Diluted bleach dip for plants???
- Thread starter aussieman57
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1 TBS alum per gallon of water, soak an hour for bacteria, and simple creatures, but longer soaks may be needed for snails or their eggs.
Rinse well after.
I have been bleach dipping plants now for 20 years. They got the mix correct 19 water and 1 bleach. However, I do not agree with much more.
For one, not all plants can handle a bleach dip. Some, like anubias, are thick leaved and a 2 minute dip works great. Water sprite, on the other hand, will die from it. The more delicate the plant leaf, the more likely it will be intolerant to bleaching.
I mostly use bleach dips for algae issues. I will remove and anubias attached to wood or rock and dip it. After the dip I rinse the plant under tap water. I have well water and it contains no chlorine or chloramine. So for me this removes most of the bleach. However, since iIwant to return the plant to the tank after the dip, I also dip the plants into a bucket with Amquel or Prome.
Dechlors work very and pretty fast. This is from Practical Fishkeeping magazine: " There’s confusion as to how long they take to work, but generally they deactivate all chlorine inside two minutes, and chloramines inside five,"
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-dechlorinating/
Because I can rinse in water without dechlor, I do not need anywhere near 2 minutes in the dechlor dip phase as there is very little chlorine present. Without my well water I would let the plants sit in the dechlor for the full 2 minutes. Because there is likely some form of chlorine in most tap which is being used to rinse the chlorine from the dip, I would definitely use the 5 minute guideline unless one is 110% certain that your tap supplier doesn't use chloramine.
Finally, chlorine pretty much kills anything organic. In larger concentrations and/or longish exposure times, it will break down organics. Bleaching driftwood will begin the process of breaking it down. This means the wood will be breaking down in the tank much faster than had it never been bleached. Boiling will also do this. I learned this the hard way as I use a lot of wood in my pleco tanks and I noticed that wood I boiled was making the tank messier faster than it was in similar tanks with unboiled wood.
I might try nuking driftwood, but only when it is dry. But larger pieces wont fit into a microwave. I have never used PP or Alum, so I cannot comment on these things. I do tend to pre-soak new wood in warm water for many hours, sometimes a day or two. Even though I mostly use Maylasian wood which sinks when dry, I still like to presoak it some. I am more worried about dirt or contaminants than I am about nasty hitchhikers. Soaking usually reveals these things.
For one, not all plants can handle a bleach dip. Some, like anubias, are thick leaved and a 2 minute dip works great. Water sprite, on the other hand, will die from it. The more delicate the plant leaf, the more likely it will be intolerant to bleaching.
I mostly use bleach dips for algae issues. I will remove and anubias attached to wood or rock and dip it. After the dip I rinse the plant under tap water. I have well water and it contains no chlorine or chloramine. So for me this removes most of the bleach. However, since iIwant to return the plant to the tank after the dip, I also dip the plants into a bucket with Amquel or Prome.
Dechlors work very and pretty fast. This is from Practical Fishkeeping magazine: " There’s confusion as to how long they take to work, but generally they deactivate all chlorine inside two minutes, and chloramines inside five,"
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-dechlorinating/
Because I can rinse in water without dechlor, I do not need anywhere near 2 minutes in the dechlor dip phase as there is very little chlorine present. Without my well water I would let the plants sit in the dechlor for the full 2 minutes. Because there is likely some form of chlorine in most tap which is being used to rinse the chlorine from the dip, I would definitely use the 5 minute guideline unless one is 110% certain that your tap supplier doesn't use chloramine.
Finally, chlorine pretty much kills anything organic. In larger concentrations and/or longish exposure times, it will break down organics. Bleaching driftwood will begin the process of breaking it down. This means the wood will be breaking down in the tank much faster than had it never been bleached. Boiling will also do this. I learned this the hard way as I use a lot of wood in my pleco tanks and I noticed that wood I boiled was making the tank messier faster than it was in similar tanks with unboiled wood.
I might try nuking driftwood, but only when it is dry. But larger pieces wont fit into a microwave. I have never used PP or Alum, so I cannot comment on these things. I do tend to pre-soak new wood in warm water for many hours, sometimes a day or two. Even though I mostly use Maylasian wood which sinks when dry, I still like to presoak it some. I am more worried about dirt or contaminants than I am about nasty hitchhikers. Soaking usually reveals these things.
So I bleached manzanita and malaysian driftwood 9 years ago. Being in my tanks without plecos, I haven't really noticed it breaking down faster than just being soaked for that long. I just noticed pieces of the malasian driftwood in the past 2 years, from thin areas. The inhabitants were all cichlids and silver dollars throughout the years.
I had mopani that was bleached in 98, and those suckers didn't really break down after removing it in 2011. There was a common pleco and a clown pleco in that tank. The only thing I noticed is that the grooves were much deeper (probably due to the clown pleco, only saw it once a year) and it turning a slightly pink color, no pieces of it ever in the tank or filters.
I'm guessing the type of wood and type of inhabitants will determine how fast you get pieces of it to break off.
I had mopani that was bleached in 98, and those suckers didn't really break down after removing it in 2011. There was a common pleco and a clown pleco in that tank. The only thing I noticed is that the grooves were much deeper (probably due to the clown pleco, only saw it once a year) and it turning a slightly pink color, no pieces of it ever in the tank or filters.
I'm guessing the type of wood and type of inhabitants will determine how fast you get pieces of it to break off.
I’m getting some Hornwort which from what I’ve read does not fare too well with a bleach dip. It’s goin to get inspected, rinsed with tap water and into the tank it will go. Also getting some Anubias attached to driftwood which will be getting same treatment. In the past I’ve never dipped plants and have had some snails but nothing that wasn’t manageable. I think sometimes there is just too much internet information available which makes me rethink everything ad nauseum. Added some danios to the 40 breeder yesterday for eventual dithers and to help cycle the tank. Fish came from LFS planted tank and some plant leaves got into the 40 tank. Could have introduced something there too and you could make yourself crazy worrying about things you have no control over.
