset the delicate eco-system. I also thought I read somewhere that you should boil any gravel, bog wood, ornaments, etc that you introduce to your tank.

So I did just that yesterday when I added more gravel to make my tank feel (and look) more realistic to the fish's natural environment. And this evening I took my Knife to his new home. I mentioned to the lady that took him (she's the owner of my LFS) that I boiled the gravel I got yesterday and added it to the tank, but I still needed more to finish what I was doing.

Before I could go any further, I glanced up and noticed she was staring at me with an "OH MY GOD" expression. Thanks to a good memory and relaying the converation a couple of times, I can share with you the conversation that ensued:

Me: "What?"
Her: "You're not supposed to boil your gravel. All I do for my tanks here is rinse it off."
Me: "Hmm, really?"
Her: "Yeah. Even the stuff I have sitting in buckets in the open is good and clean"

...insert mental note here that everything in the place is extremely dusty - always - they're right off a major highway (literally feet from the curb) and they always have the front door open. Not the best quality air...

Me: "Well, My thought was that I'd boil the new gravel before I added it to the tank to kill off anything that might be hiding out in the rocks."
Her: "If you do, the rocks will become too sterile and a white fungus will begin to grow on your rocks in a day or two. And the good bacteria you have in your tank will never grow on it because it will be too clean. Plus, there's nothing on the market that can get rid of the white fungus, you'll be stuck with the problem."

My husband and I wrapped things up and headed out to the car. While we're in the car we started talking this over. How in the HELL can this be right, or even possible? I've thought it over and over and over again..and there are a couple of holes in her story:

1) If the rocks are "sterile" and "too clean for anything to grow on them" how come the "white fungus" forms? (Which, by the way - I've not seen and it's been 24 hours...)
2) My thought of "sterile" is that the item will be free of any debris/etc (or just really clean) until it's introduced to an environment where it can become contaminated. (E.G. my tank) Once the ecosystem gets to the new rocks, the rocks will begin to house the same bacteria the other rocks do. I just made sure that when I was adding the gravel to mix it in well with the rocks that were a current part of the cycled tank...so the top layer of gravel isn't all new stuff. It's a good mix.

So, I guess my bottom line is this:

1) Is it ok (or even recommended) to boil your gravel - or any items - that you're introducing to your tank?
2) If it isn't ok, why not? And if it's for the reasons the lady from my LFS mentioned, could you address the holes I found in her story?

Once again, thanks much!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Becca

If your gravel is natural rock, you can boil it all you want. You shouldn't have to though.

New gravel will take many rinsing to get the fine powdery dust off of it before you put it into an aquarium. Once the water runs clear, it's good to go.

On the other hand, I boil my gravel if I am taking it out of a hospital tank or any tank that I do not trust. Then I either put it into my big tank to become coated with beneficial bacteria, or dry it for storage.

If you have bought any painted or coated gravel, however, boiling might damage it.

 

[wrs]

well i read that ur supposed 2 soak some things, like pots. but ive never herd of doing anything 2 gravel before.

 

[ddm18]

Becca, I think that the lady who owns your LFS is a moron!!! Boiling things does steralise them - that's the whole point. But just because something is sterile once, it doesn't remains sterile forever. Think about medical equipment, for example, they steralise everything before each use for this very reason. If your LFS lady was right, they would only need to steralise everything once, and it would remain clean and free from bacteria forever.

All that's happening is that you're killing off any bacteria on the gravel at the time, but as soon as the gravel cools down again (a couple of minutes, probably) it becomes a surface, just like any other, and bacteria will grow there perfectly happily.

I've always boiled everything I put in my tank, and have never had this 'white fungus' that your lady mentioned.

EDIT: By "I've always boiled everything I put in my tank" I wasn't including fish - just in case anyone was wondering!

 

[Becca]

ddm,

Thanks for the words of wisdom, seriously. I kind of gathered that she didn't know what she was talking about when she said "There's nothing on the market that will take care of it." Most experienced fish owners I've met, talked to, etc will avoid chemicals when a problem occurs in their tanks...opting to first attempt to correct the problem using only natural resources.

Anyway, the same thought that you about the medical field and sterile instruments had crossed our minds. And that's what started making us think that she wasn't really sure what she was talking about. We still boiled the gravel and put it in the tank. It's been over 2 days now (since the first, and bigger, batch) and we've not seen a trace of any "White Fungus". (Though, we have seen much happier fish with all the places they have to hide out...)

LOL - I laughed when I saw the comment about boiling fish. Ok, time for me to share my "blonde" moment:
We got all of our purchases home to re-do the bottom of my tank and I told my hubby that I wanted to boil the items before adding them to the tank. I FORGOT to mention that I didn't want to boil the Plastic Plants.

Ooops. Just a fair warning, plastic plants don't boil so well.

 

[clutterydrawer]

EDIT: By "I've always boiled everything I put in my tank" I wasn't including fish - just in case anyone was wondering!

I have a mental image of you wearing an apron and stirring a cauldron full of neons with a long wooden spoon. it's pretty disturbing.



Becca, that lady sounds completely deranged. She's so illogical she might be a public safety hazard, you should inform someone immediately.

 

[Bol]

If you look at bags of Estes aquarium gravel, it specifically states "Do Not Boill" on the bags.

 

[ddm18]

EDIT: By "I've always boiled everything I put in my tank" I wasn't including fish - just in case anyone was wondering!

I have a mental image of you wearing an apron and stirring a cauldron full of neons with a long wooden spoon. it's pretty disturbing.

Am I wearing anything under the apron?

 

[clutterydrawer]

Am I wearing anything under the apron?

a suit. for some reason.

 

[Becca]

If you look at bags of Estes aquarium gravel, it specifically states "Do Not Boill" on the bags.

I don't use that. The gravel I buy is stuff that's kept in open wooden bins (no lids). What's worse, is the store is not air conditioned - so they leave the front door open. And it's literally feet from a major Interstate Highway - so all sorts of dirt and debris are flying around the store. My thought was that boiling the gravel would kill off any debris that would have gotten on it from the air pollution.

 

[flintstone]

 

[Inchworm]

... The gravel I buy is stuff that's kept in open wooden bins (no lids). What's worse, is the store is not air conditioned - so they leave the front door open.

I use that kind of gravel too. It comes in a variety of sizes and I use #3, which is not the finest, but is still a safe size to use with corys.

I ran into one problem with it though. The lfs had a cat................

 

[Sky042]

I never boiled gravel all I've ever done is wash it. However I've boiled ornaments(have to be careful some plastic will start to melt in boiling water) rocks and driftwood.

 

[fishdudein]

Becca, I don't see anything wrong at all with boiling gravel or ornaments before you put them in the tank if you don't feel comfortable about their cleanliness. Better safe than sorry.
Don't get caught up in the over-cleanliness thing, though. This happened to me early on in the hobby, I would tear my tanks completely down twice a year, boil and/or bake the gravel, bleach any plastic plants (mild solution), thoroughly scrape and scrub the glass, completely tear apart any and all filters and clean thoroughly and replace all the filter media... it's a wonder any fish lived through such turmoil. The tanks would surely have to start the cycling process all over again.

 

[noelberg]

i don't see any major problems with boiling any new gravel, rocks or driftwood before adding it WITH THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTIONS:
1 - The gravel was painted, made of plastic or had some artificial (glo in the dark) stuff on it
2 - You are aware that the driftwood may rot faster than normal after boiling

hehe and may I add that rocks should cool down a little before going in the tank so you don't boil the fish!