# Cleaning Lace Rock



## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

Hey I got a really good deal on about 25lbs of nice Lace Rock from a Landscape Yard - $20 bucks but its VERY dirty - any ideas on a good way to wash it out ? too much to Boil unless I do it in about 3-4 batches but would prefer not to boil if I can avoid it.

Was going to wash it off with Garden hose on high pressure - get the bulk of the dirt off then use a bucket and brush to clean each piece indivdually - any ideas ?


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

A pressure washer would probably work great

I normally use a stiff nylon-bristled automotive-type parts cleaning brush and hot water in the sink- the first time I did it I scratched the stainless steel sink a little but was able to clean it up nicely with a red Scothbrite pad, thereby avoiding the wrath of Mrs. G :lol:


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## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

Thanks Mike - one of the reasons I dont want to Boil in my Mrs' Pots -


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## JohanniMan (Oct 6, 2011)

what I do is soak em in a bleach/water mix and set em outside to air dry for a day or 2 and they look GREAT after that


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

JohanniMan said:


> what I do is soak em in a bleach/water mix and set em outside to air dry for a day or 2 and they look GREAT after that


Yeah...that is kind of what I did with my white texas holey rock. It was covered in green algae and I boiled with bleach and water. I used a large turkey basting pot and just sat it on the burner and boiled one side at a time. I then let it sit in dechlorinated water for a couple days and let air dry for a couple days. I changed out the water twice a day with fresh dechlorinated water to make sure all the bleach was gone. Worked great. The boiling in bleach and water worked so well I didn't even have to scrub.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

pressure washer, just make sure you get all the dirt and growth inside all the holes. some rocks can hold WAY more dirt then you originally thought


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

I collect a lot of lace/holey rock and do all the work myself and have developed my own way of doing it. I start with pressure washing it to remove all the crud that I can. Then the pieces go in a container with a 10% solution of bleach for the weekend. The bleach water is drained and fresh water and declore is added I do an additional fresh water change during the week. The next weekend I use stiff bristle brushes of different sizes along with bottle/bore brushes to clean off and out the piece of any remaining debris and allow to air dry in the sun till the next weekend. I know this is a longer process then most people use, but I have no time during the week to do anything with them so I developed this way of doing it.


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## AMartin1 (May 7, 2012)

I have a fish pond, Can any one tell me what kind of glazed stone should I use in it? How do I clean it?


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

woodworm being that your from texas your not finding any lace rock. holey rock comes from texas and lace rock is in utah.


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

Anthraxx8500 said:


> woodworm being that your from texas your not finding any lace rock. holey rock comes from texas and lace rock is in utah.


Down here what you are calling "holey rock" goes by many different names. I use the term "lace" to describe the rock that has multiple tiny/small holes that are good for nothing bigger then about inch. "Holey" is used to describe those with holes that will provide hiding spots for any of the fish that will use it.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

your just arguing semantics at this point. lace rock can develop all sorts of hard to remove lichen and are sometimes so riddled with dirt that its best to just wash the heck out of them. bleach is not necessary as the rock is not porous like "holey rock" nor will it harbor much besides lichen or fungal/moss growth. even if you miss some while cleaning it'll disappear over time


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## zquattrucci (Apr 25, 2012)

be careful with the pressure washer because it could have chemicals still in the lines and you dont want them in your tank good luck


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