Sterilizing Rocks

[aweav]

I keep reading how you should boil rocks and driftwood if you just go out in the woods and find it. My question is after cleaning them, how long should you boil them in order to insure they are cleaned of all bacteria and stuff.

 

[black hills tj]

Well...when boiling contaminated water to drink its usually about 5 minutes. I would assume that it works the same for your rocks/etc.

 

[rich311k]

10 -15 minutes will do the job.

 

[aquariumnoob]

you also want to make sure the rocks don't have minerals that will leach out into the water and change your pH etc.

 

[aweav]

I believe my rocks are limestone which will raise the PH, but my PH is always low(6.0-6.5) even in tap water. So I guess my next question is how high will it raise my PH? I figure if it goes up but stays around 7.0 I should still be fine?

 

[rich311k]

Easy enough to find out. Put the rocks in a bucket of water for a few weeks and do a test. You will find out the answer.