cleaning rocks for aquarium

[myrph]

I'm trying to get a 150 gal. aquarium ready for it's first inhabitants.. The problem is ROCKS! I have to buy a substantial amount of rocks to create a nice tank, but I refuse to spend $2 per pound to get them.. I would have around $200 in rocks.. Can I just clean up rocks found in a local stream, if so, please give me some tips on cleaning.. thanks

[myrph]

A friend told me to use bleach, I'm not sure that would be OK..

[kimmers318]

All of the rocks hubby used in his mbuna tank were collected from our yard or my sister's. We knew we were safe from pesticide usage since both of us have dogs/cats/kids and don't use any lawn treatments because of that. He also soaked/cleaned all rocks with a bleach solution and then rinsed well and to be safe soaked them in tap water with dechlorinator in it to make sure any traces of chlorine (bleach) were gone. In my opinion bleach is great for everything....kills bacteria....rinses off well and whitens any stains away. It will also evaporate from anything as the item dries and is non-toxic to my kids when used as a cleaning solution. Whenever we use it for "fishy" items though we always soak for a few minutes with dechlorinator to make sure.

[William]

I would also recommend that you poor some vineager or similar on it to check for chalk. Chalk can raise your pH levels which can be a problem depending on which fish you are going to keep. It will bubble (small bubbles) if chalk is present.

[myrph]

thanks, I will take both of your tips...

[BettyBoop]

I have used rocks and stones collected from rivers and the beach in the past, all I did was boil them well in plain tap water, worked a treat.