Rocks from the beach

[my_fallen_angel]

I got some rocks from the beach today. Im wondering how should i go about washing them to put into my tropical fish tank?
I dont want to over does the fish on salt!
I have them soaking in fresh water at the moment.
What else should i do?

Thanks

Kellie

 

[akhtar]

i heard boiling them kills the bad bacteria,

 

[mrV]

Boiling water isn't enough to kill bacteria...

However, you can just brush them well and maybe put them into oven or Boil them. Putting into oven is better, because many of bacteria die when they dry. And it's very little chance to get some disease from rocks...

 

[BobTheDog]

mrv, just curious why you state

Boiling water isn't enough to kill bacteria...

. Boiling water rigorously for one minute is the general recommendation by the US CDC for killing not just bacteria but also viruses in water which is possibly contaminated. Except for the specialized species of bacteria and other organisms which live in hot springs, etc, most organisms cannot survive the temperature of boiling water. Rock has a large thermal mass and it is going to take longer than a minute to get the temperature up to the "killing level", but a long period of boiling should sterilize rock (or wood or anything else) before it is placed in an aquarium.

 

[De Plano]

You should test the rock first to see if it is too high in Calcium. You can test it by pouring a little vinegar on it and seeing if it fizzles. If it fizzles there is a bit of calcareous material, and too much calcium would not be good for freshwater fish. (hmm I need to test the rocks in my tank)

Bleach will kill anything, but then you still need to wash it. I don't worry about cleaning the rocks too much, but I assume it just means I am lucky. Get it clean and then boil it if you are worried about it, which I guess you should be.

 

[De Plano]

Letting them dry off wouldn't hurt either as Mr V said.