05 How do I disinfect my plants?
Description
This article is from the Aquaria: Plants FAQ, by multiple authors.
05 How do I disinfect my plants?
New plants may have unwanted hitchers: snails, algae or disease.
Disinfection can help reduce their transmission into the tank, and can
be used to remove algae growths from established plants. Beware, there
is always a danger of going too far and damaging the plant itself.
Some popular methods:
* A ten minute soak in potassium permangenate (pale purple) works
well; it is available in dilute form from Jungle products as
"Clear Water". Permangenate is particularly good for killing
bacteria and pathogens.
* A 2-day soak in 1 tbsp/gallon of alum (buy it at drug stores) is
good for killing snails and their eggs.
* If the plants are kept in a fish-free system for three weeks,
parasites like ich and velvet will die without their fish hosts.
* A soak in a 1:19 diluted bleach solution; 2 minutes for stem
plants, 3 minutes for tougher plants. Make sure to remove all
traces of bleach afterwards by rinsing with water and
dechlorinator. This method can kill your plants, so use only as a
last resort against hell algae.
(See the ALGAE SECTION of the DISEASE FAQ for more algae-prevention
tips, and the SNAIL SECTION of that same FAQ for snail prophylaxis.)
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