Sterilising plants

[Aquarist]

in view of the very conflicting advice on line about using a water/hydrogen peroxide solution to sterilise plant, can someone please give me the definitive mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide to Imperial gallon, the time plants should be kept in the solution, and whether the roots should be immersed or not.


Also, how much dechlorinator (i.e Aquasafe should go in the rinsing water)

 

[castle]

If you want ”sterile” plants you’ll need to get the 1-2 grow pots, most places sell them. I cannot recommend a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution to clean a plant - it does too much harm to the plant itself.

You going to dip your arm in this solution before you do any tank maintenance?

Sorry this isn’t meant to read aggressive, just you damage the plant before you put it in, and you’re setting yourself up for problems 👍

 

[Aquarist]

Maybe "sterilising" is too strong a word, I simply want to eliminate the possibility of snails/snail eggs/algae. Most websites are dot com, so I presume they talk about U.S gallons, which for the recommended dosage means the mix is stronger than it would be with imperial gallons. What they disagree about most is the time the plants should be kept in the solution. I've not heard of grow pots, I'm intending to root the plants in shallow (5x30x8 cm) containers filled with aquatic potting mix to prevent the plants spreading through the aquarium as they do if unchecked.
Of course I will take every precaution to prevent harm to myself, the preparation area or of course the plants .

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Maybe "sterilising" is too strong a word, I simply want to eliminate the possibility of snails/snail eggs/algae.

You can use "sparkling water" to remove any animals, it contains a huge amount of dissolved CO2.

It won't remove any algae, but you can't exclude these from your tank in the longer term anyway.

Personally I'm a snail fan, but I know that isn't true of everyone.

Cheers Darrel