Boiling "wild" rocks to make them safe?

[BassetsForBrown]

There is a forest behind my home with many large rocks that I'd like to add to my aquarium. I'm only concerned that I may introduce a terrible algae into the tank....If I scrub them visibly clean with a metal brush and dawn soap, rinse them very thoroughly multiple times, and then put them in boiling water for about 15-20 min should everything potentially harmful or contaminating be gone?

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[Castlk]

I would not use any kind of detergent on them at all. Boiling them for 15-20 is all you need to do in order to kill anything that could harm your tank and then just rinse them off and you should be good to go.

 

[xraycer]

I soak in diluted bleach water

 

[RBoydIV]

I boiled the ones from a local river turned out great. Awesome free rocks

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[NixMix]

I just boil my rocks, too.

 

[cyberhog05]

I put big rocks in my oven at 225° for an hour or so.. The rest I boil

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[FunWow!]

I soak in bleach and hot water... But watch out cause some rocks may have a lot of heavy metals in them that may come out into your water over time and if you use any rocks by the ocean shore or from the ocean even though it isn't coral ... It will make your ph sky rocket.


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[neutrino]

I put big rocks in my oven at 225° for an hour or so.. The rest I boil

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+1 If they're mossy or dirty I'll also power wash or car wash the dirt off.

As far as possible metals it helps to know what type of rock-- sandstone, limestone (if you're not trying to keep low ph), granite, and a lot of others are basically inert. If there's signs of rust or metallic looking bits or veins you may want to be careful, but even then you may be ok except in acidic tanks.

I haven't had any problems with rocks I've collected. Only mild exception was some crumbly shale I collected once that turned back to mud underwater.

 

[Modest_Man]

Find on ground, rise off, add to tank. What do you think you're going to introduce from an inert rock?

 

[CichlidKevin]

Be careful if you boil the wrong rocks they will explode.


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