Sterilizing Lace Rock with 10% H2O2

[eddyk]

I have read on other forums that a safe way of sterilizing rocks is to soak them in a tub of 10-15% H202 ( Brown bottle 3% peroxide)

I have some large pieces of Lace rock which I have soaked and scrubbed and now they are bubbling away in my peroxide brew. I know the rock is pretty porous, so I want to ensure I don't introduce any new bacteria to my tank.

My rationale is that H2O2 is a pretty powerful oxidizer, which will kill both gram neg and gram pos bacterial, algae, etc. After rinsing and soaking in clean water, any H2O2 will degrade into water with a free oxygen ion. The same will apply if any residual is introduced to the aquarium...

Does anyone have any experience or in put on this?

 

[schoeplein]

What input are your looking for? Regular 3% peroxide is the standard for cleaning rocks. Let them sit overnight, rinse (to remove waste), and add to the tank.

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[eddyk]

Great,

I didn't know that. I appreciate the feedback. It makes sense, but I'm not sure.

That Lace rock is razor sharp.

Is there a danger of adding too much weight ( rock ) to an aquarium?

Mine is on a stand and appears to be well supported, but is there a rule of thumb?

Thanks in advance....

 

[schoeplein]

If the rock is sharp, I would have concerns of fish lacerating themselves on it. You may consider sanding it down and polishing it a bit.

There's no hard fast rule on how much weight the bottom of a tank can support. I had nearly 300 lbs of rock in my old 110g saltwater tank. Water also weighs about 44 lbs per 5 gallons. You can always add egg crate to the bottom of the tank before adding substrate to increase the support if you're concerned you may be going overboard with rock weight.

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[eddyk]

300 lbs? Wow. I will not come even close to that. I figure I will have maybe 100lbs in rock + 12 bags of eco-complete.

Egg crate?

foam?
Not the cardboard or styrofoam you get with your eggs, right?

I figure the eco-complete will weight a lot, 240 lbs, but will also disperse the weight of the rock.

Thanks in advance.......

 

[schoeplein]

As long as the stand isn't open top (bottom glass exposed to air), you should be fine. My 110 had several cross members supporting the bottom glass and I didn't have to add any additional support.

By egg crate, I mean milk crates - the heavy duty plastic, but instead of being a "box" It's a flat sheet that would cover the bottom of the tank. Again, not a concern in your case.

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[eddyk]

Gotcha,

I looked and my stand is an open top. There are no supports touching the bottom of the glass. The only supports appear to be the perimeter of the tank and some plastic stringers built into the tank.

Glad you mentioned it, The last thing I need is a slip and slide in the living room.

It looks like I have some work to do.