Fullofit343

So i ran over to home depot today and i picked up a few things of like sandstone slate like stuff to crack up and put in my cichlid tank while it's cycling. My question is how do i clean it? they are very large pieces so i can't boil it or anything. any suggestions?

Shawnie

clean off in hot hot water and scrub them a few times..then cool them down and put 2-3 drops of vinegar on them and if the vinegar doesnt bubble, u are good..if it bubbles, its got stuff in it that wont be good for the tank...I have all kinds of slate and its a great place for alot of fish to spawn on

Angela_96

For malawi mbuna the vinegar test pos or neg you can still use the rocks. They harden the water, raise the pH, and will disolve minerals in the water.

W/ the slate I would bleach them, scrub them, boil them.

Fullofit343

It's sandstone. they are very large pieces so i placed them in the bathtub and scrubbed them down in hot water. do i really need to boil them and use the bleach?

mathas

Sandstone is quite porous. I'm not sure a simple scrubbing would effectively sanitize it.

Shawnie

I didnt bleach mine..but I guess everyone has a different way and im sure none are the wrong way ....

EDIT: I also dont know the difference in different pieces of slate

Angela_96

I used a giant pot (that we country people use to can w/ lol).. is their a way you can put them in the oven and bake them? That will also sterlize them.

navyscuba

Me and my wife put them in the tub and boil water a lot of it and dump it on the tub and every couple of mins scrub them. No bleach. good luck.

agabr123

yeah, i agree with navyscuba, you can just pour boiling water over them without having to actually put them in a pot or anything. however, i'd still say to use bleach

tinah

I'd run them through the dishwasher, twice, on potscrubber setting with heated dry.

navyscuba

That's a great idea. I wish i could thought about that one. Very easy.

Nate McFin

I put scrubed mine down in the tub as you did and then put them in the oven. It actually served to purposes one to kill off germs and the other to dry it off after the scrub. I wanted to use aquarium silicone to make caves and it called for the material to be dry.