Ok to leave Bester 1200 and King Ice Bear 4000 in water

[joepa150]

I have read some past posts and it seems like these stones are ok to leave in water. I just wanted to double check.

Can I leave both the Bester 1200 and King Ice Bear 4000 in water without any ill effects?
Can they both be in the same water?
How often should I change the water?
Should I add anything to the water such as soap or bleach?

I don't mind taking the stones out of the water and not permanently soaking but it seems that the Bester 1200 is still wet after being out of water for several days.

 

[darkmoto]

beston and bester stones are fine to perma soak infact the lower grit beston 500 if not perma soaked suffers at falling short of its potential

 

[Dorito Monk]

I don't see any reason not to leave the Ice Bear perpetually soaked in water... There's not enough space in my stone pond for mine (a 4000 grit), but otherwise I treat it like any other stone (ie: soak it for a good 20 minutes before use and keep it as wet as possible). As for keeping them in the same water, there shouldn't be any problem with that, either. I'll leave my Norton stone in the same water as cheap store-brand stones or Ice Bear stones or assorted Japanese stones - no issues so far.

As for keeping the water clean, I generally clean my stone pond after each session and change the water. I don't use any cleaning agents on the stones themselves, though.