Using rocks, gravel and sand from a local stream

[ccebr]

I currently have sand in my tank, and although it looks nice, it has been a real pain as the fish love to throw it around and my filters have to regularly be cleaned due to all the sand in them.

So I have decided to replace the sand with a completely natural and free alternative. I collected about 50kg of gravel, sand, mud, rocks and pebbles from a local stream/small fast flowing river. I know the water is unpolluted so is safe to use.

I need to kill all the aquatic invertebrates in the substrate before I can add it to my tank. Suggestions? I have considered soaking the substrate in bleach diluted in warm water, followed by a thorough rinsing process. Followed by a period soaked in Seachem Prime, after which an air-drying stage; and finally one final rinse in tap water. Do you think this will kill all life and then be safe for use in the tank? Or anyone have an alternative?

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Lay all the gravel and rocks out on a large surface like a rubbermaid or in the garden. Just pour boiling water all over it. That would kill almost 99% of the micro-organisms on the surface.

I would rather have my gravel soak in hot water than one containing bleach.

You might also want to do the carbonate test on them to ensure that they are inert. Add vinegar on them and look for fizzing. If they fizz, dont use them. They would screw up your water hardness

 

[ccebr]

ok cheers for the vinegar trick.
i cant really use boiling water alone, otherwise i would need to boil the kettle about 50 times to get enough water to cover the 50kg. 3000W x 50 = my dad kicking my ass

 

[ccebr]

not too much advice on this...

 

[TRD_Power]

All I do is boil everything for 5-10 min and then just let them sit in the water till it gets cool enough to put my hand in. Been doing this for 3 different tanks over a couple years and never once have I had a problem. Just scrub them with a stiff brush before to get all the loose junk off. Some people bake rocks, but I prefer boiling. You have quite a bit of rock to clean, but just do it bit by bit. Patience is key Best of luck to you.

 

[Mavrick813]

All I do is boil everything for 5-10 min and then just let them sit in the water till it gets cool enough to put my hand in. Been doing this for 3 different tanks over a couple years and never once have I had a problem. Just scrub them with a stiff brush before to get all the loose junk off. Some people bake rocks, but I prefer boiling. You have quite a bit of rock to clean, but just do it bit by bit. Patience is key Best of luck to you.

I'm on board with you. I have a 6 gallon pot, I put the substrate in. Put it on the stove and bring the water to 1/2" higher then the substrate, Bring it to a Hard Boil then turn it off. I let it sit over night. In the AM, I rinse it with tap water, then give it a soak in Prime water to clear the Chlorine, Chloramine, and Fouride.

Mike

 

[mofisher]

bake 'em

 

[Mavrick813]

bake 'em

Baking works. But it smells.

Just my 2c...

Mike

 

[ccebr]

ok thanks for the advice. I only just read this so didn't think about baking it. And like a said before boiling all that water would cost a fortune, probs more than buying it in the first place. In the end I used cheap thin bleach diluted in cold water. Let it soak for about 30mins, stirring occasionally. Then used a small seive to rinse small amounts of the substrate and clear away the muck at the same time. took about 45mins to rinse it all. I then laid out the gravel on a plastic sheet and let it dry out in the air for 24 hours. Rinsed it one last time then put it in the empty fish tank and added a 10x dose of seachem prime. turned on the pumps let it get up to temp etc, then added the fish 6 hours later. No problems at all, and no sign of insects so its all good! Water went cloudy as hell though and now 48hours later its still a bit murky, even after all that rinsing. fish all very healthy though so obviously no bleach remains. I think thin bleach is the best bet rather than thick bleach, and i wouldnt recommend using bleach on anything other than hard impermeable surfaces.