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washing hardscape taking from out....

590 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  tazcrash69, 
S
hi there
i m new to this forum and new to this hobby. looking thro this forum inspired me a huge amount...

i am trying to learn how to aquascape my old and small 20L tank.... when i was in uni ... saw some very nice collection of rocks/stones...... took some back...


but but i thought that i should wash it and clean it properly, anyone have any guide in how to do it without actually boiling the stones. could bleaching them in hot(not boiling) water help? would the bleach be harmful to the fish (replacing stones in tank after bleaching)??

pls :help: :help:

thanks thanks
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B
A good brushing and a bleach dip should work fine. I've always cleaned my rocks in this order: brush, bleach, boil, bleach, boil, brush and rinse the bleep out of them. Kind of overkill if you ask me, but I want to be safe.

Really, if you can't boil, give it a good brushing and use a diluted bleach solution. The key is to give it a VERY good rinsing in clean water.
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S
thnx bakedstuffedhuman for ur rapid reply...

ahhh nice i m soaking them in bleach solution at the moment... not boiling hot but ..quite hot from the tap .. and brush them and soak them cycle....

would prolly soak them in 5-6 cycles to make sure its clean of other organic matter and will soak in the hot tap water for a few times to ensure the rocks are bleach-free..

hope that is good enough.. hehe
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foolish1
try soaking with some dechlorinator after bleaching, that should help with any residuals from the bleach. i use stresscoat or prime and soak for about 24 hrs or just over night. good luck
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S
thnx foolish.... will use my remaining hagen aquaplus to finish off before i buy "prime"

btw is there any test to check if my stones are suitable for aquariums??

these stones i have is black in color and is very hard....

heard of the use of vinegar test to check the property but wasnt sure...
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JenThePlantGeek
Vinegar is an acid, but not quite strong enough. Muriatic acid works, or any of the strong acids. What you're looking for is fizzing, because acids react with calcium carbonate. If the rock is made of calcium carbonate then it can raise your gH, kH and pH over time, which can cause problems. If the rock seems very hard and is tough to scratch then my guess would be that it is safe, but it never hurts to be sure.
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tazcrash69
Just to add my .02, you should be able to find muriatic acid at your local hardware/home improvement store. It's used to clean bricks, and etch into cement.

Now for the disclaimer:
Please practice good common sense using it (gloves, eye protection). It is corrosive (you can use it to etch cement!).
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cookingnerd607
Exactly what are brinks?
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tazcrash69
cookingnerd607 said:
Exactly what are brinks?
Click to expand...
What?
They use it to clean armored cars. :help: jk

OK, fixed the typo.
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