Cleaning rocks

Hi,
Every few weeks i scub my rocks in turtle tank to remove green algae, but they are looking really gross now - is there anything safe i can
use to give them a really good clean - or not - just buy some new rocks!

Just a soak in hot water, a toothbrush and a stool to sit on while you scrub.....I personally think that rocks grow more beautiful the more worn they become....are you speaking of rocks or the gravel stuff?

If rock, just scrub
If gravel, you can run water over them, get an old towel, lay the towel on concrete, pour the gravel onto the towel, fold the towel over the rocks and "smear them" while running water over the towel/gravel until the algae is rubbed off....

this works, as I have done it lots in the past when I used gravel type river pebbles....I don't use them any longer as the tank seems to remain cleaner without them....in my opinion

no they are rocks - i took all the gravel out!!!!! but they were white and green rocks and are now just yukky - i know they are not going to be sparkling but would like some of the natural colour back - i realise in the cracks and crevises this is not going to work. I do sit and srcub with a toothbrush but maybe i need a harder brush - thanks x

or like you said, you may just need some new ones...hahaha, if you are going for white in the mix, that is a tough one to keep up....good luck

You can use a dilute bleach solution. Put your rocks in a five gallon bucket with enough water to cover them. Dump in some bleach, swish it around and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then rinse them well, let them soak in plain water for another 30 minutes, and a nice sun drying will remove any remaining trace of bleach. Your rocks will probably look better than when they were new.

By the way trace amounts of bleach will not hurt your babies. At a pet store where I worked a vet showed us a diarrhea remedy for hamsters using bleach. You dilute it a lot and have them drink it out of a dropper. I though for sure they would die, but it actually cured them every time. It was like a teaspoon of bleach in a whole gallon, but you get the idea.

I agree with Tom to use bleach. I use it to clean things in my fish tanks all the time. All I do is rinse very well, and then dip the items in a dechlorinator to remove any trace amounts of chlorine.

i have heard of using bleach before but dont want to hurt my turtles....... so as long as rince enough they will be ok???????

Boil them and that is what I do. That works really well.

No, it will not hurt them. Just rinse really well and let them dry completely. Bleach evaporates, so as they dry the bleach will dissipate.

thank you very much will give it go next weekend x

Just amke sure the bleach you use is sodium hypochlorite, and not one of the newer types.

owwww ok thanks

Hi,
Years ago I had water turtles and we had a separate I repeat SEPARATE toilet scrubbing brush that we used on our rocks and tank items. This was only used on turtle items and stored separately as to not get them mixed up. The stiffer bristles worked well.
We too used very diluted bleach and then rinsed thoroughly. Worked great. The long handle really saves your back when you are bending over the tub for a while.
Good luck!!!!
Desiree

update - rocks look like new even the white one - thank you guys xxx