How Do You Clean New Plants Before Adding Them to Your Tank?

Seasoned fish keepers are known to be strong advocates of planted aquariums. In fact, some of them choose to make aquascaping a full-time hobby that can get them recognized by the Aquatic Gardeners Association or the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest. The more you get into aquatic plants, the better off your aquarium ecosystem will be. The advantages of freshwater planted aquariums range from chemical oxygenation of water to reduced potential for algae bloom. Plants provide shelter and hiding places for some species, and they can ultimately serve as nourishment for some fish and invertebrates should they go a few days without feeding.

As an aquarist, you have everything to gain from keeping plants in tanks or ponds. The level of care aquatic plants require is less involved when compared to most tropical fish. However, you have to keep in mind these are organisms with the slight potential of introducing bacteria, parasites, and even disease to the habitat and may need to be cleaned before being added to an aquarium.

Why New Plants Need to Be Quarantined

Anything that can get into a tank can cause contamination, which happens to be something all fish keepers should always prevent. The last thing you want is to introduce pathogens to your aquarium, and this is why new plants should go through a short quarantine period during which you can take care of the cleaning and disinfection process.

How to Disinfect New Plants

Carefully remove all packing materials from plants and trim roots down to less than an inch. Set up a bucket filled with fresh water that has been dechlorinated and place the plants therein for a quarantine period of two days. The next step is to mix a water and bleach solution with a 20:1 ratio, which means 20 cups of water and one cup of bleach. Let the plants rest in this solution, optimally for 45 seconds and no more than two minutes. You should have another container filled with clean dechlorinated where they can soak for five minutes. The final rinse should also be done with clean water.

Partial Water Changes After Introducing Plants

Make sure to monitor water levels after setting up new plants in the tank or pond. You’ll want to check the health and behavior of all other species in the days after introducing plants, and you should also change 20 percent of the water once a week.

Aquatic Plant Sources

You can get plants from a trusted aquarium supplier like Aquatic Warehouse, being experts in aquascaping. While it can be assumed that plants sold by seasoned aquatic gardeners would be the safest, the reality is that cross-contamination is possible from any source. Plants kept in fish tanks can have enough organic materials to promote algae bloom. Plants extracted from a river may carry pesticide particles from agricultural runoff.

Whether you need some beautiful plants for your aquarium or any of the essential supplies to keep your tank running smoothly and its inhabitants healthy and happy, you can find what you need at Aquatic Warehouse. Order the supplies you need from our website, stop by our store located in Kearny Mesa, or give one of our friendly and knowledgeable staff members a call with any questions you have at 858-467-9297.