Treating Plants And Malaysian Driftwood Before Placing In Tank

[cl3537]

Dear Experts,

I have read that aquatic plants often have snails or snail eggs embedded and that these are hard to see or get rid of prior to putting into a tank.
I have read that an easy way is to quarantine the plant in an Alum solution 1 TBP per gallon and let the plant sit for 3 - 4 days or to do 3 TPB per gallon and let it soak a few hours. 
 
Do you reccomend this? If not what do you reccomend?
 
I have a brand new tank fishless cycling and i wanted to put plants into it without the snails.
 
I also read that Malaysian Driftwood should be scrubbed and then cured and possibly sterilized by boiling prior to adding to a tank.
What is good for removing tannins from staining your water assuming you do the boil as well?
 
 

 

[techen]

For wood, I boil a kettle and throw the water over the wood. It normally kills anything nasty on it and then just throw it in. Do not boil the wood, It's not good for it.
 
As for plants, I've never treated them. I throw them in and if I see any snails I will pull them out of the tank.  But it also depends where you get the plants, Good plants stores I never get issues but like ebay sellers and stuff you can get a lot of unwanted things.

 

[Byron]

I agree with techen on both the wood and plants.  The Malaysian Driftwood is not as bad for tannins as some other types of wood, and I have my tanks full of Malaysian Driftwood.  It does leech tannins obviously, and the larger the wood the more, but this doesn't harm anything (soft water fish may even benefit) and after a few water changes over the first weeks it is unnoticed after that.  If you buy the wood dry, or from a fishless tank, it will not be necessary to do anything beyond washing off the dirt.  I use a pail of tap water.
 
Anything strong enough to actually kill snail eggs would quite possibly harm the plants, at a time when the plants will be weakened just by being moved to a different environment (water params, light, nutrients).  If they come from a fishless tank, no issues; if from a tank with fish, a quarantine period of a few weeks (same principle as new fish) would be advisable.
 
I know many fear snails, but these small ones like the Malaysian Livebearing, pond, or bladder are worth having in any aquarium.  It is the eggs of the latter two species that might hitch-hike a ride on plants.  Snails get everywhere in the tank, eating all organic debris incluidng fish excrement, and this not only keeps the space cleaner but it breaks down the organics faster so the bacteria can get at it sooner.
 
Byron.

 

[lydah]

I always just scrub it down with a clean brush that hasn't been used with any chemicals and some hot water, never bothered going any further.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I go against the grain. I have always bleach dipped plants. Most, but all, will handle it. The general rule is that those plants which have more delicate foliage tend not to like this process. If in doubt you can dip a bit and check out the rults before plowing ahead.
 
The solution is 1 part bleach and 19 parts water.
 
Dip hardier leaved plants like ferns, anubias etc. for 90 seconds. Dip more delicately leaved plants 60 seconds.
 
Remove and rinse in DECHLORED water well. You can even dump the plants into a bucket overdosed with dechlor.
 
Or you can read here. I do not agree with what is stated about using table salt- it is perfectly safe. I do it all the time when I need salt.
http/blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2011/07/20/dipping-plants-to-eliminate-snails/
 
if you want to see why it is wrong about salt, read here http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

 

[cl3537]

Thanks for the references the one with the different methods was really helpful.
I think I would tend to stick with just Alum salt or just a quick rinse in boiling water.
I just have some small plants (Amazon Swords, Bacopa Monnieri and Moss Balls) in my tank so far and I don't really see any snails or eggs after a week.
 
I will be adding Anubias and Java Fern I guess I'll have to look at them and decide how much "dipping" I have to do.
The biggest question is the dried malaysian driftwood from the LFS do I really need to do anything to it other than scrubbing and maybe 5 minutes in boiling water.
 
Any thoughts?
 
 
 
 

I go against the grain. I have always bleach dipped plants. Most, but all, will handle it. The general rule is that those plants which have more delicate foliage tend not to like this process. If in doubt you can dip a bit and check out the rults before plowing ahead.
 
The solution is 1 part bleach and 19 parts water.
 
Dip hardier leaved plants like ferns, anubias etc. for 90 seconds. Dip more delicately leaved plants 60 seconds.
 
Remove and rinse in DECHLORED water well. You can even dump the plants into a bucket overdosed with dechlor.
 
Or you can read here. I do not agree with what is stated about using table salt- it is perfectly safe. I do it all the time when I need salt.
http/blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2011/07/20/dipping-plants-to-eliminate-snails/
 
if you want to see why it is wrong about salt, read here http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Scrubbing, rinsing well, pouring hot water, waterlogging has done me nothing bad. Just make sure the wood doesnt have obvious holes or crevices that could otherwise hide 'hitchhikers'