Boiling Rocks

[DebraAustin]

Hi,

I have read that if you put non-lfs purchased rocks in a tank you should boil them. I was wondering if I can boil the rocks that I already have in my tank. They have algae on them and even with a good scrubbing with a clean toothbrush (no soap or anything) they still tend to get all covered in algae again. I am still working on balancing my tank completely and it is getting much better, but I was wondering if I could boil the rocks I already have in the tank to kill the algae that has gotten into the little crevices that I can't clean? I have one of those volcanic looking rocks and one that has layers of stripes of orangey/red and a kinda tan color. You can get both these types of rocks at most lfs in the US. Just wondering if there would be any chance that these guys would "melt" in the hot water or if there is any other reason I might want to forego the boiling. I am planning on boiling a couple of rose quartz rocks at the same time, to add a couple more obstacles in the tank race track.

Thanks, Debra

 

[carrera]

im pretty sure boiling them would kill anything, including the algae you have growing in there. i wouldnt worry about melting it though, i dont think you can make lava in a saucepan

 

[Saedcantas]

Well Quartz melts at 1600 degrees C

So no worries, it's what I always do with stuff thats practically etched with algae B)

 

[DebraAustin]

Great! Thanks for the input. I'll be doing my "cooking" in a couple days. Next time I'll cycle my tank without the rocks in them.

Debra

 

[The-Wolf]

hi debra
if you click the rocks link in mt sig it will give you a few pointers on the types of rocks to avoid boiling.

 

[DebraAustin]

hi debra
if you click the rocks link in mt sig it will give you a few pointers on the types of rocks to avoid boiling.

Thanks, I already checked into that earlier. I just didn't ask about boiling rocks I had already purchased, because at the time I didn't have algae problems. Now my pretty rocks are all ugly and I just wanted a way to clean them and sort of start over.

Debra

 

[chishnfips]

hi debra
if you click the rocks link in mt sig it will give you a few pointers on the types of rocks to avoid boiling.

Thanks, I already checked into that earlier. I just didn't ask about boiling rocks I had already purchased, because at the time I didn't have algae problems. Now my pretty rocks are all ugly and I just wanted a way to clean them and sort of start over.

Debra

yes you can boil rocks, but be careful when you take them out, they retain the heat for hours and hours, well mine did when I boiled them, the only thing is algae will still grow on them once they are back in the tank. It all depends on your conditions of the water and such.