down by the river

[jakedalab]

So taking the family out for a walk down by the river and going to be keeping an eye out for any free dw that might be around and some good looking rocks. Does any one have any suggestions on how to make sure anything I find is tank safe? I'm just kind of assuming that if it in the river it must be ok. I would think that the cold would kill off anything undesirable that maybe living on the rock and dw. Or am I wrong. The river is iced over at the moment so were talking serious cold.

 

[jcolon]

For DW ... make sure it's from hardwood trees, strip the bark and then boil. I usually boil over and over through the course of an hour. Boiling really releases tannins so I wait till the water's tea color before I dump it, refill and boil over.
After about the 4th refill, I find the water is not as tea colored.

For rocks I bring them up to a boil, then let them cool off with the water. Carbonate rocks like limestone / dolostone can affect pH which you may want to stay away from. Most rounded river stones are probably quartz / Feldspar stones which will do fine in your tank.

 

[GodFan]

I have heard boiling rocks is extremely dangerous but Im not sure.
I agree with the above post but I would also wash the dw in the dish washer a couple times and bake it in the oven (I heard about someone doing it at 200 degrees) But check with someone else on the oven thing. I hate to see you house catch fire.....

 

[jakedalab]

Ok so just boil everything. Gotcha. Thanks for your help. So lol how will I know if I find a hardwood? I mean what's the easiest way to tell em apart.

 

[jcolon]

Ok so just boil everything. Gotcha. Thanks for your help. So lol how will I know if I find a hardwood? I mean what's the easiest way to tell em apart.

Chances are if the trees along the river are Oaks, Maples etc then it's probably a Hardwood .. but I'm really not sure how you could tell. I'd bet there's probably a youtube video on this .. seems like there's a video on there on everything.

As far as boiling ... I'm certain there's been instances of rocks exploding .. or more like fracturing .. when boiling. I can see that happening with some rocks that already have lots of fractures that are dumped into boiling water, or removed from boiling water, leading to thermal shock. I ensure the rock has no fractures and bring it up to a boil and let it cool down with the water.

The only rocks I add to my tanks are Quartz, Slate and Granites ... all tough rocks that can handle being boiled. To ensure safety .. a sturdy pot with a lid should help.

 

[GodFan]

I gotchya. Maybe weigh the lid down too lol