How to sanitize rock, sand, etc..

[jenstaley]

I just ordered a large tank which will be done in about a month, I have a TON of sand and shells collected at beaches that I really want to use in my tank.... most of it was collected with my mom over the years with plans to start tanks, her and my dad both passed away in the last 6 months and my sister and I are finally starting our tanks. I have found so much conflicting data on how to sanitize everything so it is safe for our tanks. In addition to what we have collected I have rock and sand that in a well established tank about 5 years ago, but it has been in storage since then. What do you all recommend? I have read everything from boiling shells, soaking in bleach, just rinsing sand, baking it in the oven at high temps for an hour, to just put everything in saltwater for a week and rinse.. what would you all do?

 

[WVNed]

I would probably do nothing more than rinse them off.

 

[Rcpilot]

I'd rinse or spray with the garden hose and then put it in the tank. Wait 6-8 weeks for a good cycle. There will be plenty of organics in the sand and rocks to kick off a cycle. Just be patient.

 

[mtfish]

As long as everything was protected from contamination while is storage, I agree with he above. Spray off with garden hose to make sure all dirt and dust is gone.

 

[jenstaley]

What about the sand and shells directly from the beach, are those ok to just rinse off as well?

 

[mtfish]

What about the sand and shells directly from the beach, are those ok to just rinse off as well?

Yes

 

[WVNed]

As long is there isn't anything dead in them.

 

[mtfish]

As long is there isn't anything dead in them.

Even if there was something dead, I would think it would just help cycle the tank since this is a new tank start. Just my opinion. Only thing I could think of is perhaps a dead hermit crab?

 

[WVNed]

I have found nice shells in Florida that were still occupied with large mollusks.

 

[mtfish]

I have found nice shells in Florida that were still occupied with large mollusks.

Well, I guess the snails or bivalves could still be alive. I was thinking the OP was beach combing. Although live snails and bivalves such as pin shells do wash up after cold snaps or storms, most of my beach combing here in Texas I found empty shells. Again, this is going into a new setup. I think it would be quite obvious if the animal was still alive. The OP could always soak in fresh water until the animal rots and then rinse if they wanted to keep organics down during cycle.

 

[Radman73]

Where legal, we always take a shell or two when we travel to a beach and it usually ends up in the tank. I've never done more than rinse and ensure it's dry before dropping it in.

 

[WVNed]

Found on the Outer Banks in the 60 when I was little. We have several.

 

[mtfish]

Nice shell. I spent countless hours on Padre Island and the barrier islands near La Pesca, Mexico growing up. I still have some of the shells I collected in the 70's and 80's. Always like the huge horse conchs. Even found half a geoduck clam in Mexico. How the heck it got there even surprised my college professor. Perhaps ship ballast coming through the Panama Canal!

 

[WVNed]

A different era I guess. My mom and dad used to boil these in a big pot to get the animals out. I would never do that now. I would put them back in the water.