Hello Everyone,

I recently purchased several "holey" Limestone rocks from someone on CraigsList to be used in my next aquarium project (African Cichlids). The rocks were originally purchased at an aquarium store and were used in a fish tank before I got them. The rocks are pictured below...



As you can see, some of them have some algae on them. I would like to clean them before I put them in my tank. My question is: What is the best way to clean/sanitize Limestone rocks?

I have heard of folks cleaning with Vinegar, Bleach, etc.
I hope they will be a nice addition to my Cichlid tank...My tap water is pretty soft with a pH of a little over 8.

Any advice?

I've heard of people cleaning with vinegar, but so far I've seen a lot of warnings about bleach. If I were you, I'd use vinegar and plenty of water.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

I wouldn't recommend chlorine bleach on anything going into an aquarium. Limestone is porous. It will soak up the bleach and release it back into the water. Use vinegar. It won't hurt the water and should help remove the algae

Hydrogen Peroxide might help you as well. Use a soft bristled tooth brush to assist you.

Thanks for the replies!! Just an update....

I talked with the folks at the Dallas Aquarium store (Fish Gallery) where the rocks were purchased...and they said to use a small amount of Bleach and then rinse the heck out of them...

So I ended up doing the following:

-Put each rock in a 5 gallon bucket with a small amount of bleach and water for about a minute..then dump
-Rinse for several minutes
-Over the course of several hours/days I changed the water in the bucket several times (using dechlorinator solution)
-Then let each rock sit outside in the HOT Texas sun for a day or two to air

I am waiting to get the actual aquarium that the rocks will be in...so we will see..

They should know I guess. With all you are doing, then soaking in the sun for a few days, all the chlorine should be gone. Good luck.

Yeah bleach and fish tanks don't mix...Ask my mother dearest who killed off all 30 fish in my old 25 gal. I still say she did it on purpose.

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Lead me not to temptation...I can make it there myself just fine, thank you