Milan Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 I went to a beer/wine making store to get some wine yeast for my DIY CO2 and found stuff called "Potassium Metabisulfate", which is used for sterilizing beer/wine making equipment. Now I'm wondering if this stuff is safe/efficient for sterilizing aquarium plants. Has anybody used it for this purpose ...? Any opinions, suggestions ...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 I have never used a chemical except for aquarium salt to steralize anything for the tanks. I use the ole HOT water and salt mix. Usually over night and then do a clean HOT rinse, then let soak over night in clean hot water, then a final rinse and they are good to go. I know it may be a little over doing it but never had a problem before!! :ml: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted June 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 I have never used a chemical except for aquarium salt to steralize anything for the tanks. I use the ole HOT water and salt mix. Usually over night and then do a clean HOT rinse, then let soak over night in clean hot water, then a final rinse and they are good to go. I know it may be a little over doing it but never had a problem before!! :ml: I'm talking about plants sterilization. Hot water rinse would not do any good , I guess ... I am aware that Potassium Permanganate is the stuff to use, but was just curious if I could use something else, off the shelf ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystle Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Here's a good link: Preparing Live Plants for Your Tank The product I use is Jungle's Clear Water, I buy the little bottle at WalMart, it's nice and cheap, and it's just premixed liquid Pottassium Permanganate. I put my plants in a bucket, add a few squirts till the water's a nice fuschia , and let them sit for 30 minutes, After that, they're good to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted June 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 The product I use is Jungle's Clear Water... Isn't that the stuff they claim clarifies water ...? I didn't know it's PP.. I'll go to WalMart and check it out ... Thanks ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystle Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Yep, the very same stuff, although I wouldn't ever use it in my tank... PP could crash your biofilter pretty quick methinks, and wouldn't feel to nice on the fish either This is the stuff: Jungle Labs Clear Water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Right on! I've got a bottle from WalMart. Thanks for the great info. BTW I'm not going to use it in the tank. Just to sterilize plants before I put them in there ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garhan Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 What are you sterilizing your plants for?...snails,hydra,snail eggs, etc... For snails and snail eggs the simplest is the Permanganate. dont bath for more than 20 minutes and rinse very well under tap water (Luke Warm) Garhan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 What are you sterilizing your plants for?...snails,hydra,snail eggs, etc... Thanks for the reply Garhan, I don't know ... Everything, I guess. Just as a precautionary measure against anything that can be unwillingly introduced to the tank ... Does that 20 min soaking apply to the recommended dosage stated on the bottle? I don't have the bottle handy, but it's Jungle's "Clear Water", which is diluted PP (don't know what %-age). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garhan Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 No just a general rule of thumb. Personally I stopped sterilizing my plants many years ago. What I do is place them in a 10 or 20 gallon tank filled with tap water and keep them there for 1-2 weeks. While in the tank I look for Hydra, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs and snails I dont care about because they are either need for algae controll and wate break down or are fishfood for some of my fauna. All the other stuff is killed by hand or i use a 9volt battery to kill hydra. Garhan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arixonbarnes Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Speaking from experience (I have killed a large quantity of plants especially hornwort) be very carefull with the potassium permanganate dosage as you can cook your plants and if there are any fish or other living creatures you can fry their gills as potassium permanganate eats organic material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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