Rocks for fish tank

[germanyt]

I use a brush dedicated to my aquarium to scrub my rocks, why would you want to scrub dirty rocks or dirty decorations with algae then use the same brush on something you use to eat food?

Dirty things wash. Ever had mold in a tupperware container that you washed and reused? Mine happened to be a retired scrub brush that I use to clean my golf clubs now.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Certain rocks with air pockets have the ability to crack or explode due to the expanding gas within those pockets for example pumice or lava rock can.

This is true. An alternative to boiling rocks would be to place the rocks in a sink and pour boiling water over them and let the rocks and the water gradually cool down together. As far as the soap goes, I personally don't use it but a few people I know have with no problems. As long as it's rinsed really well there shouldn't be an issue, there are quite a few people here that have used bleach on their tanks and that IMO is far worse than Dawn dish soap. This particular brand of dish soap doesn't leave a residue like other brands and rinses off really well.

Now about the vinegar test, certain rocks can contain CaCO3 which can cause the Ph in the water to rise, CaCO3 is an alkali compound which acts as a neutralizer to the acid (vinegar), when an acid is poured on the rock the calcium carbonate neutralizes the acid therefore making it bubble. This means that just because a rock bubbles when vinegar is poured on it doesn't mean that it is unsafe, it just means that there are traces of calcium in the stone.

Often times Quartz can contain veins of metals within the rock, take a magnet near the rock and see how it reacts.

 

[germanyt]

This is true. An alternative to boiling rocks would be to place the rocks in a sink and pour boiling water over them and let the rocks and the water gradually cool down together. As far as the soap goes, I personally don't use it but a few people I know have with no problems. As long as it's rinsed really well there shouldn't be an issue, there are quite a few people here that have used bleach on their tanks and that IMO is far worse than Dawn dish soap. This particular brand of dish soap doesn't leave a residue like other brands and rinses off really well.

Now about the vinegar test, certain rocks can contain CaCO3 which can cause the Ph in the water to rise, CaCO3 is an alkali compound which acts as a neutralizer to the acid (vinegar), when an acid is poured on the rock the calcium carbonate neutralizes the acid therefore making it bubble. This means that just because a rock bubbles when vinegar is poured on it doesn't mean that it is unsafe, it just means that there are traces of calcium in the stone.

Often times Quartz can contain veins of metals within in the rock, take a magnet near the rock and see how it reacts.

Good post.

 

[Rivercats]

Air and water permeable rocks are much more likely to explode than dense non-permeable rocks. Air or water molecules inside the rock can heat up higher than the rock can contain and therefore can explode. This is a scientific fact. Since most people don't know the type of rocks they are dealing with stating that rocks shouldn't be boiled as a general statement is good especially for anyone new to the hobby or unsure of the type rock they are dealing with.

I also stated soap shouldn't be used. You are specifically referring to a very specific type of dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquids are designed to rinse clean but not all soaps are dishwashing liquids and do not rinse clean and can contain chemicals dangerous to fish. But another thing to take into consideration is if any soap including dishwashing liquids are used on poreous rocks the soap can be absobed into the rock and can not be rinsed properly. Again people new to the hobby can read a statement saying soap is fine to use and use any type of soap. Being conscenious of how things are stated is extremely important. The same thing applies to brushes being used for aquarium use.