[sirnukesalot007]

Can regular tap water help disinfect plants before placing them in the Aquarium ?

Can the chemicals in the tap water ( Chorine or Chloramines) help kill the basic bacterial that might be on the plant?

Thanks.

 

[Socratic monologue]

No. Chlorine concentration for surface disinfection in the presence of organic material is a lot higher than ~3ppm or whatever your municipality runs.

 

[somewhatshocked]

To piggyback on what @Socratic monologue says, I use a much stronger concentration for quick dipping plants. About 1 cup of straight bleach per gallon of water. But I only use it with hardy plants that are truly in need of it. I've found in this hobby that it's generally easy to inspect and clean most (not all) plants by hand. But sometimes it takes some extra effort.

This is my process when I'm concerned about new plants: rinse, close visual inspection, bleach dip, rinse, dechlor, inspect, place in a bucket of dechlorinated water for a few days for regular inspection. That almost always draws out any nasties. Then I dip again (sometimes with an alum solution), rinse & dechlor, move into my tanks.

 

[Socratic monologue]

I don't know what aquarists typically do (I don't dip my aquatic plants), but in the dart frog hobby the general practice is to soak all terrestrial and epiphytic vascular plants (so, not mosses) in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water for ten minutes, then rinse in fresh water, then soak in Prime solution for a couple minutes if going into contact with any animals immediately.

Losses of plants with this method are exceedingly rare; I've never harmed a plant with this.

 

[somewhatshocked]

I've had a couple varieties of Bacopa (B. australis is one I remember, hardier ones like B. monnieri are no problem) and some more delicate red plants totally melt after going through my dip solution in the past. Been 4 or 5 years since I've had to dip anything, though, so haven't seen it recently enough to remember all the names. Not sure I would have ever dipped anything if they weren't going into sensitive shrimp tanks, honestly, as most fish tend to be a lot tougher.

Has thankfully become less of a necessity through the years with the increasing popularity of tissue-cultured plants.

 

[sirnukesalot007]

I don't know what aquarists typically do (I don't dip my aquatic plants), but in the dart frog hobby the general practice is to soak all terrestrial and epiphytic vascular plants (so, not mosses) in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water for ten minutes, then rinse in fresh water, then soak in Prime solution for a couple minutes if going into contact with any animals immediately.

Losses of plants with this method are exceedingly rare; I've never harmed a plant with this.

What about Hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach? I think Hydrogen peroxide is used in the hydroponic industry to kill things in the water reservoir without killing the plants.

Although, the water just comes in contact with the plants roots not the plant itself.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Peroxide, potassium permanganate, bleach, alum, et all. There are several common methods for dipping or treating plants. Each method has its pros and cons.

If you use the search function here on the forum, you'll find threads where people walk through their processes (some with photos) and explain why they use certain methods.