Rock from the Beach

[sanlucas]

Hi, I found some rock on the beach (Like 80 pound) and I'm planning on use it as base rock (they been sitting in my garage for almost 4 years) how do I clean them I took some yesterday and pressure clean them and then I boiled the small ones and baked the large ones (450 deegres for like 40 minutes) it's that safe for my aquarium? (I haven't set it up yet 150 G plus 55 G sump). thanks.

 

[thominil]

I don't know that I would use it, but if it has been in your garage for four years, I suppose everything on it is dead. I would soak it in a tub of water for a month or two and just test every water parameter you can such as ammonia and ph to make sure it isn't leaching anything that would affect the tank water parameters. Don't ever boil rock as there could be air pockets inside and the air may heat up during the boiling process and expand which could lead to the rock exploding.