Stones.

[Marshall..]

Has anybody ever used stones from the beach and soaked them or scrubbed them with a view to using them in an aquarium?

 

[Rodders]

Guess if you give them a good scrub off they should be ok.

 

[Tolak]

A good soak with a 20:1 bleach/water mix steralizes them after getting debris off with a stiff brush. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. I've done this with many rocks.

Avoid trying to steralize them in the oven. Though it works, some rocks may contain air pockets with moisture. Water turns to steam & expands. I've heard of people blowing up rocks this way.

 

[TurboVtec93]

A good soak with a 20:1 bleach/water mix steralizes them after getting debris off with a stiff brush. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. I've done this with many rocks.

Avoid trying to steralize them in the oven. Though it works, some rocks may contain air pockets with moisture. Water turns to steam & expands. I've heard of people blowing up rocks this way.

This is all correct. The 20 parts water to 1 part bleach works great. Do NOT boil or bake the rocks although it might be a good idea to pour boiling water over the rocks as this will steralize them better then just rinsing with water but will not get the core of the rock hot.

 

[Spinal]

A good soak with a 20:1 bleach/water mix steralizes them after getting debris off with a stiff brush. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. I've done this with many rocks.

Avoid trying to steralize them in the oven. Though it works, some rocks may contain air pockets with moisture. Water turns to steam & expands. I've heard of people blowing up rocks this way.

This is all correct. The 20 parts water to 1 part bleach works great. Do NOT boil or bake the rocks although it might be a good idea to pour boiling water over the rocks as this will steralize them better then just rinsing with water but will not get the core of the rock hot.

I've always boiled my rocks... I will admit, I've never boiled them in the kitchen (preferring an old pan I had lying in the shed when we bought the house on top of the BBQ) - but I've also never had any accidents. Its down to common sense really; don't boil slate or any other "stratific" (don't know the real word in english) and don't boil porous rocks (lava rock, pumice etc).

Beyond that its not too hard, and if something does go wrong, its more likely to crack than to explode...

But to be on the safe side, do it outside

Michele

 

[TurboVtec93]

If I made it sound like it was surely going to happen I apologize. There is just always that chance that it could happen. I remember when I was young and stupid we used to take rocks from a pond and throw them in camp fires...talk about dumb lol. If i was going to do it i would do it in an old grill or something with the cover down just in case.

-alex

 

[raptorrex]

here is a bit of background, before you drop your prepared rocks in!!

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=55806

if you are cleaning Sedimentary rock, think someone was looking for that word lol, i would avoid using bleach, for much the same reason you wouldn't boil them, that may have cracks and fissures that, when hot allow liquid in, but may not let it out properly when cold. the results can be guessed.


another point, some rocks are said to be avoided. as they may mess with your ph and other things, its always worth remembering that though these rocks do that, for the most part the amount of effect on your tank, is quite often negligible, especially if you have a larger tank! its well worth soaking the rock, one type at a time, in old tank water, taking a reading, when you first put them in. and another a week or two later. this will give you a better picture of the rocks effect. though big rise in ph in a two gallon bucket, will not always equate to a big rise in a 50 gallon tank.