How to Clean Aquarium Rocks and Decorations

Keeping your aquarium clean is part of the regular maintenance and upkeep, but how about the rocks and decorations that can be harder to clean? Keeping your rocks and decorations spotless is easier than you think; it just takes a little knowledge and time. Here are a few tips to make your aquarium maintenance a breeze.

Things You'll Need

• Bleach
• Wire brush

Instructions

1. Keep your water changes up to date. Having water that is full of algae and dirt is a sure way to have dirty decorations. Make sure you do monthly water changes to stop new algae growth on your rocks and decorations. Consider algae eating fish and invertebrates to keep the buildup up algae to a minimum.

2. Use bleach. The easiest way to clean porous items such as rocks, fake coral and decorations in a fish tank is to remove the items and place them into a bucket full of water. Add about a 1/2 cup of bleach and let them soak for a few hours. You’ll notice that the algae and dirt is being removed. Once they are sparkling clean, rinse them well then let them sit in the sun for another day. Once they are finished drying in the sun you can now place them back into your aquarium.

3. Use a steel brush and hot water. If you don’t have time or means to bleach the rocks, run them under hot water while scrubbing them with a wire brush. These can be found at any hardware store or automotive store.

4. Use a dishwasher. Place decorations in the dishwasher. Run them through a dishwasher cycle without soap. This is not an ideal method, but can be done to save time. Be sure to use the hot water cycle and rinse the items again once they are removed.

5. Use the sun. Place your decorations in the sun to bleach them naturally. This is only good if you happen to have alternate decorations to use in your tank since using the sun will take quite a few days.

Tips & Warnings

• Never try to clean live rock or living invertebrates and corals.