How to disinfect new aquarium plants and Marimo moss balls

Real plants are a great addition to any biOrb. But, adding real plants can also bring along unwanted pests and other life forms that could impact on the overall health and appearance of your aquarium. Typical unwanted pests will include snail and shrimps. These "hitchhikers" can populate an aquarium very quickly and may not be the easiest of things to remove without a lot of intervention.

There are numerous methods that can be successfully used to help disinfect new plants.

This video describes the use of Bleach Dipping.

Bleach Dipping can be applied to a broad range of plant species but is particularly suited to the hardy aquarium plant species suggested in a previous video released on this channel (Anubias, Java Fern and Marimo Moss Balls). These plants are recommended for a biOrb as they do not require a soil substrate, are easy to take care of and have slow and limited growth.

Bleach Dipping uses a 5% dilution of "thin bleach" (also known as "basic bleach") to provide a means of disinfecting new plants. For this, water is mixed with thin bleach at a ratio of 19:1

You should find that most larger supermarkets stock suitable products or may have their own brand. Please avoid using "fancy" or thick bleach products which may often have numerous other additional ingredients such as gelling and foaming agents, soaps, artificial colourings and scents.

The length of time needed to dip plants in bleach solution will vary according to the sensitivity of the plant species.

- "Sensitive plants" (such as mosses, Hornwart and other plants with delicate leaves) should be dipped for no more than 90 seconds.

- "Average plants" (such as Rotala, Amazon sword) can be dipped for up to 120 seconds

- "Hardy or tough plants" (such as Anubias, Java Fern and Marimo Moss Balls) can be dipped for up to 150 seconds.

So, follow the instructions in the video and you won't have a problem! Make sure that, after undertaking the rinsing and dipping stages stages described in the video that you then give the plants a good soak in water containing a "double-dose" of your dechlorinator product (such as Tetra AquaSafe).


As always, thanks for watching!
Mark
Step-by-Step biOrb Aquariums
#stepbystepbiorb
email: markbstepbystep@gmail.com

For advice, please feel free to contact me directly through the Comments on this Channel.
I can also be contacted directly by email using the following: markbstepbystep@gmail.com