cleaning plastic plants

[rslinn]

I picked up a bag of used plastic plants for next to nothing and was wondering about the best method for cleaning them. I was concerned about tranfering an unwanted disease into my tanks if not cleaned properly. Will soaking them in boiling water kill everything or should I use bleach and water. If bleach, will rinsing them in clean water with declorinator remove any residew of the bleach after. Thanks for your help.

[bluebeard4ever]

you can buy this stuff made my aquarium pharmacueticals called plastic plant cleaner, you add some of it in a bucket of water and soak them over night or for 8 hours and then rinse for 3 minutes, works miracles

[DeLgAdO]

I picked up a bag of used plastic plants for next to nothing and was wondering about the best method for cleaning them. I was concerned about tranfering an unwanted disease into my tanks if not cleaned properly. Will soaking them in boiling water kill everything or should I use bleach and water. If bleach, will rinsing them in clean water with declorinator remove any residew of the bleach after. Thanks for your help.

dont boil them

you will most likely melt them :ROFL:

jsut rinse em good

throw em in a 5 gal bucket with water and add about a 1 cups of bleach

then rinse well

if you want, after your done rinsing fill the bucket up reg water and add some dechlorinator to the water, triple the dose on the bucket and you can say by by to any chlorine left.

[teamdynasty691]

i have heard vinagear works well when cleaning plants

[Gman91]

you can get plastic plant cleaner from the "doctors"

[enticer180]

I've started throwing mine in the top rack of the dishwasher. I tested them after in a small setup with only a couple fish but I've never had any problems, the rinse cycle works great so no residue.

[DeLgAdO]

I've started throwing mine in the top rack of the dishwasher. I tested them after in a small setup with only a couple fish but I've never had any problems, the rinse cycle works great so no residue.

LOL!!!

i need to try that!

great idea :thumbsup:

[gomezladdams]

Do the bleach if your worried about disease.I like the dishwasher idea though

[AtomixIGN]

I soak mine in a bucket with vinegar for a few hours and rinse the off. If I need to scrub any part of them I use salt. All my plants are seagarden so I can't use bleach.

[rslinn]

I went with the bleach and water then rinsed and soaked in clean water with dechlorinator. Seamed to work fine. I guess time will tell if I have transfered any disease into my tanks. I am going to try the dishwasher next time I try cleaning my own plants. Thanks for all the tips.

[Bassman89]

i havent seen any problems with my fish when ive used bleach in the past..just make sure you rinse after lol

[Atlantis]

I use bleach, I tried the plastic plant cleaner. I didn't even notice a difference. Maybe I didn't use enough?

My method:
1.Bleach
2.Rinse
3.Dechlor and soak 1 Hr
4.Let them sit out in the sun for a day, just to be sure

Hey, it may be overkill, better safe then sorry

[smmfish]

Yep, the top rack of the dishwasher works great.:grinyes:

[dizlal]

Just buy some more there that cheap.

[Kuda]

the dishwasher sounds the best, but if plastic plants can stand the dish washer they can stand a few seconds in some boiling water, and no bacteria can survive boiling water, i myself dont like the bleach ideal, i wouldent ever use anything like that to clean somthing going in my tank, vinigar is natural so it would be fine, anyway dont take it from me