Bleach dip

[GaspingGurami]

Has some time yesterday so I experimented with a bleach dip on some of my 'disposable' plants before I attempt the real operation.

1 part of chlorox bleach, 19 parts of water. 9 minutes.

Egeria with all kinds of algae dropped into solution. 9 mins later, the stem came out clear of algae! everything gone! but unfortunately, so did the green colour of the plant. I have a totally bleached transparent egeria. No good

Next, a stem of equally infested Cabomba. 6 minutes later, the leaves turn yellowish, 9 minutes later, the plant melted away.

Armed with so much experience and confidence, I put the A.nana back where it belonged -- in the tank, and the bleach where it belongs -- in the toilet bowl

So much for bleaching. I must be doing something wrong. Perhaps I should have higher dilution and then gently rub the leaves till the algae drops off and quickly rinse off with anti-chlorine. Any thoughts anyone?

[stocker]

Hi Lawrence,

I have done bleeching for Nana before. Generally, Nana leaves are more hardy than many finer leaves, so are more resistent to bleech dips. I did a 3-4 min dip, and I read that that's more or less the max. 8-9 mins is too long. Still need to rub a bit to get rid of the most stubborn strands. After that soak and rinse in anti-chlorine liberally, then put into tank with good conditions. My "coffee" nana never looked back since! The finer the leaf, the less resistent to bleech dips.

[GaspingGurami]

[quote:8d31ab982b="stocker"]Hi Lawrence,

I have done bleeching for Nana before. Generally, Nana leaves are more hardy than many finer leaves, so are more resistent to bleech dips. I did a 3-4 min dip, and I read that that's more or less the max. 8-9 mins is too long. Still need to rub a bit to get rid of the most stubborn strands. After that soak and rinse in anti-chlorine liberally, then put into tank with good conditions. My "coffee" nana never looked back since! The finer the leaf, the less resistent to bleech dips. [/quote:8d31ab982b]

Hi Daniel, Thanks for the reply. I'll go try it tonight.

[juggler]

Decided to try this myself on some stubborn brush algae on sword plantlets.
Did the same as above: 1 part Chlorox in 19 parts water. Soatk for 4 minutes. Results as follows:





Notice the brush algae turn from black to light green? I presume it is dead. But I still find it very hard to rub off. So I left it there. Any problems with that?

[vinz]

I recall reading that algae eaters will eventually consume the dead algae.

[stocker]

I think you can try to leave it for some Yamatos, and SAE (or other such critters) to nibble on it. Should make a tasty snack for them! :P

Monitor for a week or 2, if it presists, can try round II.

[bclee]

Anubius sp. apart, leaves that are affected by algae will usually die off very soon. Personally, I feel that trimming off the affected leaves to be the better way. (KF, I know that you are just testing it out. )

BC

[juggler]

Yeah lah. Trying out to see.
Anyway, I think I got the nutrient balanced in that affected tank. The algae seem to have slowed its spreading.

[GaspingGurami]

Hi Juggler,

Same here. The algae turned white or light green. can't rid of them even after rubbing the leaf. But leave it there and tomorrow you'll notice someond had been feeding off the dead algae.

You can tell the BBA is dead if you try picking it with a pair of forceps -- they just detach so easily.