# Adding plants from lake to aquarium?



## Shrimplett (Mar 21, 2013)

So I went camping this week and we went to the lake a few times. While I was at the lake there was a ton of this moss like ground plant growing on the bottom. I decided to clean some off and take it home. Now I haven't added it to my tank yet as I am not sure if it's safe. Is there a way to clean the plants from any possible parisites or junk that I don't want in my tank? I live in Oregon so the lakes are not always the warmest, but its summer right now and the lake was very comfortable. I hope that since I took the plant while it being summer it would adjust better to my tank. The temperature hovers around 75 degrees in the tank anyway (its slightly higher in the winter. The air conditioning in the summer makes it hard for the heater to go up much higher) and the lake was easily that warm. Thanks!


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## Aquarist (Jul 23, 2014)

You can do a bleach dip a couple times, that should kill off most of whatever is on it. 

I don't know the exact amounts but I fill my container with water then add bleach till it the water starts to smell like bleach and when you put you hand in it, it feel kinda slick. Just give it a quick dunk in the solution and then put it in some fresh clean water. 

When I am treating plants I usually dip it twice in one day and let it hang out in a now of clean water for another two days.


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## JG06 (Nov 5, 2006)

Dip them a couple times then try adding a little dechlorinator to the water you're keeping them in to help with the bleach. 

You might also want to keep them under observation for a few days to make sure you don't have a mess on your hands. Better to put them in something and quarantine them for a few days to make sure you "worked all the bugs out" than drop them directly into your aquarium and risk a mess later.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Potassium permanganate is an ideal chemical for this purpose. It kills algae/pests/bacteria and will not harm plants. You can buy it on ebay or in the survival section of the department store (and Walmart). It is used to purify water for drinking when you are out camping. It is a deep purple color. 

A small pinch of it in a tub of water will kill algae off if you do a 5-10 minute soak.


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## Aquarist (Jul 23, 2014)

Zapins said:


> Potassium permanganate is an ideal chemical for this purpose. It kills algae/pests/bacteria and will not harm plants. You can buy it on ebay or in the survival section of the department store (and Walmart). It is used to purify water for drinking when you are out camping. It is a deep purple color.
> 
> A small pinch of it in a tub of water will kill algae off if you do a 5-10 minute soak.


Will this stuff kill snails?? I got a gorgeous portion of Ricca a few years back but it was infested with thousands of snails and I couldn't think of a way of getting the snails off without killing the plant.

I don't mind snails, all my tanks have them. I just didn't want to introduce so many at once.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Yep it should kill snails and their eggs as well.

Try it with a small portion of riccia first. Liverworts aren't as robust as normal plants.


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## aquarium kid (Nov 26, 2012)

I have started collecting plants from my lake, quite often in fact and have had no adverse effects other then some not surviving. I haven't dipped all I do is spray it off very well with the kitchen snail and remove all visible algae, dirt, etc


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## pandragon (Jul 10, 2014)

You have a kitchen snail, awesome! 

Anyways, that is awesome that you can get plants from your local lake. They have all kinds of laws against that sorta thing here and people everywhere so it is hard to grab a stem or two without anyone noticing. I think I saw the potassium permanganate on amazon too when I purchased sodium thiosulfate for dechlorination. I didn't know what it was for then though, now I know. Sometimes the water purification stuff at walmart, and I guess other places, are chlorine based (or they were last time I looked at a label) so you might want to check labels.

Good luck


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## aquarium kid (Nov 26, 2012)

Lol I meant kitchen sprayer. My mom probably wouldn't be to happy if she found a snail in her kitchen...


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## chmarshall81 (Aug 5, 2014)

I agree with the guys above KMnO4 is great for killing parasites, but might be difficult to get hold of. Aquarium salt in high doses might be easiest and then a rough plant shower under the tap before leaving it in quarantine. But I would certainly get hold of some potassium permanganate if I was you.


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## pandragon (Jul 10, 2014)

Here is a bunch of ferts and KMnO4 and more. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_hpc?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=Thrasher+Hydroponics&node=3760901

I'm sure there are other sellers, this is just where I found my dechlor agent.


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## TankAaron (Aug 8, 2014)

What about vinegar? Has anyone tried vinegar? It is a natural, non-toxic disinfectant. I don't know if it would kill algae, though. For strong jobs, I use two cups of white vinegar in one gallon of water.

It also works to dissolve hard water spots. I just had my tank disinfecting, and demineralizing in a vinegar-water solution. It had been stored, and dusty for a long time. I even found a dead roach in it, /cringe. So I rinsed out the tank, it's a 10g. I filled it up with water from the hose, and added half a gallon of white vinegar.

Just to be safe, I left it soaking in the sun for three days, scrubbing it once a day. (Oh, it's a glass tank. I wouldn't scrub acrylic, lol.) What I did was overkill, but I have time. My stuff won't start arriving until the end of the week.

I rinsed out the tank thoroughly, and left it soaking with just water, last night. I will be cleaning what plants I buy the same way. Just remember to really wash them with clean water before putting it in your tanks, since vinegar is acidic, and can change the water's ph.

Also, do NOT try to disinfect fish like that. If you want to find out why, try a very small drop of vinegar in your eye. Actually, don't. Just know that it has been used as a torture technique. >.>

For the hard water spots, so you can have an idea of how effective it is: I have a small sponge filter. The plastic piece was covered in white, crystallized minerals around the water intake areas. I dropped it in the tank with the vinegar/water mix while I scrubbed the tank. When I was done, I picked up the plastic piece, and it was completely cleaned. I scrubbed it anyway, but it didn't need to be. It was spotless.

Let me know if any of you have tried it for algae removal. I know it will work for bacteria, and fungus disinfecting, and I know it will scare off critters, and parasites, like worms and snails. But I don't know if it will do anything for algae.


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## pandragon (Jul 10, 2014)

The use of acids may or may not work, could kill your plants, or merely neutralize your water if it is very basic and hard (like mine with ph over 8). You also have to figure out at what ph the solution needs to be to kill all the bacteria and for how long it needs to soak to do its job effectively. You could end up pickling your plants! I would rather use the potassium permanganate for large quantities and a peroxide or clorox dip for small ones. Some bacteria are resistant to nearly every thing discussed here in amounts that don't harm the plants as well, but I can't be sure if those bacteria would hurt your tankmates or even hitch a ride on plants.


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