# Humber river rocks



## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

hi i saw some rocks at humber river today can i use them in my tank and what steps to make them safe?


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## Octavian (Sep 30, 2009)

Boil them in water and make rock soup


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

NEVER boil rocks.

There's a similar post here:
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14648&highlight=aquarium+rocks

and here...
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15037


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

OOhhh I had no idea Joeee, is baking just as dangerous? I would worry about the rocks around campfires if that is true D:


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Rocks that have been in water may burst if baked, depending on the type of rock. Rocks around campfires often break, especially if taken from the water. I don't know why anyone would waste the electricity when a soaking them in a bleach solution is much easier and at least as effective.


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> OOhhh I had no idea Joeee, is baking just as dangerous? I would worry about the rocks around campfires if that is true D:


I was arguing over rocks exploding with AquariAM a while back.

Case of rock exploding in a campfire:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/06/06/1385064.htm

and a bit more information:
http://www.natureskills.com/stone_boiling.html


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

BillD said:


> Rocks that have been in water may burst if baked, depending on the type of rock. Rocks around campfires often break, especially if taken from the water. I don't know why anyone would waste the electricity when a soaking them in a bleach solution is much easier and at least as effective.


If i soak them in bleach or soap would that be safe to put in my tank?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

BillD said:


> Rocks that have been in water may burst if baked, depending on the type of rock. Rocks around campfires often break, especially if taken from the water. I don't know why anyone would waste the electricity when a soaking them in a bleach solution is much easier and at least as effective.


Leaving them out in full sun, turned over after a day or two, should kill most every aquatic Bad Thing. Wash the mud and crud off, first. If the rocks weren't in water, I'd just wash them.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

bae said:


> Leaving them out in full sun, turned over after a day or two, should kill most every aquatic Bad Thing. Wash the mud and crud off, first. If the rocks weren't in water, I'd just wash them.


thanks and wash them with just hot water or any other solution? I was wondering if i take any rocks from the river if i may have to pay a fine?


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

shark said:


> If i soak them in bleach or soap would that be safe to put in my tank?


Bleach, yes, soap, no. Ironically bleach is significantly less dangerous to fish than soap, primarily because soap is hard to was off completely whereas bleach is easier to wash off and dechlorinator solutions will deal with bleach if there's some residue left.

Harry


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

Harry Muscle said:


> Bleach, yes, soap, no. Ironically bleach is significantly less dangerous to fish than soap, primarily because soap is hard to was off completely whereas bleach is easier to wash off and dechlorinator solutions will deal with bleach if there's some residue left.
> 
> Harry


Thanks for that tip i never knew that


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I'm a big fan of bleach. Rocks that haven't been in water probably don't need bleaching, but anything I collect from a lake, gets bleached. Bleach is a powerful oxidizer, so that besides killing assorted micro organisms, it will burn off organic material such as algae and such. Bleach is not persistant; what doesn't rinse off will disappear when the materials are dry. The only residue might be salt. Any tank I set up gets bleached as does any solid materials (filters, rocks sand/gravel, sometimes even wood) going into it. The exception would be sponge filter elements as they will degrade when exposed to strong bleach. I find that bleaching a tank that is being torn down to be redone, makes cleaning it much easier. Dead algae and bacteria just sloughs off.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

bae said:


> Leaving them out in full sun, turned over after a day or two, should kill most every aquatic Bad Thing. Wash the mud and crud off, first. If the rocks weren't in water, I'd just wash them.


I rather doubt that. Bleach sounds fine.
To get rid of bleach after, just rinse/soak the rock in water a few hours
before putting it into the tank.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

guys a quick update i got the rocks soaked and scrubed them in bleach now having them sit over night in a bucket of water


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

shark said:


> guys a quick update i got the rocks soaked and scrubed them in bleach now having them sit over night in a bucket of water


Is it conditioned water? I would triple dose prime and rinse the rocks off in a few days.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

Joeee said:


> Is it conditioned water? I would triple dose prime and rinse the rocks off in a few days.


no its plain water....


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Once rinsed and dried, no need for conditioner. A little vinegar added to the bleach water will neutralize the bleach.


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

BillD said:


> Once rinsed and dried, no need for conditioner. A little vinegar added to the bleach water will neutralize the bleach.


I don't see how this is true, I've heard that vinegar increases the killing power of bleach.

NaClO + HC2H3O2 = HClO + NaC2H3O2

Bleach + Vinegar

http://www.greenfootsteps.com/vinegar-and-bleach.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/asfm-vik021306.php

This CAN kill anthrax if it's a weaker strain.

I just did a bit more research on this, it apparently creates a powerful gas (Which I guess is the HClO in the equation above). I think the water conditioner and then rinsing off the rock REALLY well would be a better alternative. If you do go with this alternative, you should try to run like an air stone inside so there's movement in the water.


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

shark said:


> guys a quick update i got the rocks soaked and scrubed them in bleach now having them sit over night in a bucket of water


leave them soaking in bleach for a couple of hours.
It takes a few hours for bleach to do its job


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Joeee said:


> I don't see how this is true, I've heard that vinegar increases the killing power of bleach.
> 
> NaClO + HC2H3O2 = HClO + NaC2H3O2
> 
> ...


It works because Bleach is an alkali and vinegar is an acid. The combination of the two causes a reaction, which releases clorine gas (not a good idea to breathe). This is why there is a warning not to mix acid and alkali cleaners.
Regardless, you can do what ever makes you comfortable. I use vinegar to neutralize the bleach that is left on decapsulted brine shrimp eggs. Persoanally, I like to start a new tank up with as sterile a condition as is reasonable, and bleach helps with that, and it certainly helps cleaning of organic material (like algae) that may be stuck to the glass or other solid objects in the tank. Since I generally use vinegar last to clean mineral residues, the bleach is always gone.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

bluegill said:


> leave them soaking in bleach for a couple of hours.
> It takes a few hours for bleach to do its job


yeah i had them soaking over night now when can i add them in my tank? I rinsed of the bleach/vinegar


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

BillD said:


> It works because Bleach is an alkali and vinegar is an acid. The combination of the two causes a reaction, which releases clorine gas (not a good idea to breathe). This is why there is a warning not to mix acid and alkali cleaners.
> Regardless, you can do what ever makes you comfortable. I use vinegar to neutralize the bleach that is left on decapsulted brine shrimp eggs. Persoanally, I like to start a new tank up with as sterile a condition as is reasonable, and bleach helps with that, and it certainly helps cleaning of organic material (like algae) that may be stuck to the glass or other solid objects in the tank. Since I generally use vinegar last to clean mineral residues, the bleach is always gone.


Although most of this is true, there is one huge error in reasoning. Most gases(Inclung HClO), cannot be traced by an average person at conditions close to STP and because of how dangerous HClO is, it seems counterproductive to produce even the slightest amount. Unlike the NaC2H3O2 that the reaction produces, HClO oxidizes amino acids, creating a natural chloramine. HClO reacts with the nucleotides in your DNA and RNA, which isn't good because this makes it a carinogen. It also has a nasty tendency to react with lipids causing a change in the cell's permeability. Even if you don't breathe it in, contact with your skin cells will not disrupt the carinogenic effects of HClO.
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC37553

It also isn't wise to imply "Just don't breathe it in" because of the difficulty to track a gas at anything near STP. Next time, do try and mention it in your original post as there may actually be people on these forums that will try and do such a thing.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

soo can i add rocks in now?


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

i placed them in my tank and the fish love them 

thanks again guys for the help


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## bluegill (Jan 5, 2010)

shark said:


> yeah i had them soaking over night now when can i add them in my tank? I rinsed of the bleach/vinegar


soak them in water for a few hours, it should be good.
The bleach, small amount will dilute itself in the tank, should be no harm.


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