How to bleach plants?

[Flowerhfanatic]

Hi All,

Just curious how do you bleach your plants? and what brand of bleach do you use? and the ratio to water...

I have clorox at how and wonder if it works.. thanks!

[Aquaculture]

Any brand. A weak mixture of about 30% bleach to 70% water, leave then plant inside for about half an hour. After that, lots of water change then leave it inside for an hour. Been using this method for years, don't see any adverse effect on plants or the fauna when I introduce the plants. Best thing is, I don't have any snail issue at all.

[Shadow]

half an hour ot half a minutes? 30 minutes is very long.

[antitrust]

wow 30% is quite strong isn't it? what i do is just fill a shallow dish with just enough water to fully submerge the plant, add a few droplets of bleach solution and leave them to soak for 15 mins. thereafter do about 2 - 3 times 100% water change, followed by soaking in excess anti-chlorine mixture.

[Aquaculture]

half an hour or half a minutes? 30 minutes is very long.

30mins bro. Ya, understand that the duration is quite long but better safe than sorry when it come to snails. Had my doubts when I 1st did it but after years of doing this method, I don't see any harm to fauna or flora but only the snails.

[Flowerhfanatic]

30mins bro. Ya, understand that the duration is quite long but better safe than sorry when it come to snails. Had my doubts when I 1st did it but after years of doing this method, I don't see any harm to fauna or flora but only the snails.

how about those more flimsy kind of plants like HC... do we submerge the whole plant into the solution? Thanks!

[illumbomb]

I use 1:20 concentration to soak the plants for say 2 mins followed by rinsing the plants under running water for a few times and then soaking them in water with excessive anti-chlorine solution to get rid of the bleach. Don't try to soak Hygrophila difformis in bleach, I tried weak 1:100 concentration before and could still see the plant being killed by the bleach.

[antitrust]

might seem a little out of topic here, but if you're trying to get rid of snails by bleaching, i suppose you could use a concentrated salt solution. it should have less harmful effects than bleaching.

we've all, at some point of time, witnessed what salt does to snails but considering that the salt dissolved is definitely much less concentrated as compared to dry granules. the effect of such a solution will probably irritate them enough to curl back into their shells, shutting their trapdoor behind them, hence, loosening the grip on the plant.

with a good shake of the plant while submerged, your snails should drop off from the plant with much ease.

[Shadow]

but it wont kill the egg. I thing the most problem is the egg.

[Aquaculture]

how about those more flimsy kind of plants like HC... do we submerge the whole plant into the solution? Thanks!

Yup, I've use it on plants like hc, moss, cyrpt, hair grass... and some more which I don't remember the names. Actually all the plants I bought went through the bleach process.

[antitrust]

but it wont kill the egg. I thing the most problem is the egg.

i fully agree. but i guess an additional step of careful inspection of your plants would be effective, though not foolproof.

reason for the method is that using salt will probably be potentially less risky to the plants and fishes if traces of bleach are not neutralised or washed off properly.

anyway, here's what i think is a rather good guide to bleaching plants..

http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1445

cheers!

[Flowerhfanatic]

i fully agree. but i guess an additional step of careful inspection of your plants would be effective, though not foolproof.

reason for the method is that using salt will probably be potentially less risky to the plants and fishes if traces of bleach are not neutralised or washed off properly.

anyway, here's what i think is a rather good guide to bleaching plants..

http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1445

cheers!

very useful link. thanks a lot!

[Flowerhfanatic]

i fully agree. but i guess an additional step of careful inspection of your plants would be effective, though not foolproof.

reason for the method is that using salt will probably be potentially less risky to the plants and fishes if traces of bleach are not neutralised or washed off properly.

anyway, here's what i think is a rather good guide to bleaching plants..

http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1445

cheers!

ok i just bought the following plants.

Didiplis diandra (Blood Stargrass)
Echinodorus quadricostatusHygrophila corymbosa
Anubias barteri var nana 'Petite'
Taxiphyllum alternans (Taiwan Moss)
Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java Moss)
Eleocharis parvula (Dwarf Hairgrass
Glossostigma elatinoides (Glosso)
Pogostemon helferi (Downoi)
Eleocharis sp. (Japan Hairgrass)

Can they survive the bleach? For basic red pail, can i know how many caps i need to put? plantgeek says ratio is 1 to 20 but its quite difficult for me to estimate the chlorine amount relative to the red pail....

[blue33]

I've never use bleach on my plants before, normally i remove those leaves that is unhealthy, trim the roots and wash with tap water and do my planting. Only 1 or 2 little snails that i got it and kill immediately.

[StanChung]

Hrm, I thought I read the title wrong. . 30 minutes 3 parts bleach /7 part water would have bleached the plants and worked!

I would NOT follow the fishgeeks recommendation for timing at 2 minutes. We live in a warmer climate where chemical reactions are faster. At 1 part clorox/19 parts water, from 30 secs onward, keep checking for the most sensitive plants like mosses and those with thin leaves. Use a white container and have a bright light to see clearly as it happens.