I got a big bag of gravel to stick in the tank but am not sure how to wash it. some say the boiling it is a good idea, others say just rinse it lightly, but a couple have said to let it soak for severl hours. Which one of these is true???

If its true aquarium gravel that you got from a pet store, I would just rinse it until the water is clear. The water will be cloudy for a few minutes, then run clear....

If you bought the gravel at a pet store, all you should have to do is rinse it in tap water until the water runs clear.

I clean mine a little at a time in a colander

I bought my gravel at nnnnnn in the fish ilse (don't know how to spell that). Is that alright?

aisle

careful with this gravel, even the ones that are "natural colored"
if they all look really uniform in color, then they have been painted.. rinse, rinse, rinse

i had a bag of the whitish/pale coloring from there and even after rinsing and rinsing i would still have colored "bits", really small particles that would float come off.. bothered me when the fish tried to eat it.

not saying its harmful... i dont know.. i just remember how frustrated i got with the particles..

i switched to a natural rock that i got from one of the Pet* companies (co or smart, cant remember) that had no additional paint, which meant no bits.

I'm gonna boil the gravel... i figure get some water boiling and dump some gravel in there and boil it for a bit.

I would suggest you add the gravel and water together *then* bring it to a boil. Then you don't risk splashing yourself with boiling water, or making the pot overflow

B) If you can, take about ten pounds at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. This has to be done outside, use a garden hose and slightly power wash the gravel. All the floating gravel will wash away and the good gravel will sink. Just don't use a real power washer A garden hose with your finger on it will do the trick!!!!!