HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi! I want to put rocks in my pools and I bought 100% natural river rocks but noticed they are made in China so someone said they could have a sealed film on them. I was going to go to our local beach but someone said they might have contaminants. What would you suggest I use for rocks? Thanks!

Hmmm, do they say polished on them? If they don't say polished, I'd wonder if it was some kind of coating. That's a tough call.
You could def collect rocks from the beach. Just give them a good 5-10 min boil in fresh or salt water first to clean them.

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Its not the stuff on the rock when collecting is an issue, it's what the rock can be potentially made out of that is an issue. Some rocks for example contain heavy metal veins, which in a SW pool could leach into the water.


And rock collected, you should know what type it is before placing it in the tank.


Also, please never boil rocks. Some rocks naturally contain air pockets, and when boiled will explode due to the pressure. Clean rocks using running hot water, a good scrub and maybe a soak in vinegar is enough to clean. (DO NOT BOIL!)

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aussieJJDude wrote:Its not the stuff on the rock when collecting is an issue, it's what the rock can be potentially made out of that is an issue. Some rocks for example contain heavy metal veins, which in a SW pool could leach into the water.


And rock collected, you should know what type it is before placing it in the tank.


Also, please never boil rocks. Some rocks naturally contain air pockets, and when boiled will explode due to the pressure. Clean rocks using running hot water, a good scrub and maybe a soak in vinegar is enough to clean. (DO NOT BOIL!)

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Oh no, I'm glad you told me that! I didn't know about not boiling rocks. Good thing I've never tried it haha!

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