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Generally you don't need to boil gravel, just give them a real good rinse off to get any particles off. Some can get rather dusty in the production process.

Only time I boil rocks is if they're ones I've pulled out of the dirt and there might be some chance of something living in a crack.

Sounds to me like you're thinking of driftwood. Just a rinse is fine for packaged gravel.


^_^

I have used small rocks from landscape gardeners and I always boil them. You never know where they come from or have been.

It is just a precaution.

I always wash them before I give them a good hard boiling and then I rinse them again.

Keith

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alright thanks everybody, i mean why NOT boil?? y thanks. also i have abou 50$ to spend on fish, what kind of peacfull community you guys think i should get for 48 gallon that is tall not wide.

Is your tank cycled? You need to cycle the tank before you add fish.

Hi,
There is nothing wrong with boiling the rocks that you
are going to put in your tank. As Babelfish mentions, it
will kill off any "critters" that are living in the cracks
of the rocks or on the surface of the rocks.

Once the rocks are cooled, the purpose behind soaking them
for several days is the "poor man's" way of testing them
to be sure that they are inert, and will not affect the
water chemistry.
While the rocks are cooling, after boiling, you pour
a plastic bucket of water and let sit for 24 hours.
Then you test the pH, GH, and KH record the values
and then you put the rocks in, and then test for
the same values again a few days later to see if
the water reads the same.
If it does then the rocks won't affect the water's
chemistry. Rocks that are carbonates, such as limestone,
and dolomite, etc. will cause the pH to climb to 8 and
the GH & KH to climb into the hundreds of parts per
million (ppm).

Frank


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