Got Pebbles And Rocks From River Safe To Use?

[kelvinrankin767]

I live relly close to a prety big river just down the road so i went down yesturday and got a bag full of pebbles and rocks, Got a bit wet lol The rocks and pebbles are from in the river and not lying around the bank, My question is can i use them in my aquarium? I thought since its a freshwater river it would be fine in my tank i boiled them just to get rid of any dirt or anything like that i havent put them in yet bacuse ime not sure i just needed some opinions, I think they should be ok because i just cant seem to find any rocks for my tank and ebay postage will cost to much.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

My best guess is that you ought to sterilize them too with something like Milton Baby Fluid and/or a heavily saline solution, to minimise the odds of any wild bacteria and alike invading your tank.

 

[kelvinrankin767]

My best guess is that you ought to sterilize them too with something like Milton Baby Fluid and/or a heavily saline solution, to minimise the odds of any wild bacteria and alike invading your tank.

sound like a good idea but ime still not sure about putting them in, people who sell rocks and pebbles must get them from rivers and lakes so there couldent be to much wrong with them

 

[Monty-2010]

Washing them with hot water should be good enough, if traces of any cleaning fluid are left they could damage the bacteria in your tank

 

[PRW1988]

River rocks and large stones that you even find in the woods would be fine for an aquarium. Give them a good cleaning in a bucket of 9 parts hot water, and 1 part bleach. Then give them a hot water rinse.

If you're unsure as to weither a rock is safe to use or not pour some vinegar on the rock, if it begins to fizz it's not safe to use, if it does nothing then you're set. Also, not everybody does this but I prefer to, soak the rocks in water for a few days to release any trapped air within the rocks pores.

 

[Hokum]

I find boiling my stones in water for about 2 hours in an old pan is enough then leave them to cool in the water. Bring the water to the boil slowly too, you don't want to cause any thermal shock.