New decor, what to do before adding?

[Reaper216]

I found a listing on craigslist for a few boxes full of decor for my tank. Its a 2 hour drive but so worth it. As long as it doesnt fall through.

I will be getting 10 medium sized cichlid rocks (those hollow rocks with the hole cut out)
2 large cichlid rocks
a total of around 20 plastic plants
2 large 1 medium pieces of resin drift wood
And a number of different light bulbs.

What do I do with these items to ensure that im not infecting my tank with anything?

I have a few rocks and shells in my tank that i boiled for about a half hour before adding them, but boiling doesnt seem possible. I feel it would melt the plastic plants and the large driftwood would be too big for any pot i have.

Any tips??

 

[Brad M]

Fill the tub with hot water then add a couple pans of boiling water to that. Its perfect for scrubbing down and bleaching drift wood.

Bleaching kills everything. I used to fill a 5g bucket that was half full of fake plants with hot tap water and bleach. Put the lid on and shake and stir to get it clean. Then dump it run water in it till it over flows dump it run more water and repeat 10 more times to make sure its clean.

 

[Reaper216]

Wont the bleach add chlorine to my tank though? Or is the repeat 10 times step removing the bleach?

 

[Mebbid]

I would avoid the bleaching but the boiling water is fine. It shouldn't hurt the plants to pour boiling water over it.

 

[Brad M]

Its the rinsing it part. I always bleach used equipment. There is a such thing as bad BB that can grow and I dont trust hot water alone to clean it.

 

[Brad M]

Also really hot water will warp the plants so if you hang them upside down when they cool the leaves will be more likely to point up. Just being clear it wont hurt it just allow you to adjust how it sits so careful where you leave them after using hot water.

 

[Reaper216]

OK as long as its safe ill bleach ... its too good of a deal to not take every precaution i can.

After I clean them would sitting them in a bucket of water with stress coat and stress zyme aid in anyway?

 

[Brad M]

Thats a good question... I dont know. Lol. Never herd of that and I cant think of why it would be bad or good. I would let them sit in a bucket anyway. If the plants have snails or the drift wood leaks coloring in the water its better to know now rather than when its in your tank.

 

[Mebbid]

If you are bleaching I would advise thqt you soak everything you bleach in no less than a 10x dose of the stress coat