Cleaning Rocks From My Garden

[Fishywishy333]

Hey everyone, I was just going to ask this on Chat, but since that is not working, here I am again . I am going to use some rocks from my garden in my tank instead of paying £6 for one at the store. I was going to clean and boil it before use obviously, but how long should I boil it for?

If you have any other cleaning tips, please feel free to say.

Hope you can help and thanks in advance.

 

[Nordk]

Boiling may not be the best option, as there is the potential for it to explode. If there's any water trapped inside the rock, pressure will build up and cause it to explode. Putting them in a bucket and pouring boiling water over them should be fine though, as it's not long or hot enough for this to happen.

 

[214jay]

It depends on the type of rocks they are, sometimes they can drastically increase or decrease the PH of the tank....I have heard if you put vinegar on them and they fizz then they are not fit for an aquarium.  Any ideas what rock it is or do you have any pictures?

 

[fluttermoth]

Vinegar might fizz if the rocks are very calciferous, but it's not usually a strong enough acid; you really want rust remover to test properly.

Make sure they have mo metallic veins in them as well.

Definitely don't boil them!

 

[SamB]

I use the pouring boiling water on the rocks method to clean mine

 

[stanleo]

I scrub them with hot water and left them to soak in in used tank water for a week. Then I tested the pH of the water they were soaking in. If the pH didn't change, I put them in my tank.

 

[Fishywishy333]

Sorry, the pic wouldn't upload , but I will try the vinegar trick. Thanks to everyone