Southerrrngirrl Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Our LFS doesn't have the kind of fine gravel I'm after. I found what I was after on a beach yesterday... would this be able to go into a freshwater aquarium? Would I have to rinse it well to get rid of the salt?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Yes, a good rinse should be all it needs. If you are worried about pathogens in the gravel then you could add a capfull of Budget Bleach to the bucket of gravel and give a good stir. It will need to be rinsed very well afterwards. Once added to the tank and the tank is filled it may take a day for any residual chlorine to disappear. If you wash the gravel with bleach you won't be able to add it to an existing tank until all the chlorine is gone if you use this method. You'll need to add a chlorine killer or wait a few days for all traces of the chlorine smell to go when stirring the gravel up. Note: Use budget bleach as it's only sodium hypochlorite. Things like Janola have other chemicals in them that may not gas-off like the chlorine does from hypochlorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 I used about 6 rocks from the beach in my freshwater tank. I used budget bleach then rinsed them throughly. I had no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Another tip for the bleach use - putting whatever you have washed into the sun after you have rinsed out the bleach and leaving it to dry also aids getting rid of any chemicals. I wash out absolutely everything I use by this method including all my tanks and containers, filters and sponges and have had no trouble at all. Was a bit worried about admitting I used bleach but I'm not the only one obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted March 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Cool thanks for the tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Watch the amount of fine bits of shell in it as it will raise your pH. I sometimes get fine gravel from our local beach but have to get it above the high tide mark as the lower stuff has too much shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted March 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Oh thanks Caryl! The stuff I was looking at looked pretty free of shell, it was quite a distance away from the high tide mark too so it should be ok.. I will be careful though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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