# rocks yet again - sorry guys (girls)



## earhtmother (Mar 7, 2010)

ok they have been blowing up all kinds of granite bluffs around where I live for new development and I am wondering if I can use this in my tanks and what I would have to do to make it safe. So far only have labidochromus caeruleus, melanochromis auratus and julidochromus ornatus (not all in the same tank)

thanks
elaine


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

boil them, or soak them in water with bleach, then soak them in water with extra dechlor added and rinse well


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## earhtmother (Mar 7, 2010)

Could I use vinegar as a sustitute for bleach in the cleaning process, Bleach always makes me nervous in case there is any residue left after the rocks soak. Would definately boil them if I can sub.

elaine


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## Gervahlt (Jun 25, 2009)

Do NOT boil them. I have personally seen what can happen when water or air pockets inside the rock get too hot. Normally, this isn't too much of a problem as the pockets typically have an outlet for expansion...but not always. The demonstration I saw of this could easily take out most kitchens and quite possibly kill you (certainly it would mean a very serious trip to the hospital)! Think about pottery class and what your teacher told you about kilns and air pockets inside your clay.

EDIT: I realized I didn't give you any constructive advice, just told you what not to do. I personally just wash them off and scrub them as best I can, then pour boiling water over them a number of times. Some people use vinegar, some use bleach. I don't think you're every going to be 100% assured that there's no bacteria on the rock as it'll hide in crevasses you can't reach for scrubbing (or even soaking). Even if you were to do something like boil your rock (again: DON'T DO IT!), what's to say the bacteria and/or viruses aren't just under the surface waiting a tiny piece to flake off during a tank cleaning? Mainly, do your best to sterilize and clean off anything you can by scrubbing and hope for the best. At least, that's my method.


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## earhtmother (Mar 7, 2010)

I never thought of that, was going to boil them outside on the large propane burner but dont think I will try that now. Think I will just let soak in vinegar & boiling water, scrub then rinse well.

Thanks
elaine


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

The vinegar will not kill off any of the baddies.
Bleach is what you need.
_I agree, be safe, but the exploding rock has become an aquaria urban legend.
Lots have mentioned it, but the actual eye witness to an event are not to be found.
The amount of heat needed and the rate of heat rise are beyond the home oven._
Not saying to throw your rocks in the oven, it`s a waste of energy.
Put them in a bleach/water solution and let them soak.
Then rinse.
Soak in some dechlorinator treated water and they will be good to go.


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## GotCichlids? (May 21, 2010)

If you use just regular bleach nothing that has added chemicals to smell good it will just dissipate in the air when you are letting it dry out. If you are still concerned do like it was mentioned and soak again after the bleach water bath add them to a container with tap water and add extra water conditioner to take any left over chlorine out of the rock/water. I would then let dry again just to make sure it was all gone then add to the tank!


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## roffels (Jul 27, 2010)

put them in your dishwasher and run it on pots and pans


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## cgmark (Aug 18, 2010)

Muriatic acid works well for granite, slate, quartz and other nonporous rock, don't use on things like limestone. It is cheap and will remove biomatter and bacteria and rinses off clean. You can get it in the paint section of most hardware stores. Usually not more than a few dollars a gallon. 
It is used to prepare stonework so it can be painted. It actually removes a very fine layer of the stone .

You do have to use it outdoors and should use some rubber gloves . dip a brush in it , rub it over the rock, wait about a minute and rinse off, the rock is ready to use.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... o?pid=4032


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## niccomau (Oct 14, 2008)

I scrub the **** out of them, then boil them for 15 minutes. I've done this with all my tanks and never had rock "blow up" on me. I cool them in cold water and they are ready to go. I personally don't like using bleach with porous rocks because it makes me paranoid that I didn't rinse or soak long enough to get it all out. All the rock I boiled was slate and river rock type I don't know if you run into problems with using other types of rock. But boiling em has always worked for me. Kills everything, and anything that doesn't come out in the process probably won't once its in cooler water.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

I just scrub them with dish soap and then pour boiling water over them. Then rinse several times in cool water. I think bleach (if you don't rinse it off enough) has the potential to be more harmful than whatever is living on most rock.

Rocks taken from a stream or body of water are more likely to carry parasites/pathogens that can infect fish. These I would bleach or boil.


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Kanorin said:


> I just scrub them with dish soap and then pour boiling water over them. Then rinse several times in cool water. I think bleach (if you don't rinse it off enough) has the potential to be more harmful than whatever is living on most rock.


I think dish soap is more likely to cause problems than bleach. Bleach is easy to remove, just soak in dechlorinator. Dish soap takes alot more rinsing to be sure you got rid of all the residue and perfumes.

I just scrub my rocks with water in a 5g bucket, or a rubbermade bin for larger rocks, replacing the water occasionally until it stays clear. But I also get my rocks from a landscaping outlet, so they are cleaner than they would be if I picked them out of a stream.


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## GotCichlids? (May 21, 2010)

niccomau said:


> I scrub the #%$& out of them, then boil them for 15 minutes. I've done this with all my tanks and never had rock "blow up" on me. I cool them in cold water and they are ready to go. I personally don't like using bleach with porous rocks because it makes me paranoid that I didn't rinse or soak long enough to get it all out. All the rock I boiled was slate and river rock type I don't know if you run into problems with using other types of rock. But boiling em has always worked for me. Kills everything, and anything that doesn't come out in the process probably won't once its in cooler water.


Just don't boil them whatever you decide to do just don't take this advice. As you can see this post pertains to mainly slate which is very tightly compacted and very unlikely to contain pockets of gas that will expand and explode. Using granite either run in dish washer on pots and pan (obviously with out the detergent), pour boiling water on them, use bleach with proper removal, or try the acid method that was mentioned but I have no experience in that. Just don't soak them in boiling water pouring it over them won't cause them to explode but the temp difference will be enough to kill a parasite/fungus on the rocks. If you are stuck on the idea of boiling the rocks just don't leave them in for over five mins and make sure to let them cool down at their own leisure as dumping them into cold water is a sure fire way to get them to explode or at the least crack.


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## soulpride (Aug 30, 2009)

scrub scrub scrub and soak them in boiling hot water is for me  . i don't know why but i keep scrubing them and soak them in boiling water like 5 time before im happy  . never try bleach or vinegar.


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## mccluggen (Jul 5, 2008)

Bleach is safer to use for sanitizing aquarium objects than detergents because it leaves nothing behind when used correctly. Chlorine is very volatile and evaporates / dissipates from the water quickly on its own. Using dechlorinator to rinse is extra insurance, and if you are super paranoid just leave the rocks in the sun after the rinse until they are dry. The chlorine will be gone, guaranteed. The only caveat to this is stay away from bleach with additives or scents, just the cheapest plain bleach should be used.

Detergents can leave residues behind that are hard to remove. If you do use detergents to clean aquarium decor I would recommend rinsing in a mild vinegar water to help cut the residue.


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## JimmyJam101 (Dec 6, 2010)

I work in a natural stone countertop fabrication shop and I can tell you from experience that to make a rock explode would take a tremendous amount of heat and the temp change would have to be faster than instant. We regularly use propane torches directly to a countertop to preheat it in preperation of some kinds of repairs, and even use an oxygen acetylene (welding type) torch to create certain textures. I have NEVER in 13 years of working in this field witnessed a rock explosion. Ever.

That being said, I do not boil my rocks for my aquarium, but only because I like really big rocks and have nothing big enough to boil them in( and I also do not think that it is necessary) I usually scrub with a wire brush under running water and then just put em in there.(sometimes I forego the wire brush)


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## Jmanolinsky (Jun 4, 2010)

I agree with mccluggen about the bleach. It is the safest cleaning, germ killing thing to use. Just clean the rocks of surface dirt, soak in a 10-1 bleach solution, rinse, rinse again and then soak in a final rinse with dechlor added. I use it every week to clean the algae off my plants. It works great. It is your friend. Do not be afraid of it.


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## AlphaWild (Apr 9, 2009)

While I have not witnessed a boiled rock exploding on a stovetop, I have personally witnessed exploding rocks around a campfire. I don't know what the threshold temp is, but it does indeed happen in some circumstances. Why take the chance when there are safer alternatives?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I think the rock exploding part is more when it is cooled suddenly after heating in a campfire. Most any scoutmaster can vouch for that. What we called chert was the best for getting a giggle going. If you lay it in the edge of the fire for a bit and then drop some spit on it, it will fire off very nicely. It's the way boys learn about nature!!!


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