Boiling Rocks.

[Dexmaster]

Well my petstore closed down and I got probably like 100 pounds of rock for free and im in the process right now of boililing them how long should I boil them for to be sure they are free of parasites and other nasty stuff? Same for drift wood? Thanks in advance friends.

[petluvr]

45 minutes at a good rolling boil is what I usually do. Good luck and great pick-up:)

[Dexmaster]

Looks like im boiling rocks all day lol I have probably three pot fulls maybe four to do this should be fun I will try to take pictures of my tanks after its all said and done this is what it looks like now

[petluvr]

Be careful when cooling them. I usually just pull then off the stove empty the water and let them cool on their own. Some rocks can "explode" if cooled to rapidly so please don't dump cold water over them or anything.

[Dexmaster]

Yeah I planed on just letting them cool in open air but thanks for the warning!

[Star_Rider]

if your worried about the rocks breaking if cooled too fast.. just turn the burner off and let the rocks cool in the water in the pot.

[Dexmaster]

Im not really worried about them cooling to fast I just am going to have to wait very very patiently all day. lol I have lots of stuff to boil and not the biggest pot to do it in.

[petluvr]

Nobody ever said it was fast or easier having an addiction to your fish :)

[Dexmaster]

You are right about that!

[Dexmaster]

Hot Water = Hot Steam
Hot Steam + Bare Hands = Pain
lol that was fun.

[KarlTh]

Waste of time. Just give 'em a clean and put them in. There are no parasites or pathogens on dry rock that you need worry about.

[DAVIDFBT]

I think 45 minutes of boil time is extreme overkill, a 1 minute dip at 212 degrees is definetely enough to kill any bacteria found on the rocks. Same goes for driftwood, but you may want to boil them longer to take out the tannins.

[jm1212]

if a rock is dry it will kill of any water-boure pathogens.

any other doubts can be settled by using bleach.