don't know if this is the right place to post this but i got some fake plastic plants at a yard sale, want to know what i can do to sterilize them. do i even have to worry about something transferring to my tanks?
Quick Question Here
- Thread starter brown2010
- Start date
give them a good washing with hot water and if you're really that worried, just give them a quick boil by placing them in a pot with water and once the water hits the boiling point, you're done. you can also add bleach.
You can definitely transfer something to your tank if you don't sterilize it. Even if boiling for only a few minutes, it's better than just dropping something used into your tank.
PERSONALLY (please no one bite my head off! 
) I would not worry about anything transfering. PERSONALLY I would merely spray them down with hot water from a faucet (I have a hose hooked up to my faucet, which I can pinch for extra velocity) and spray them down.
But if you wanna be safe (which is always the safest route
) you can boil water and pour over top of them/submerse them in it for a short while. I would not advise putting them in the pot as the temperature rises nor leaving them in too long, just to make sure they don't melt etc... Using boiling water is pretty much the universal way of disinfecting things for aquaria.
But you can also use bleach. I am not sure what the aquarium safe ratio is (but it is out there so you could just research it a bit, or perhaps someone on here will know it) and you can put them in that. The only thing is you are not supposed to leave them in for more than 2min. I am not sure why that is (obviously to avoid contamination, but why leaving it for a certain length would contaminate more than just briefly).
Hope that helps!
) I would not worry about anything transfering. PERSONALLY I would merely spray them down with hot water from a faucet (I have a hose hooked up to my faucet, which I can pinch for extra velocity) and spray them down.But if you wanna be safe (which is always the safest route
) you can boil water and pour over top of them/submerse them in it for a short while. I would not advise putting them in the pot as the temperature rises nor leaving them in too long, just to make sure they don't melt etc... Using boiling water is pretty much the universal way of disinfecting things for aquaria.But you can also use bleach. I am not sure what the aquarium safe ratio is (but it is out there so you could just research it a bit, or perhaps someone on here will know it) and you can put them in that. The only thing is you are not supposed to leave them in for more than 2min. I am not sure why that is (obviously to avoid contamination, but why leaving it for a certain length would contaminate more than just briefly).
Hope that helps!
WHOA!!! thanks for all the quick replies! Im a idiot for not thinking of boiling them. will be tomorrows project!