Habitat - Indoor :: Cleaning creek rocks

[tissigirl]

I just got some rocks from a nearby creek to put in Mr. Turtle's tank. They range from as large as his head and neck to about the size of his entire shell. I got them to replace the gravel in the bottom of the tank.

My question is what is the best way to clean them? I ran each one under water and rubbed them off with my fingers, now they are soaking in hot water. Will that be enough or should I do something else? I read somewhere on here about using vinegar. I just want to make sure they are clean enough, but don't want to use anything toxic to Mr. Turtle.

[jenaero]

Boil them or bake them. I'm not sure how long you'd have to bake them, but boiling would only need a couple of minutes.

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

Be careful with baking because the rock might break into pieces if it gets too hot, I was doing some welding on a slab of concrete and the flame came in contact with the concrete for about 2 or 3 minuits and it started popping big pieces off, so I stopped.

[marisa]

I'd scrub them good to get off any loose debris and soak them in water.Then I've boiled them for about 15 -20 minutes at around 350F.

[bradhart]

I scrubbed mine, and boiled them for 15 min, then scrubbed them again and rinsed them off

[TexasJagsFan]

I scrubed mine for about 5 minutes. I put them in the tank and just added a chemical to help clear up the dust still left on them.

[TrooperRES]

scrub em goood, boil em after, then scrub em again

[kristi393]

I just scrubbed mine with a new toothbrush, and put them in the tank.