Hi all

i know ive mentioned this in a previous post but here goes!

ive just collected half a dozen large or so pebbles from a near by pebble beach.now i know you shouldnt add these to your tank but is there any way you can clean/sterilize them to make them safe for your tank? what about MILTON sterile liquid that you use for cleaning babies bottles with? (obviously making sure you soak them out properly after!) how do aquarium shops make sure their stones/pebbles/rocks are disease free?

any help would be great

shane

I wouldn't have thought there would be anything nasty on the pebbles. However, I would soak them for a few days. Think about it, a lot of people go to the local garden centre and buy large bags of sand and Gravel which is bloody filthy until you wash it. I have never had a problem. I would imagine that the beach is probably one of the cleanest place to get things from, unless you've had an oil spillage. People go into fish shops and buy large pieces of wood and slate, I bet you not all that has been treated, just soaked for a while, if that.

thanks for your help ofl

thats saved me a few quid!its about 4-5 quid a kilo in my lfs!
im going to need a few kilos worth i reckon!

The beach very close to me has got loads of lovely pebbles but someone told me that taking pebbles off the beach is illegal

oops i didnt know that!!! its not so much of a beach as such just a few coves of pebbles!!

i think its chesil beach thats full of pebbles,i dont think they would notice any missing!!!! (only joking!)

I have also been told it is illegal to take pebbles from the beach but you didnt know and you got them now. If you really want to make sure the pebbles are safe then I reckon boiling them will do it. I just soaked mine for a few days, changing the water twice a day


Also to make sure you have the right kind of rock pour some vinegar on them. If it fizzies then dont put them into your tank. If they fizz then the rock/pebble will leach minerals into your tank and upset the hardness. Thats what i was told anyway!!!

shaner wrote:


If they did notice a difference, that would be one impressive tank

ive heard that to about the vinegar i shall give ago later!

i went to egypt last year and was told that if you took dead coral from the beach you could face years in jail and get a hefty fine!!

i didnt know it was illegal in this country!

chesil beach is a pebbles heaven!!!!!

I actually agree with it being illegal to remove such things as pebbles from beaches. Check the link out below. If we allow people to remove pebbles, you would have companies taking lorryloads away and selling them, we can't allow that to happen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/4377203.stm

true! i never thought of that!

i wont be doing that again then!

like you said if everyone took a few pebbles we'd have nothing left!

If you want some decent size stones/rocks in your tank dont buy them from fish shops get them from garden centers. They are loads cheaper