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Newbie Question...cleaning Rocks And Such

Started by Guest_airbrn1187_* , Nov 02 2007 10:41 PM

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18 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_airbrn1187_*

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Posted 02 November 2007 - 10:41 PM

I was wondering what the best method for cleaning plastic plants and rocks that have been covered by algae. Can a mild bleach soak be used or is it best just to scrub with warm water??? Any help would be appriciated.

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#2 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 02 November 2007 - 10:55 PM

I was wondering what the best method for cleaning plastic plants and rocks that have been covered by algae. Can a mild bleach soak be used or is it best just to scrub with warm water??? Any help would be appriciated.

Bleach can be used as long as it is allowed to "evaporate" and sit in the sun for at least 48 hours. Warm water will get rid of algae just as well and a good bit faster, though.

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#3 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 02 November 2007 - 11:12 PM

If it gets really bad you can remove the plants and place them in peroxide. The easy stuff falls right off and elbow grease can handle the rest. I'm not a big fan of this since you kill off a portion of your nitrifying bacteria. I might stay away from cleaning the rocks or at least large amounts of any object at once to preserve bacterial loads.

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#4 Guest_wolfie8000_*

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Posted 03 November 2007 - 01:26 AM

A dish washer will work pretty good, :grin:

.

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#5 Guest_scottefontay_*

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Posted 03 November 2007 - 01:04 PM

A dish washer will work pretty good, .

I have used a dishwasher to clean fish stuff before when I was a kid. My mom didn't appreciate the house smelling like hot swamp (i didn't use any detergent). It does work well but what Teleost said is good advice and washing EVERYTHING at once in the dishwasher would be bad for the microbial action in your tank. If you do this wash with warm, not hot water, as you could deform your plastic plants (and it would kill less bacteria). I would just use my hands in 5 gallon bucket of warm water, personally.

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#6 Guest_airbrn1187_*

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Posted 03 November 2007 - 04:17 PM

Thanks I will definately try several of the above mentioned methods...thanks

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#7 Guest_BassNut144_*

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Posted 05 November 2007 - 10:06 AM

I actually had the same question I just hadn't had time to ask it...but when I first collect my rocks from the local steram, I soak them in a gallon of bleach with 2 gallons of water, for a day, then oak them in water for a week, and then bake them in the oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees(if it is cold out, like it right now in Ohio)...but as far as cleaning them off when you clean the tank, I boil them in peroxide.

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#8 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 05 November 2007 - 11:59 AM

I actually had the same question I just hadn't had time to ask it...but when I first collect my rocks from the local steram, I soak them in a gallon of bleach with 2 gallons of water, for a day, then oak them in water for a week, and then bake them in the oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees(if it is cold out, like it right now in Ohio)...but as far as cleaning them off when you clean the tank, I boil them in peroxide.

Is it even possible to boil peroxide? (Meaning, wouldn't the heat drive off the extra oxygen pretty quickly, leaving water?)

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#9 Guest_creekcrawler_*

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Posted 06 November 2007 - 11:39 AM

I actually had the same question I just hadn't had time to ask it...but when I first collect my rocks from the local steram, I soak them in a gallon of bleach with 2 gallons of water, for a day, then oak them in water for a week, and then bake them in the oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees(if it is cold out, like it right now in Ohio)...but as far as cleaning them off when you clean the tank, I boil them in peroxide.

Holy Cow! I usually brush the mud off and put 'em in the tank.

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#10 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 06 November 2007 - 11:41 AM

Bleach can be used as long as it is allowed to "evaporate" and sit in the sun for at least 48 hours.

Bleach is just concentrated chlorine (sodium hypochlorite, actually). Use dechlor after using the bleach, and you'll be fine.

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#11 Guest_scottefontay_*

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Posted 06 November 2007 - 12:43 PM

wow, that's a pretty intensive cleaning regime. I also just wash the mud off and put it in the tank too. Especially when I am getting gravel or sand from a bar. I rinse out the finest of the fines and try to leave it as biologically "active" as possible. Strength lies in diversity. I only sterilize my spawning equipment (mops, tanks and coarse gravel).

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#12 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 06 November 2007 - 08:12 PM

Holy Cow! I usually brush the mud off and put 'em in the tank.

Leave it all, it adds character! - spider webs, pill bugs, mud n all

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#13 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 06 November 2007 - 10:57 PM

Holy Cow! I usually brush the mud off and put 'em in the tank.

Same here.

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#14 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 07 November 2007 - 05:01 PM

Holy Cow! I usually brush the mud off and put 'em in the tank.

Yep, me too.
And I brush the mud off gently so as not to disturb any micro-critters that might colonize and/or provide food in the tank.
In saltwater though I have had that come back to bite me [literally]. You'd be amazed at how well a tiny crab larvae can remain hidden and grow to epic proportions before being discovered. :shock:

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#15 Guest_BassNut144_*

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Posted 08 November 2007 - 02:05 PM

I used to not clean my rocks at all...and then I had a few bad experiences, so now I gues I go alittle overboard...and as far as boiling the rocks in Peroxide, I use water and just keep adding small amounts of the peroxide to the water every few minutes.

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#16 Guest_Slasher_*

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Posted 08 November 2007 - 05:57 PM

I boil my rocks/wood for 15 minutes in water. Anything that lives through that, deserves to harm my fish.

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#17 Guest_factnfiction101_*

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Posted 13 November 2007 - 11:43 PM

Holy Cow! I usually brush the mud off and put 'em in the tank.

I don't bother with algae unless the algae looks dead, but I have a algae eater.

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#18 Guest_Andi_*

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Posted 21 November 2007 - 03:06 PM

Being too cheap to by driftwood, I collect my own. What I've done in the past to make sure I wasn't introducing harmful stuff into my tanks I would soak the driftwood in a real high salt concentration for a few weeks in a 5 gallon bucket. Actually, the few weeks was because I forgot I had it soaking, but It worked! I just made sure to not include salt in my water changes for a couple months. Never thought of tossing any rocks in with it. I usually just scrubbed in hot water with a splash of bleach, rinse and plop 'em in the tanks. Gravel or sand from the water I would probably treat with potassium permangantate like I do with live plants so as not to introduce critters.

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#19 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 21 November 2007 - 11:03 PM

I've never used salt to treat driftwood. Just a quick scrub to get the mud off, and into Irate's Tank O' Death it goes! Turns the water brown, but hey - people pay real money for "blackwater extract" and such-like.